Simon’s Grammar and Vocabulary lessons 2010-2018 Compiled by Diyorbek Hayitmurodov ielts-simon.com Page 1 About IELTS-Simon (website). My name is Simon Corcoran. I'm an ex-IELTS examiner and I now run IELTS exam preparation courses in Manchester, UK (I'm a native speaker of English). The aim of this website is to provide good advice about the IELTS exam, and also to help you improve your English language skills.
Some advice about how to use ielts-simon. You can begin anywhere; there is no special lesson order. I write a short lesson every day because I believe that daily practice is important. Please use "comments" to communicate with me and with other students.
Every day I'll add another lesson: Monday: IELTS Reading (Academic) Tuesday: IELTS Listening Wednesday: IELTS Writing Task 2 (Academic) Thursday: IELTS Writing Task 1 (Academic) Friday: IELTS Speaking Saturday: Grammar / Advice Sunday: Grammar / Advice. Good luck with your studies. I hope this website helps! Simon Compiled by Diyorbek Hayitmurodov ielts-simon.com Page 2 Sunday, July 18, 2010 IELTS Grammar: some typical mistakes Find 5 common mistakes in the paragraph below: Some people believe that, all police officers should carry a gun. While, others disagree with this idea, and argue that it is intimidating to see armed police officers on the streets.
From my view, the advantages of police officers carrying guns have overweighed the disadvantages. Because the police need to be able to protect both themselves and the general public. Feel free to share your answers in the "comments" area below. I'll reveal the correct answers tomorrow.
Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (21) Saturday, August 21, 2010 IELTS Grammar: before or ago? Don't say: I came to Manchester before two weeks. Do say: I came to Manchester two weeks ago. Use "past time + ago" 10 years ago, a long time ago, a few weeks ago, a couple of days ago Use "before + action / event" before you left, before we start, before lunch Don't use "before + past time" (before two weeks, before three days) Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (12) Saturday, September 04, 2010 IELTS Grammar: fall or reduce? These two words are the opposites of 'rise' and 'raise' (see last week's grammar lesson): something falls (e. the price fell) somebody reduces something (e.
the company reduced the price) You will probably use 'fall' to describe numbers on a graph or chart for IELTS Writing Task 1: In 2008, the number of customers fell. (verb, past) There was a sharp fall in Internet usage. (noun) 'Reduce' and 'reduction' are probably more useful for Writing Task 2: We need to reduce the amount of pollution from exhaust fumes. (verb) Recycling leads to a reduction in waste.
(noun) Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (7) Compiled by Diyorbek Hayitmurodov ielts-simon.com Page 3 Saturday, October 16, 2010 IELTS Grammar: because Students often make mistakes when using the word "because". You can't use "because" to connect ideas in two separate sentences. Put both the main idea and the reason in the same sentence. Which sentence is NOT correct? 1.Some children behave badly at school because their parents are too lenient at home.Because parents are often too lenient at home, discipline in schools is becoming more difficult to enforce.Children's behaviour is getting worse nowadays.
Because parents are not strict enough. Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (21) Saturday, October 23, 2010 IELTS Grammar: 'because of' Last week I looked at how to use the word 'because'. One of my students then asked me to explain the difference between 'because' and 'because of'. Compare these two sentences: I stayed at home because the weather was bad.
I stayed at home because of the bad weather. The important difference is the use of the word 'was' in the first sentence. After 'because', you need a subject and a verb (e. the weather was).
After 'because of', we don't use a verb, only a noun, nouns or noun phrase. Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (8) Sunday, November 14, 2010 IELTS Grammar: 'however' and 'whereas' You can't use 'however' and 'whereas' in the same way. Follow these general rules in order to avoid grammar mistakes: Use 'however' (followed by a comma) at the beginning of a sentence to contrast with the previous sentence: Some people believe that schools are responsible for the behaviour of their students. However, others argue that discipline is the responsibility of parents.
Use 'whereas' (after a comma) to contrast two ideas in the same sentence: Some people believe that schools are responsible for the behaviour of their students, whereas others argue that discipline is the responsibility of parents. Compiled by Diyorbek Hayitmurodov ielts-simon.com Page 4 You can use 'on the other hand' or 'by contrast' in the same way as 'however'. You can use 'while' instead of 'whereas'. Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (24) Saturday, November 20, 2010 IELTS Grammar: while, whilst, whereas, as Joshua asked me the following question: "Can you explain while, whilst, whereas, as? Either can be used to connect two sentences, but I am not sure how to identify them and quite often I use them wrongly." Here's my simplified explanation: 1.While and whilst are the same, but whilst is a bit more formal (according to one famous grammar book).Whereas is always used for contrast.
While/whilst can be used for contrast, OR to mean "at the same time".As can mean "because" or "exactly at the moment when". Try to write an example sentence using each of these words. Feel free to share your sentences in the "comments" area below. Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink Sunday, December 19, 2010 IELTS Grammar: subject + verb Question: Which of the following is a correct sentence? 1.Learning a foreign language.Firstly, learning a foreign language in order to improve your career prospects.For example, learning a foreign language by living in a country where that language is spoken, and communicating with native speakers on a daily basis.
Answer: None of these are correct sentences. None of them has a main verb. To make a sentence, you need a subject (noun/noun phrase) and a verb: 1.I am learning a foreign language. OR, Learning a foreign language isuseful.Firstly, many people learn a foreign language in order to improve their career prospects.For example, some people learn a foreign language by living in a country where that language is spoken and communicating with native speakers on a daily basis.
Some students really need to work on writing correct "subject + verb" sentences. Missing the verb in a sentence is a serious mistake that will definitely affect your score. Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (10) Compiled by Diyorbek Hayitmurodov ielts-simon.com Page 5 Saturday, January 22, 2011 IELTS Grammar: correct the mistakes The following sentences contain mistakes. Try to correct them.We are friends ever since we first met.If people work in teams can help them to achieve more.If we consider unemployment is another important issue.It is difficult to live in a new country, it is also difficult to speak a new language.Many children behave badly, could be because their parents are not strict enough.
Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (16) Sunday, February 13, 2011 IELTS Grammar: find the mistakes Correct the mistakes in the sentences below.With developments in nuclear technology, the risk of accidents are being reduced.Scientists need to make more researches to improve the safety of nuclear power stations.Using of nuclear power not only does it produce cheap electricity, but also it does not have any pollution. I'll put my answers in the "comments" area tomorrow. Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (22) Sunday, February 20, 2011 IELTS Grammar: more mistakes! Try to correct the mistakes in the following sentences: 1.I am completely agree that job satisfaction for workers are important.On the other side, maybe it is difficult for all workers to be happy in their jobs.Although, we all need to work in order to pay our bills etc, but we also need to enjoy our jobs. Be careful with "although".
Most English learners make mistakes with this word. Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (15) Sunday, March 13, 2011 IELTS Grammar: using Google If you are unsure about the correct way to use a word, Google can often solve the problem. Here are 2 examples: 1.Yesterday I googled "drink driving" and "drunk driving". Both are correct, but which is more common? Compiled by Diyorbek Hayitmurodov ielts-simon.I wanted to explain the use of "having had", so I googled "having had grammar" and found this page from the BBC.
Google and Wikipedia are two of the best tools for improving your vocabulary and grammar. Try them the next time you have a language problem. Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (6) Sunday, March 20, 2011 IELTS Grammar: find the mistakes Find the mistakes in the sentences below.The graph shows the number of people travelled to and from UK.In 1979, the number of people visited UK was 10 millions.Turkey was the least country in terms of the number of people visiting it. Feel free to share your answers in the "comments" area below.
I'll post my answers tomorrow. Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (23) Sunday, May 29, 2011 IELTS Grammar: correct the mistakes The following sentences contain mistakes. Can you find them? 1.Governments have played an essential place in society.Lack of exercise has bad effects to health.Qualifications lead to get promotions.This may contribute to reach their dreams.The main important thing is to make people aware for this problem. I'll put my corrections in the "comments" area tomorrow.
Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (26) Sunday, June 12, 2011 IELTS Grammar: verb + noun collocations When deciding whether to give a band 7 in IELTS speaking or writing, one of the things that examiners look at is your use of collocations. 'Collocation' basically means using the right words together. Many students know a lot of nouns, but they don't always know the right verbs to use with those nouns. Here are some useful 'verb + noun' collocations: to make a mistake (not 'do' a mistake) to do/carry out/conduct research (not 'make' research, not 'a' research) to make/take/reach a decision Compiled by Diyorbek Hayitmurodov ielts-simon.com Page 7 to have/gain/lack experience to have/face/experience difficulties Think about this, especially when you are writing essays.
Check in a dictionary to make sure you have used the right verb with the right noun. Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (8) Sunday, July 10, 2011 IELTS Grammar: correct the mistakes The sentences below contain some common mistakes. Try to correct them.The number of holidays abroad was dramatically increased in 2005.The figure was raised again in 2006, but it reduced in 2007.In 2008, the number of foreign holidays was reduced to its lowest point. What grammar point can we learn by correcting these 3 sentences? Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (26) Sunday, September 04, 2011 IELTS Grammar: word families If you want to improve your vocabulary knowledge, it's a good idea to study word families.
Let's look at the word family for "different".We usually say different from e. A is different from B.The noun is difference e. There is a difference between A and B.The verb is differ e. I'm sure you understood these words, but did you really know how to use them correctly? We'll look at another word family next week.
Posted by Simon in Vocabulary/Grammar | Permalink | Comments (8) Sunday, September 11, 2011 IELTS Vocabulary: word family for 'compare' Let's look at the word family for 'compare'. Remember that we are looking at usage, not meaning (I'm sure you know the meaning of these words).