Typical IELTS Errors of Students

What makes a response confusing is the grammatical errors one does in a response. In the IELTS or the International English Language Testing System examination, grammar mistakes are a deadly sin. Candidates are prone to getting lower scores in speaking and writing when grammar is poor. Thus, it is very important for any IELTS candidates to review on their grammar rules prior to taking the test.

There are a lot of English grammar rules that some are already confusing to understand. In an IELTS online review class, grammar is also included in the training. Further, IELTS online training covers basic grammar rules to refresh the minds of the students. Instead of discussing grammar, here are common grammatical errors students commit in the IELTS exam.

1. Subject and verb agreement

The general rule should always be followed: a singular subject has to have a singular verb. Subject and verb agreement is composed of many rules and exceptions; however, the best thing to do is to look at the subject of your sentence and decide whether what verb to use.

Example:

The president, together with his advisers, ____ (has/have) a meeting in the room every Thursday. With the example, we look at the subject president which is a singular subject. Thus, the verb has should agree with the subject.

2. Misplaced apostrophes

Are you giving an example of a possessive or you are using contractions on your sentence. Misplaced apostrophes have long been an issue in writing and definitely needs to be corrected. When using an apostrophe, always check the word that follows.

Examples:
The pen’s are for sale. Here, the apostrophe should not be used since s does not signify a possessive for. It is for the pluralization of the word pen. It should be The pens are for sale.

The mans arm is broken. In his sentence, the word man needs an apostrophe to show possession. Thus, the sentence should be written as The man’s arm is broken.

3. Quantifiers fewer and less

Fewer is used for countable nouns while less is used for non-count nouns.

Examples:

We have fewer visitors today compared last month.

There are fewer versions of these toys in the market today.

There was less oil used in the pasta.

Less interest was shown for the project.

4. Misplaced modifiers

It is a rule to place modifiers, words or phrases that describe a particular noun in the sentence, near the nouns they are describing. Failure to do so results to misplaced modifiers.

Examples:

Glazed with honey, the waitress happily placed the chicken on the table.

Who was glazed with honey? The waitress or the chicken? This brings confusion to the reader. To correct this, the modifier should be placed near the noun it modifies. Glazed with honey, the chicken was laid on top of the table.

Mom gave the burgers to the kids on paper towels.

Are the kids standing on paper towels?

Mom gave the burgers on paper towels to the kids.

5. Overuse of commas

Commas follow certain rules on when to be used in a sentence.

a.

To separate series of things
I bought some apples, oranges, pears, and lemons in the supermarket. Ted was really full after eating some chicken, salad, and pies.

b.

To separate two independent clauses
She came home late, so she was scolded by her aunt. My mother is very kind, and I learned a lot of great lessons in life from her.

c.

To separate an introductory phrase or word
Before breakfast, I always do yoga. In summer, we would always go to the river and swim.

These are common mistakes, yet they can cause deductions from scores. IELTS online preparation review helps students avoid committing these mistakes. Further, with the IELTS online training, one can better not only their skills for the IELTS but also their grammar skills.