TRANSCRIPT

EPISODE 11: GRAMMATICAL RANGE IN THE SPEAKING TEST

Hello, and welcome to Study English, IELTS Preparation. I'm Margot Politis.
Knowing how to compare and contrast is something you are likely to need for the
IELTS Speaking Test.
There are a number of grammatical structures that you can use to make comparisons
and express differences.
Listen to this candidate comparing and contrasting his teachers:
What differences in teaching styles have you experienced with different teachers?
Well, I think, you have to make a difference between a teacher's knowledge and
personal style. Some teachers, you know, are very knowledgeable and have a lot of
experience and everything. Both my history and science teachers knew their subjects
really well, but my maths teacher, who was much older - maybe that's why - just
didn't have the skills to convey all that to the students. If I were to compare all my
classes, I would say his were the most boring. My history teacher, on the other hand,
he knew how to communicate to students and his lessons were more enjoyable and
we learnt faster.
He said that "both my history and science teachers knew their subjects."
He uses the word 'both' to say 'the two together'. They're similar in the way they
know a lot about their subjects. He then contrasts them to the maths teacher by
using the word 'but'. Listen:
Both my history and science teachers knew their subjects really well, but my maths
teacher, who was much older - maybe that's why - just didn't have the skills to
convey all that to the students.
To justify the contrast he compares the ages of the teachers. The maths teacher is
much older. Older is a comparative adjective. Someone who is 50 is older than
someone who is 40. 'Much older' is a way of saying the difference is larger
someone who is 80 is much older than someone who is 40.
He also compares the teaching styles of his teachers:
If I were to compare all my classes, I would say his were the most boring.
This time he uses the superlative - the most boring, because he is comparing more
than 2 things. He does this using a conditional 'if' sentence which is a polite way of
criticising someone:
If I were to compare all my classes, I would say his were the most boring.
He goes on to talk about his history teacher. How does he show that he is
comparing him to the boring maths teacher?

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My history teacher, on the other hand, he knew how to communicate to students and
his lessons were more enjoyable and we learnt faster.
He says 'on the other hand' to show that he is now talking about a different style of
teaching. And again he uses comparative forms - more enjoyable and faster - to
express this difference.
Now listen to another candidate responding to a question designed to encourage her
to compare and contrast:
Is it better to grow up in the city or in the countryside?
Well, I think that, mm, both places have their pros and cons. I've grown up in a city,
and I've lived in a city all my life. And sometimes when I see those families who have
their kids in the countryside I envy them, because they can run about, you know.
They are free and the environment is cleaner and safer, but then, on the other hand,
you know, living in a city gives you other, um, opportunities to socialise, have more
contact with culture, and better opportunities for education. So, I don't know. It's
difficult to say. Both things have advantages and disadvantages.
She begins by saying that "both places have their pros and cons". Saying 'both'
means she is referring to the city and the country. Pros and cons is an idiom
meaning advantages and disadvantages. Then she establishes that her point of view
is that of a city person:
I've grown up in a city, and I've lived in a city all my life.
Then she says what the advantages - the pros - of living in the country are:
Sometimes when I see those families who have their kids in the countryside I envy
them, because they can run about, you know. They are free and the environment is
cleaner and safer
The advantages are that in the country you can run about and be free. She also
uses the comparative adjectives 'cleaner' and 'safer' to describe the country
compared to the city.
Often you use comparatives with 'than' a word that means 'in comparison with'.
The country is cleaner than the city.
She chooses to contrast with the word 'but' and talk about the advantages of living in
the city:
They are free and the environment is cleaner and safer, but then, on the other hand,
you know, living in a city gives you other, um, opportunities to socialise, have more
contact with culture, and better opportunities for education.
Like the previous candidate, she uses the phrase 'on the other hand' to show she is
talking about something different - the city.
And again she uses the language of comparison, this time the irregular
comparative form of good, 'better'.

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Listen again:
They are free and the environment is cleaner and safer, but then, on the other hand,
you know, living in a city gives you other, um, opportunities to socialise, have more
contact with culture, and better opportunities for education.
Now let's listen to the way she rounds off her comparison of city and country living:
So, I don't know. It's difficult to say. Both things have advantages and disadvantages.
She ends by saying both have advantages and disadvantages which means that
one isn't better than the other. You don't have to say that one thing is better than
another if you don't think so. The phrase for this is 'as good as'. She thinks that the
country is as good as the city.
The structures you use to compare things in the speaking test are assessed as
grammatical range and accuracy, one of the IELTS marking criteria. Other things
that are assessed in this area are the number of mistakes you make and the range of
sentence types you use.
Don't be overly concerned about being perfectly correct all the time. Some mistakes
will occur in your speech.
It's good to review the rules for forming comparatives.
One syllable words have the er comparative form: big, bigger
You need to memorise the forms for 2 syllable words because they can be either er
or have 'more' before them: narrow, narrower
useful, more useful
Words of 3 syllables and longer have the 'more' form:
intelligent, more intelligent
spectacular, more spectacular
You can emphasise the degree of difference and say 'much older'.
With 'more intelligent', you say 'much more intelligent' and with 'more
spectacular', you say 'much more spectacular'.
And don't forget to review irregular comparative adjectives like:
good, better
bad, worse
far, further or farther
Whenever a question has a comparative adjective in it, you can be confident that
you are expected to reply with the language of comparison.
That's all for now. To find more information about grammatical range and accuracy
in the Speaking Test visit our Study English website. The address is:
australianetwork.com/studyenglish.
Good Luck with your studies. Bye.

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