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IELTS Grammar Hub

Master the grammar rules that matter for Band 7-9 – clear explanations, common errors, and practical exercises.

Grammar is 25% of your Writing and Speaking scores. This hub focuses on high‑yield structures – not obscure rules. Learn, practise, and eliminate errors.

Essential Grammar for IELTS

Time Reference

⏰ Verb Tenses

Master past, present, future – especially for Task 1 trends and Task 2 arguments.

"Sales rose sharply in 2020, but have since plateaued."

⚠️ Common errors: "I am living here since 2015" → "I have lived here since 2015."

Practice Tenses →

Hypothetical Scenarios

⚡ Conditionals

Essential for Part 3 Speaking and Task 2 essays (speculating, recommending).

"If the government invested more, pollution would decrease."

⚠️ Common errors: "If I will see him, I will tell" → "If I see him, I will tell."

Learn Conditionals →

Process & Formality

🔄 Passive Voice

Useful for Task 1 process diagrams and formal academic writing.

"The limestone is crushed and then heated."

⚠️ Common errors: Overusing passive when active is clearer. Use passive only when the agent is unknown or unimportant.

Master Passive →

Complex Sentences

🔗 Relative Clauses

Add detail without writing short, choppy sentences – key for Band 7+ writing.

"The professor, who has taught for 20 years, gave a lecture."

⚠️ Common errors: Forgetting commas for non‑defining clauses. "My brother who lives in London" (implies more than one brother) vs "My brother, who lives in London" (one brother).

Practice Clauses →

Determiners

📝 Articles (a/an/the)

Tiny words, huge impact. Mistakes here are very visible to examiners.

"The government should invest in the environment."

⚠️ Common errors: "I went to the hospital" (as a visitor) vs "I went to hospital" (as a patient – British English). Know the rules for uncountable nouns.

Fix Articles →

Agreement

🧩 Subject‑Verb Agreement

The most common grammar mistake in IELTS writing. Singular vs plural.

"The number of students is increasing." / "A number of students are waiting."

⚠️ Common errors: "The government have announced" → "The government has announced" (singular in many contexts).

Master Agreement →

Top Grammar Errors to Eliminate

Wrong: "She go to school." → Correct: "She goes to school."

Wrong: "There is many reasons." → Correct: "There are many reasons."

Wrong: "I am interesting in art." → Correct: "I am interested in art."

Wrong: "He don't like coffee." → Correct: "He doesn't like coffee."

Wrong: "If I will be late, I call." → Correct: "If I am late, I will call."

Wrong: "She is more taller than me." → Correct: "She is taller than me."

Punctuation & Sentence Variety

🔴 Comma Rules

Commas change meaning. Use after linking words and in lists.

"However, the results were inconclusive."

⚠️ Comma splice: "I like tea, my friend likes coffee." → Use a period or "and".

📐 Parallelism

Keep structures balanced in lists and comparisons.

"She enjoys reading, writing, and to swim" → "…reading, writing, and swimming."

📈 Sentence Variety

Mix simple, compound, and complex sentences for higher band.

"Although it rained, we enjoyed the trip. The scenery was breathtaking."

Quick Grammar Checker

Test your grammar: type a sentence and see a common error detection demo.

⚠️ This is a demonstration – real grammar checking requires advanced tools. Use Grammarly or Microsoft Editor for full feedback.

Weekly Grammar Improvement Plan

Week 1: Tenses & subject-verb agreement. Week 2: Conditionals & relative clauses. Week 3: Articles & prepositions. Week 4: Punctuation & sentence variety. Practise 10 minutes daily.

Download Grammar Checklist →

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