Grammar is the backbone of effective communication in English. While IELTS assesses a range of skills, your ability to use grammar accurately and appropriately plays a significant role in your overall score, especially in the Writing and Speaking sections.
Many test-takers, even those with decent English proficiency, fall prey to common grammatical errors that can severely impact their scores. These aren’t always complex structures; sometimes, they are fundamental mistakes that undermine the clarity and credibility of your English.
In this post, we’ll highlight 4 of the most frequent and damaging grammar mistakes we see in IELTS test-takers’ writing and speaking, and crucially, how you can identify and fix them.
Let’s dive in!
Mistake 1: Subject-Verb Agreement Errors
This is perhaps one of the most basic, yet persistent, errors. Subject-verb agreement means that a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb. Sounds simple, right? However, things get tricky with certain sentence structures or collective nouns.
Why it matters: Incorrect subject-verb agreement makes your sentences sound unnatural and indicates a lack of fundamental grammatical control, directly impacting your Grammatical Range and Accuracy (GRA) score.
Common pitfalls & Examples:
- Singular subjects followed by phrases: When a singular subject is followed by a phrase (like a prepositional phrase) containing a plural noun, test-takers often incorrectly make the verb plural.
- Incorrect: The number of students are increasing rapidly. (The subject is “number”, which is singular).
- Correct: The number of students is increasing rapidly.
- Incorrect: One of the main problems are pollution. (The subject is “One”).
- Correct: One of the main problems is pollution.
- Collective Nouns: Words like “government,” “family,” “team,” “majority” can be treated as singular (as a single unit) or plural (as individual members), but you need to be consistent within a sentence or piece of writing. In IELTS, treating them as singular is often the safest and most common approach, especially in Writing Task 2.
- Correct (common usage): The government has announced new regulations.
- Correct (focusing on members): The government are divided on the issue. (Less common in formal writing).
- Subjects joined by “and” vs. “or”: Subjects joined by “and” are usually plural. Subjects joined by “or” or “nor” take a verb that agrees with the nearest subject.
- Correct: Both the cost and the time are factors.
- Correct: Either the teacher or the students are responsible.
- Correct: Either the students or the teacher is responsible.
How to fix: Always identify the true subject of the sentence before choosing the verb form. Ignore phrases that come between the subject and the verb. Review rules for collective nouns and conjunctions.
Mistake 2: Incorrect or Missing Articles (a, an, the)
Articles are small words, but they carry significant meaning regarding whether you are talking about a specific thing or a general thing. Errors with ‘a’, ‘an’, and ‘the’ are incredibly common for non-native speakers and can make your English sound unnatural.
Why it matters: Frequent article errors detract from the clarity of your communication and signal a lack of control over one of English’s most fundamental grammatical features.
Common pitfalls & Examples:
- Missing articles before singular countable nouns: Every singular countable noun must have an article or another determiner (like ‘my’, ‘this’) before it.
- Incorrect: Technology plays important role in modern life. (“role” is singular countable).
- Correct: Technology plays an important role in modern life.
- Incorrect: I need to find good book for my studies. (“book” is singular countable).
- Correct: I need to find a good book for my studies.
- Using ‘the’ with general nouns (when you mean ‘all’ or ‘any’): ‘The’ is used for specific nouns. Don’t use ‘the’ when talking about something in general.
- Incorrect: The pollution is a global problem. (Meaning pollution in general).
- Correct: Pollution is a global problem.
- Incorrect: The happiness is more important than money. (Meaning happiness in general).
- Correct: Happiness is more important than money.
- (Note: Sometimes ‘the’ is used with general nouns for abstract concepts or categories, e.g., ‘the rich’, ‘the poor’, ‘the internet’, ‘the environment’, but this is specific usage).
- Incorrectly using ‘a’ vs. ‘an’: Remember ‘an’ is used before a vowel sound, not just a vowel letter.
- Incorrect: It is a urgent matter. (‘urgent’ starts with a vowel sound /ɜː/).
- Correct: It is an urgent matter.
- Incorrect: He works for an university. (‘university’ starts with a consonant sound /jʊ/).
- Correct: He works for a university.
How to fix: Pay close attention to whether nouns are singular/plural, countable/uncountable, and whether you are referring to something specific or general. Practice exercises focused purely on articles. Read extensively and notice how native speakers use articles.
Mistake 3: Inconsistent Tense Usage
Maintaining a consistent tense throughout a piece of writing or a spoken response is crucial for clarity. Shifting between tenses without a logical reason confuses the reader/listener.
Why it matters: Inconsistent tenses make your communication difficult to follow and suggest a lack of control over verb forms and time references, significantly lowering your GRA score. This is especially detrimental in Writing Task 1 (describing trends over time) and Speaking Part 2 (telling a story).
Common pitfalls & Examples:
- Mixing past and present in narratives: When telling a story or describing a past event, stick to past tenses unless you are specifically referring to the present result or a general truth.
- Incorrect (Speaking Part 2): Yesterday, I go to the park, and then I met my friend. We talk for an hour.
- Correct: Yesterday, I went to the park, and then I met my friend. We talked for an hour.
- Shifting tenses when describing trends (Writing Task 1): Be careful when comparing different time periods or describing changes.
- Incorrect: In 2000, the figure was 10%, but by 2010, it reaches 20%.
- Correct: In 2000, the figure was 10%, but by 2010, it had reached 20%. (Using past perfect to show an action completed before a point in the past). Or: “From 2000 to 2010, the figure rose from 10% to 20%.”
- Inconsistent tenses within sentences: Ensure verbs in different clauses logically relate in time.
- Incorrect: If I have studied harder, I would pass the exam. (Incorrect conditional structure and tense mix).
- Correct: If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam.
How to fix: Decide on the main tense you will use before you start writing or speaking for a particular part. Be mindful of time markers (yesterday, in 2010, currently, by 2025). If you change tense, make sure there is a clear grammatical or logical reason (e.g., switching from past simple to present perfect to show connection to the present).
Mistake 4: Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices
Trying to connect too many ideas without proper punctuation or conjunctions results in run-on sentences or comma splices.
- Run-on Sentence: Two or more independent clauses (complete sentences) are joined together with no punctuation or conjunction.
- Example: Pollution is a serious problem it affects everyone in the city.
- Comma Splice: Two or more independent clauses are joined only by a comma.
- Example: Pollution is a serious problem, it affects everyone in the city.
Why it matters: These errors make your writing difficult to read and understand. They show you lack control over sentence structure and punctuation, severely affecting your GRA score and Coherence and Cohesion score in Writing.
How to fix: There are several ways to correct run-on sentences and comma splices:
- Use a period (.): Separate the independent clauses into two distinct sentences.
- Correct: Pollution is a serious problem. It affects everyone in the city.
- Use a semicolon (;): Join two closely related independent clauses (use when the second clause explains or adds to the first).
- Correct: Pollution is a serious problem; it affects everyone in the city.
- Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So):
- Correct: Pollution is a serious problem, and it affects everyone in the city.
- Correct: Studying requires discipline, but it is essential for success.
- Use a semicolon and a transitional phrase (followed by a comma): (e.g., however, therefore, in addition, for example)
- Correct: Pollution is a serious problem; therefore, governments must take action.
- Use a subordinating conjunction: Turn one independent clause into a dependent clause (e.g., because, although, while, since, if, when).
- Correct: Because pollution is a serious problem, it affects everyone in the city.
- Correct: Pollution is a serious problem that affects everyone in the city. (Using a relative pronoun)
How to fix: When reviewing your writing, consciously look for commas joining two complete sentences or sentences that seem to run on too long without proper breaks. Understand the function of periods, semicolons, and coordinating/subordinating conjunctions.
Why Focusing on These Mistakes is Crucial for IELTS
Mastering these four types of errors will significantly improve your Grammatical Range and Accuracy (GRA) score in both Writing and Speaking. Correcting these fundamental flaws allows you to use more complex structures accurately, which is key to achieving a higher score (Band 6+ and above). It also improves the clarity and flow of your ideas, positively impacting other scoring criteria like Coherence and Cohesion.
Tips for Eliminating These Errors
- Targeted Practice: Don’t just do general grammar exercises. Find exercises specifically designed to practice subject-verb agreement, article usage, tense consistency, and sentence combining.
- Active Proofreading: After writing an essay or practicing speaking points, actively look for these specific types of errors. Read your writing aloud – this often helps you hear where sentences run on or sound awkward.
- Get Feedback: Ask a teacher, tutor, or advanced English speaker to review your work and highlight grammar errors, especially these common ones.
- Use Tools Wisely: Grammar checkers (like Grammarly) can catch some of these errors, but don’t rely on them completely. Understand why the tool suggests a correction so you learn the rule.
- Review the Basics: Periodically go back and review the fundamental rules of English grammar.
Conclusion
Eliminating common grammar mistakes is a vital step towards achieving your target IELTS score. While complex grammar is important for higher bands, accuracy in fundamental areas provides a strong foundation and prevents basic errors from lowering your score.
By focusing on identifying and correcting subject-verb agreement errors, article mistakes, tense inconsistencies, and run-on sentences/comma splices, you can significantly improve your overall grammatical accuracy and make your English clearer and more natural.
Keep practicing diligently, pay close attention to detail, and use the resources available on ieltspracticeonline.com to sharpen your grammar skills. Good luck with your preparation!
