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Speaking tips

How to prepare for the IELTS Speaking test, tips and techniques that helped test takers improve and raise their score

10 expressions to help you get Band 7+ in IELTS (Lesson 4)

You may have already learnt the idioms from Lesson 3, and well done if you have! But even if you only joined us now, it’s all good – you can start from any lesson, as they are all useful, and catch up later on the lessons you missed.

Why use idiomatic expressions in IELTS Speaking or Writing? Because they help you get a higher score. In these vocabulary lessons we introduce some idioms you could use, and teach you how to use them appropriately.

In today’s lesson video Adam, an ex-IELTS examiner with 10 years of experience, gives you 10 more excellent idioms to use, to get a Band 7 or higher score in your IELTS Speaking or Writing test. Adam explains what every expression means and how to use it in a sentence.

Click here to start the lesson and do a quick quiz

In the lesson click “Watch” to watch the lesson and then click “Think” to answer 10 questions on it.
If you make a mistake, the lesson will take you to the correct answer in the video. Video hints work on desktop computers, on mobile devices you will just see the correct/incorrect answers.

IELTS Vocabulary Lesson 4

If you’d like to copy and save these useful expressions for later, here is a list, have a look at the idioms below and ask yourself two questions:

Question 1. Do you know what they mean?
Question 2. Can you use them in a sentence?

And then make a sentence about YOU and use one of those expressions. By doing that you are more likely to remember that idiom, because we tend to remember personal things better!

Go here to check YOUR own Speaking score.

10 expressions to help you get a Band 7 in IELTS

1. To be on the ball
2. To pull someone’s leg
3. To pull yourself together
4. So far so good
5. To be the last/final straw
6. The best of both worlds
7. Time flies when you’re having fun
8. To get bent out of shape
9. To make matters worse
10. To be under the weather

IELTS grammar: when to use the Present Perfect (and how it is different from the Simple Past)

In this week’s video Adam is talking about the Present Perfect tense, that you would use to describe experiences. Why experiences? Because that is the most popular and common use of the Present Perfect! What are experiences? They are things you’ve done, places where you’ve been, meetings with famous people that you’ve had, and so on.

Today Adam will show you the differences between Simple Past and Present Perfect, and after watching this lesson you won’t be making mistakes or mixing these tenses up – you will know when to use the Simple Past, and when to use the Present Perfect. So if you know in theory what Simple Past and Present Perfect are, but you’re often unsure which one to use and when, this video is perfect for you! Getting rid of mistakes in verb tenses will help you score Band 7 or higher in IELTS.

Watch the video on YouTube here

 

Go here to check YOUR own Speaking score

A quick recap from the video:

– I tried sushi (Simple Past)
– I tried sushi last year (again, Simple Past)
– I have tried sushi (Present Perfect)
– I have tried sushi last year (Using a time expression with Present Perfect is a No-No!)

And now to the difference between the Simple Past and Present Perfect.

The Simple Past is about things that were done and finished in the past, before this conversation started. This is its key characteristic – the actions are 100% finished.

Some examples:
– I woke up early this morning.
– I ate breakfast.
– I went to bed late last night.

The actions in the Present Perfect do not feel ‘certainly finished’.

“I have received many good comments so far.” This sentence means that some comments were already received, and some more may be received in the future.

If we say in the Simple Past “We didn’t receive any good comments on it.”, we mean there weren’t good comments in the past and that’s it, there won’t be any good comments in the future.

Some more examples to show how to use the Present Perfect for experiences:
– I have been to Canada.
– I have seen that new movie.
– I have met that celebrity.

Also in the video – Adam explains the grammatical structure of a sentence in Present Perfect that says something positive, something negative or how to ask a question in the Present Perfect.

And now it is time for a quiz!

How perfect is your your knowledge of the Present Perfect?