Collins English for Exams W ith CD Grammar for IELTS Fiona Aish & Jo Tomlinson ■ L& 11 * \ . ■ ju t ; j B P H ; POWERED BY COBUILD Contents Unit Topic Grammar focus Grammar Exam practice Sub-skill Page number 1 O Holidays and travel Simple tenses Present simple, past simple and present perfect Speaking Part 1 Writing Task 2 6 2 Free time Continuous tenses Past continuous, present continuous, present perfect continuous Writing Task 1 Reading 10 3 o •1 I1 Fame Past Narrative tenses: past perfect and used to/would Reading Listening Section 2 14 4 O Education Future 1 Witt and going to Listening Section 1 Speaking Part 3 18 5 O The Internet Future 2 Present continuous for future and future perfect Listening Section 2 Reading 22 6 O The family Word order and punctuation Subject + verb + object and punctuation Writing Task 2 Speaking Part 2 26 7 The environment Subject/verb agreement Singular + plural nouns/verbs and determiners Reading Writing Task 1 30 8 o *1 1* Food Countable/ uncountable nouns Countable and uncountable nouns Speaking Part 2 Listening Section 1 34 9 Employment and finance Articles Using a, the or no article Writing Task 1 Reading 38 10 o Youth Linking words and signposting Giving additional, opposite, contrasting information Reading Listening Section 4 42 Unit Topic Grammar focus Grammar E P Sub-skill Page number 11 O People and places Comparatives and superlatives Comparative structures Listening Section 3 Speaking Part 1 46 12 O Crime Modals 1 Present modals can/may/should etc. Speaking Part 3 Writing Task 2 50 13 Q The planet Modals 2 Past modal verbs Listening Section 3 Reading 54 14 O Globalization Conditionals Zero, first, second and third conditionals Speaking Part 3 Writing Task 2 58 15 O Culture and modern society Reported speech Tense, time and pronoun changes Reading Speaking Part 2 62 16 O Health and fitness Pronoun use Using reference words to maintain cohesion in writing Writing Task 2 Listening Section 2 66 17 Fashion Paragraph and text organization Understanding how texts and paragraphs are organized Reading Writing Task 1 70 18 O Film and entertainment The passive Simple passive Speaking Part 2 Listening Section 3 74 19 O Wildlife Relative clauses Relative clauses Listening Section 4 Speaking Part 3 78 20 Men and women Noun phrases Construction of noun phrases Writing Task 2 Reading 82 Audio script 86 Answer key 103 Grammar reference Unit 1 1U Unit 2 115 Unit 3 116 Unit U 117 Unit 5 118 Unit 11 119 Unit U 120 Unit 15 122 Unit 18 123 IELTS information 124 Introduction Who is this book for? Grammar for IELTS w ill help improve your grammatical knowledge for all four papers of the IELTS exam. As you know, grammatical accuracy and range are part of the marking criteria for the IELTS Writing and Speaking papers. Also, grammatical accuracy is important in the IELTS Listening and Reading papers. The book can be used for self-study or as supplementary m aterial for IELTS preparation classes. It is suitable for learners at level 5.0-5.5 aiming for band 6.0 or higher. Summary The Grammar for IELTS book and CD cover grammar and skills which are relevant to all four exam papers: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. Each unit begins with a grammar section presenting the key grammar for the unit with example sentences and explanations. This grammar section is followed by exercises that help you develop the grammatical knowledge and skills needed for the exam. At the end of each unit, there is an exam practice section which is modelled on the actual IELTS exam. Tips throughout the book highlight essential grammar-related learning strategies and exam techniques. Content Units Each unit is divided into three parts. The first part introduces key grammar using Collins COBUILD grammar explanations and example sentences. The second part, containing Practice exercises, provides a structured set of exercises which help you develop the skills to successfully apply grammatical knowledge to the exam. The exercises are a combination of traditional grammar exercises and exercises based on the IELTS exam. The third part, containing Exam practice, provides exam practice exercises in a format that follows the actual exam giving you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the kinds of questions you w ill encounter in the exam. This section focuses on a particular exam paper and is highlighted in grey for easy reference. Exam tips There are exam tips and strategies in each unit. These are in boxes for easy reference. Audio script All audio for the Listening and Speaking papers has been recorded on the CD using native speakers of English. A full audio script, including model answers for the Speaking papers, is provided at the back of the book so that you can check the language used in the listening and speaking exercises, if needed. Answer key A comprehensive answer key is provided for all sections of the book including model answers for more open-ended writing and speaking tasks. u Grammar reference There is a detailed grammar reference section at the back of the book where the forms of the gramm ar points presented in the units are provided for your reference. There is a note in the unit telling you which page to refer to in the Grammar reference section. How to use this book The book is divided into 20 units. Each unit is self-contained so that you can study the units in any order. You can choose the unit you want to study either by selecting the gramm ar you want to study or selecting which exam papers you want to practise. A sub-skill is also practised in each unit. As a result, only the units with practice on Speaking and Listening papers contain audio. The contents pages at the beginning of the book provide an overview of what is in each unit so you can use this to choose which units you would like to study first. These pages also give you information on which units contain audio. You w ill probably find it helpful to begin each unit by reading the grammar section in the first part, then working through the exercises in preparation for the exam practice exercise at the end. Try to do the exam exercises within the time lim it to give yourself realistic exam practice. Getting well-inform ed feedback on your writing and speaking exam practice exercises would also be an advantage. However, if this is not possible, it is still important to do the exercises in full. Studying model answers can help you develop the ability to assess your own work. If possible, record yourself when speaking and listen carefully to your performance. Avoid memorizing model answers for the Writing and Speaking papers. Remember that in the actual exam, it is important to answer the question and not just speak or write about the topic. As part of your final preparation before the exam, you could re-read the exam tips in the boxes. This w ill remind you of the strategies for success in the exam. 1 Holidays and travel Present sim ple tense I Past sim ple tense I Present perfect sim ple tense Simple tenses Present simple: The present simple is used to talk about: 1 Permanent situations I work in the city but I live in the countryside. Rome is the capital of Italy. 2 Things which happen often or repeatedly I visit my grandparents in Scotland every summer. People often send postcards from interestina places. 3 Facts of nature or science Travelling by plane uses a lot of enerqy. Birds miqrate in winter. U Timetables The bus departs at 9.10. The train to London leaves everv 30 minutes. Past simple: The past simple is used to talk about: 1 Completed actions or events in the past I visited the museums in New York. I saw some monuments on holiday. 2 Actions or events that happened at a specific time in the past (when) Last month I went on holidav for 2 weeks. I travelled to Tokvo last year. 3 Things which happened often or regularly in the past We always went on holidav to France when I was a child. Everv summer I spent the school holidavs with my cousins. Grammar for IELTS Unit 1 Present perfect simple: The present perfect simple is used to talk about: 1 Actions which started in the past and continue now I've worked abroad for ten years. He has lived in Germany since 2002. 2 Actions in the past when the time is not finished. I've visited many art galleries this year. (This year is not finished) He has lived in a lot of different places in his life. (His life is not finished) 3 Recent events which are related to the present Where’s my camera? Oh no, someone has stolen it. Is Sarah having dinner with us? No, she has gone back to the campsite to rest. <^See page 114 in the Grammar reference for more information. Practice exercises Decide on the correct tense (present simple, past simple or present perfect simple) and finish the sentences. Decide which rule matches the meaning of each sentence. 1 The sun often________in Morocco, [shine] Tense:________ Rule num ber:________ 2 ‘It's late. W here________?' [you/go] Tense:________ Rule num ber:________ 3 What tim e ________? [the bus/leave) Tense:________ Rule number:________ U John________ (go) to Finland last year, but he________ [like] it. Tense:_________ Rule number:________ 5 The w o rld ________ (see) a massive shift in transport and tourism in the last decade. Tense:________ Rule num ber:________ 6 Cruise ships________[cross] the Atlantic with the majority of people before air travel became so affordable. Tense:________ Rule num ber:________ Exam tip: Practise listening to and saying the contracted form of some verbs, for example: he has taken = he's taken, I have been = I've been Holidays and travel 7 2 Below is a section of a candidate answer from an IELTS essay task (Writing Task 2). Complete the spaces with the correct tenses. "Discuss the positive and negative effects of tourism on people and the environment.” Regarding the environment, tourism (1)___________ (improve) people's understanding of endangered species. Prior to mass tourism, many societies (2)___________ (disregard} the natural life around them. However, due to tourism many countries (3)___________ [invest] in conservation programmes. Ecotourism is now a very popular and a lot of tourists (4)____________[visit] Africa, Asia and South America and (5)____________ [partake] in projects which care for the environment. Although there are positive points, tourism (6 ) __________ (a/so have] a large number of negative effects on the environment. These (7 ) __________ (include] an increase in air pollution from plane travel, rubbish from tourists in parks and on beaches and the destruction of many of the world's rain forests. There are advantages and disadvantages for people too. During the 1990s in many parts of the world, such as Spain or Thailand, tourism (8)___________ [bring] economic development and [9 ]___________ (create] a range of new employment possibilities for local people. On the other hand, the results of this increase in tourism sometimes produce negative effects for populations. Often a new hotel or resort (10)_____________ (destroy] traditional jobs such as agriculture, fishing and crafts. 3 Read the following dialogue and complete the text w ith the correct form of the present simple, past simple or present perfect simple. Use the verbs in the brackets. Examiner: Where (1)________ [live]? Nikolas: I (2)________ [come] from Moscow. I (3)_________ [live] there for 6 years. My family (4)________ [move] from the countryside when I was 12 years old. Examiner: (5)________ still (6)_________[live] with your family? Nikolas: Yes, I (7)-------------- [do], I (8)_________[live] with my parents and (9) (share) a room with my brother. My brother still (10)________ [go] to school. He is only 8 years old. Examiner: (11)________ [like] Moscow? Nikolas: Yes, I (12)________ [love] Moscow. When I first (13)_________[arrive], I (14)_________ (not like) it much because it was so different, but I (15)_________ [grow] accustomed to it. Now, I (16)-------------- [know] my way around and (17)_________ [have] lots of friends. Examiner: How (18)________ [Moscow/change] recently? Nikolas: It (19)-------------- [become] more international, and more exciting. In the last few years, about ten new international restaurants (20)________ [open] in my area alone and I often (21) _ (eaf) in them now with my friends. I (22)___________________ [have] lots of international friends who (23)________ [come] to study at the University in Moscow, and we often (24)___________ [meet] in the evenings. Grammar for IELTS G 01 Now listen and check your answers to Exercise 3. i Speaking exam tip: Try to answer the question the examiner asks you, and give more i information. Nikolas has talked about a change and then the result of that change. 4 Answer these questions yourself and try to give as much information as possible. 1 Where do you live?__________________________________________________________ 2 How long have you lived there?_______________________________________________ 3 What do you like about your home town?______________________________________ U What other countries have you visited?________________________________________ 5 Where did you go on holiday last year?________________________________________ 6 How often do you go to the seaside?___________________________________________ Exam practice: Speaking Part 1 Listen to the 5 questions on the CD, and answ er them as fu lly as possible. You w ill have 02 30 seconds between questions to give your answ ers. Speaking exam tip: Try to m irror the examiner’s grammar in the first sentence of your answer and use the contracted form in your answer where you can, e.g. ‘Have you lived...?’ - 'i’ve lived....’ ‘Do you like...?' - ‘I like...' £ "'|j Now listen to Track 03 on the CD and the model answers given by the student. How were they 03 better than or different from your answers? Holidays and travel 2 C l i m a rree ume Present continuous tense I Past continuous tense I Present perfect continuous tense Continuous tenses The continuous tenses highlight the duration of the activity so that there is a focus on the activity in progress. Present continuous: The present continuous is used to talk about: 1 Something that is happening / in progress now Some people are sitting on the grass and having a picnic. 2 Changes and developments The number of Web users who shop online is increasing, 3 Temporary situations My friend is staying in a holiday camp. Past continuous: The past continuous is used to talk about: 1 Continuing past actions happening at the same time as another event. I was swimming in the sea when the rain started. 2 Describing situations in the past Some people were relaxing by the pool and others were playing tennis. 3 Temporary situations in the past For the first two days of my holiday I was staving with friends. Present perfect continuous: The present perfect continuous is used to talk about: 1 Actions that started in the past and are continuing now My best friend has been learning French since January. Grammar for IELTS Unit 2 2 When you mention the results of a recent activity I'm so tired. I’ve been waiting for the train for hours. 3 When we want to emphasize the repetition or duration of an action They’ve been thinking about where to go this weekend. See page 115 in the Grammar reference for more information. Practice exercises Decide on the correct tense (present continuous, past continuous or present perfect continuous) and complete the sentences 1-6 using the verbs in the brackets. Decide which rule matches the meaning of each sentence. 1 'W hat________(cfo)?’ You look exhausted!’ Tense:_______________________________________________ Rule number:__ 2 'Can you help me with my homework?’ ‘No, I ________ TV.’ [watch] Tense:_______________________________________________Rule num ber:__ 3 The number of people taking up extreme sports___(increase) since the early 1990s. Tense:_______________________________________________ Rule number:__ U Last month I ________(have) acting lessons but I had to stop when I lost my voice. Tense:_______________________________________________ Rule number:__ 5 They________[walk] in the countryside when suddenly it started to rain. Tense:_______________________________________________ Rule number:__ 6 I don’t like the book that I ________ (read) at the moment. Tense:_______________________________________________ Rule number:__ Grammar tip: Continuous verbs are usually active verbs (verbs such as to run), that refer to an action). Stative verbs (such as to know], refer to a state, and are usually used in simple tenses, e.g. I want a new bike not I am wanting a new bike as to want is a state, not an action. Some verbs such as to see have both an active and a stative meaning. Look at the following sentences 1-5 and decide if the main verbs should be in the present continuous or the present simple. 1 I am not agreeing / 1 don't agree that going to the cinema is better than watching films on TV. 2 I have / 1 am having a great time in Paris at the moment, (meaning = to enjoy) 3 I like / 1 am liking studying Spanish in my free time. A Do you mind / Are you minding if I sit here? 5 I th in k /I'm thinking about learning to sail next year, (meaning = to plan to do) Free time Underline the examples of continuous tenses in the following passage from a Reading text, then complete the summary below using continuous verbs from the text. The amount of leisure time available to people has been increasing since the early twentieth century when machines started to be invented to do many labour intensive tasks both at work and in the home. Previously, people were spending many more hours doing basic menial tasks and as a result had less time available for hobbies and activities. Although recently many people have been complaining about their work life balance, studies show that the amount of free time we have has been rising continuously for over 50 years. More people are playing sport on a regular basis nowadays and young people are taking up traditional style hobbies such as knitting and walking in the countryside. There has also been a large amount of government investment in leisure facilities in local communities, which has assisted the uptake of hobbies for a range of people including children and the elderly. A few years ago, visitors to a local park would see people who were playing football or walking their dog. However, nowadays people are using the gym or a climbing wall as their way of sporting recreation. Summary Over the last half century the amount of personal free time that people have (1 ) __________Despite the fact that the general opinion of the public is that they have less leisure time than in the past the reality is the opposite. Nowadays more of us (2 ) _________ sport regularly and the younger generation (3)___________traditional leisure pursuits such as crafts and outdoor activities. Look at the graphs below from an IELTS Writing Task 1 and complete the sentences with the correct tense to describe the visual information. JO c 8 ° 6 E 2 0 ....New York Times — International Herald Tribune ■ - - Washington Post 1950 1970 1990 2012 ^BBC1 □ BBC2 □ ITV1 HITV2 a Number of people buying newspapers daily in the USA Overall, the number of people who buy one of the three major daily newspapers in the USA (1)----------------- (rising) since the 1950s. The largest increase in readership has been for the New York Times. However, most people (2)___________ [still buy} the Washington Post more than any other daily newspaper. b Viewers of UK TV channels at 8 p.m. on 30 June 2011 The graph shows the number of people who (1)__________ [view] four different television channels on 30 June 2011 at 8.00 in the evening. Almost half the viewers (2)__________ [watch] BBC1 and the remaining 50 per cent were divided more or less equally between the other three channels. Grammar for IELTS Exam practice: Writing Task 1 Unit 2 You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. The graph below shows how elderly people in Europe spent their free time between 1980 and 2010. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words. Writing exam tip: When describing visual information in Task 1, it is important to think about what tenses you w ill need. If the diagram includes time references (dates, years) you w ill need a range of past and present tenses. If the graph has no past time reference, you w ill need to use the present simple tense only. Free time activities of the elderly in Europe from 1980 to the present % -♦— Reading ■ •— Hiking - • — Theatre -*— Playing sport -#— Surfing the Internet Now compare your answer with the model answer and think about how you could improve yours. Free time 1 3 3 Fame Past perfect tense I Past perfect continuous I used to I would The following forms are used to talk about the past in addition to the past simple tense. Past perfect: The past perfect is used to talk about: One completed action that happened before another action in the past. The past perfect is used for the first action Before he became the 2010 world swimming champion nobody had heard of James Collins. Every newspaper and TV channel in the USA wanted to interview Neil Armstrong after he had landed on the moon. Past perfect continuous: The past perfect continuous is used to talk about: Something that started in the past and continued up to a certain point in the past The journalists had been waiting for over an The Beatles had been playing together for hour by the time the President arrived at the years before they became famous, palace. Used to: Used to is used to talk about: Past states and habits The Spanish Royal family used to be more removed from public life than they are at present. Dickinson used to work in a department store before he became the owner of a fashion chain in Australia. Note: In the negative and question form, used to becomes use to. Would: Would is used to talk about: The typical activities of a person or people in the past. It should be used for repeated actions and not state and is almost always used in the positive form only In the 1930s Hollywood stars would give regular interviews in magazines and newspapers to promote new movies. Before publishing companies, writers would often pay for their own printing and distribution costs. See page 116 in the Grammar reference for more information. Grammar for IELTS