What is IELTS?

What is IELTS?
IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System. IELTS exam is designed to assess the English proficiency of a candidate who wants to study or get some sort of training programme in a college or university or wants to migrate to an English-speaking county. IELTS provides a profile of a candidate's English proficiency and the profile contains an indication of a candidate's ability in a particular module as well as an indication of overall ability.

IELTS is recognised by universities and employers in many countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the USA. It is also recognised by professional bodies, immigration authorities and other government agencies

INDEFINITE ARTICLE

A / AN

Use 'a' with nouns starting with a consonant (letters that are not vowels),

'an' with nouns starting with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u)

Examples:

A boy

An apple

A car

An orange

A house

An opera

NOTE:

An before an h mute - an hour, an honour.

A before u and eu when they sound like 'you': a european, a university, a

unit

The indefinite article is used:

l to refer to something for the first time:

An elephant and a mouse fell in love.

Would you like a drink?

I've finally got a good job.

l to refer to a particular member of a group or class

Examples:

m with names of jobs:

John is a doctor.

Mary is training to be an engineer.

He wants to be a dancer.

m with nationalities and religions:

John is an Englishman.

Kate is a Catholic.

m with musical instruments:

Sherlock Holmes was playing a violin when the visitor arrived.

(BUT to describe the activity we say "He plays the violin.")

m with names of days:

I was born on a Thursday

l to refer to a kind of, or example of something:

the mouse had a tiny nose

the elephant had a long trunk

it was a very strange car

l with singular nouns, after the words 'what' and 'such':

What a shame!

She's such a beautiful girl.

l meaning 'one', referring to a single object or person:

I'd like an orange and two lemons please.

The burglar took a diamond necklace and a valuable painting.

Notice also that we usually say a hundred, a thousand, a million.

NOTE: that we use 'one' to add emphasis or to contrast with other numbers:

I don't know one person who likes eating elephant meat.

We've got six computers but only one printer.

NOUNS

a. Country: I live in England.

b. Adjective: He reads English literature.

c. Noun: She is an Englishwoman

Africa America Argentina Austria Autralia Bangladesh Belgium Brazil Britain Cambodia Chile China Colombia Croatia the Czech Denmark England Finland France Germany Greece Holland Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel

African American Argentinian Austrian an Australian Bangladesh Belgian a Brazilian British a Cambodian Chilean Chinese Colombian Croatian Republic Czech Danish English Finnish French German Greek Dutch Hungarian Icelandic Indian Indonesian Iranian Iraqi Irish Israeli

an African an American an Argentinian Austrian an Australian (i) a Bangladeshi Belgian a Brazilian Briton/Britisher a Cambodian a Chilean a Chinese a Colombian a Croat a Czech a Dane an Englishman  /Englishwoman a Finn a Frenchman/Frenchwoman a German a Greek a Dutchman/Dutchwoman a Hungarian an Icelander an Indian an Indonesian an Iranian an Iraqi an Irishman/Irishwoman an Israeli

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

COMPARATIVE + THAN

To compare the difference between two people, things or events.

Examples:

l Mt. Everest is higher than Mt. Blanc.

l Thailand is sunnier than Norway.

l A car is more expensive than a bicycle.

l Albert is more intelligent than Arthur.

AS + ADJECTIVE + AS

To compare people, places, events or things, when there is no difference,

use as + adjective + as:

l Peter is 24 years old. John is 24 years old. Peter is as old as John.

More examples:

l Moscow is as cold as St. Petersburg in the winter.

l Ramona is as happy as Raphael.

l Einstein is as famous as Darwin.

l A tiger is as dangerous as a lion.

NOT AS + ADJECTIVE + AS

Difference can also be shown by using not so/as ...as:

l Mont Blanc is not as high as Mount Everest

l Norway is not as sunny as Thailand

l A bicycle is not as expensive as a car

l Arthur is not as intelligent as Albert

COMPARISONS OF QUANTITY

To show difference: more, less, fewer + than

To show no difference: as much as , as many as, as few as, as little as

To show difference: more, less, fewer + than

Examples:

With countable nouns: more / fewer

l Eloise has more children than Chantal.

l Chantal has fewer children than Eloise.

l There are fewer dogs in Cardiff than in Bristol

l I have visited fewer countries than my friend has.

l He has read fewer books than she has.

With uncountable nouns: more / less

l Eloise has more money than Chantal.

l Chantal has less money than Eloise.

l I spend less time on homework than you do.

l Cats drink less water than dogs.

l This new dictionary gives more information than the old one.

So, the rule is:

MORE + nouns that are countable or uncountable

FEWER + countable nouns

LESS + uncountable nouns

INTERROGATIVE ADVERBS

These are:

why, where, how, when

They are usually placed at the beginning of a question.

Examples:

l Why are you so late?

l Where is my passport?

l How are you?

l How much is that coat?

l When does the train arrive?

Notice that how can be used in four different ways:

1. meaning 'in what way?':

How did you make this sauce?

How do you start the car?

2. with adjectives:

How tall are you?

How old is your house?

3. with much and many:

How much are these tomatoes?

How many people are coming to the party?

4. with other adverbs:

How quickly can you read this?

How often do you go to London?