A good knowledge of English grammar is essential to express your thoughts in grammatically correct sentences. As you know, the IELTS assesses your proficiency in all areas of English. To score well on the test you need good listening, reading, writing and speaking skills. Developing good listening, reading and speaking skills is relatively easy, but writing requires special practice.
This section offers an explanation of the most common grammar and writing mistakes of ESL students.
Words commonly confused
- Even if, even though and even so
- Rather than and would rather
- Special uses of this and that
- Suggest to or suggest that
- Because and because of
English writing lessons
- When to use commas to separate words and phrases?
- How to use not only/but also?
- How to use the verb ‘prefer’ correctly?
- How to use the verb ‘suggest’ correctly?
- When to use the present tense instead of the future tense?
- How to avoid repetition?
- Common mistakes with the simple present and present perfect tenses
- Using the adjective clause
- Different ways of writing the same sentence
- Connecting sentences with conjunctions and transitional adverbs
- Joining two sentences with an adjective
- If clauses
- IELTS essays: common grammar mistakes to avoid
- Difference between whether and if
- Difference between whose and who’s
- All and every
- Already and all ready
- Common expressions without articles
- Mistakes in the use of gerunds
- Difference between will and shall
- Beginning a sentence with and or but
- Difference between than and then
- Prepositions before particular words and expressions
- How to use tenses correctly in your IELTS letters and essays
- Indirect questions
- Mistakes with prepositions
- Must and have to: differences
- Comparisons using as…as
- How to use articles correctly?
- When to set off relative clauses with commas?
- Correct use of relative pronouns
Active and passive voice
Linking words and expressions
- Despite, in spite of and notwithstanding
- Using nevertheless
- As a matter of fact, in fact, to tell the truth, actually
- In conclusion, to sum up, in short
- Linking words: in the same way; similarly
- Linking words: on the contrary; on the other hand
- Linking words: anyhow, anyway, at any rate
- Linking words: firstly, secondly, thirdly, in the first place, to start with, for one thing, for another thing
- Linking words: words used for generalising
- Using however
- Using even so and all the same
- Otherwise
