IELTS Preparation Series 3, Episode 11: Grammatical Range in the Speaking Test
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Hello, and welcome to Study English, IELTS Preparation. I'm Margot Politis.
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Knowing how to compare and contrast is something you are likely to need for the IELTS Speaking
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Test.
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There are a number of grammatical structures that you can use to make comparisons and express
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differences.
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Listen to this candidate comparing and contrasting his teachers:
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What differences in teaching styles have you experienced with different teachers?
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Well, I think, you have to make a difference between a teacher's knowledge and personal
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style. Some teachers, you know, are very knowledgeable and have a lot of experience and everything.
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Both my history and science teachers knew their subjects really well, but my maths teacher,
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who was much older - maybe that's why - just didn't have the skills to convey all that
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to the students. If I were to compare all my classes, I would say his were the most
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boring. My history teacher, on the other hand, he knew how to communicate to students and
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his lessons were more enjoyable and we learnt faster.
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He said that "both my history and science teachers knew their subjects".
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He uses the word 'both' to say 'the two together'. They're similar in the way they know a lot
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about their subjects. He then contrasts them to the maths teacher by using the word 'but'.
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Listen:
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Both my history and science teachers knew their subjects really well, but my maths teacher,
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who was much older - maybe that's why - just didn't have the skills to convey all that
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to the students.
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To justify the contrast he compares the ages of the teachers. The maths teacher is much
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older. Older is a comparative adjective. Someone who is 50 is older than someone who is 40.
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'Much older' is a way of saying the difference is larger - someone who is 80 is much older
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than someone who is 40.
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He also compares the teaching styles of his teachers:
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If I were to compare all my classes, I would say his were the most boring.
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This time he uses the superlative - the most boring, because he is comparing more than
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2 things. He does this using a conditional 'if' sentence which is a polite way of criticising
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someone:
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If I were to compare all my classes, I would say his were the most boring.
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He goes on to talk about his history teacher. How does he show that he is comparing him
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to the boring maths teacher? My history teacher, on the other hand, he
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knew how to communicate to students and his lessons were more enjoyable and we learnt
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faster.
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He says 'on the other hand' to show that he is now talking about a different style of
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teaching. And again he uses comparative forms - more enjoyable and faster - to express this
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difference.
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Now listen to another candidate responding to a question designed to encourage her to
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compare and contrast:
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Is it better to grow up in the city or in the countryside?
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Well, I think that, mm, both places have their pros and cons. I've grown up in a city, and
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I've lived in a city all my life. And sometimes when I see those families who have their kids
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in the countryside I envy them, because they can run about, you know. They are free and
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the environment is cleaner and safer, but then, on the other hand, you know, living