IELTS: Let’s get complex

7th February 2022

Indeed, this week the language schools reopen in Sai Gon after an incredibly long break due to the COVID pandemic.

Furthermore, Tet Holiday has just finished so time to put your noses to the grindstone and get back to work.

Thus, some warm up games to practise using complex sentences.

First up, tell me about a member of your family using a relative pronoun for a subordinate clause. This means, in a nutshell, adding extra information about a subject.

EXAMPLE:

My uncle lives in Singapore.

My uncle, who is a doctor, lives in Singapore.

My uncle, who is a doctor and works at a private clinic which is extremely expensive, lives in Singapore.

My uncle, who lives in Singapore, is a doctor and works at a private clinic which is extremely expensive.

If you want to pass IELTS with flying colours, and why wouldn’t you, forming complex sentences is imperative. After all, if you don’t employ such sentences, you will not get high marks for grammatical range and accuracy.

So what are you waiting for ? I give you two minutes … Go !

Vocabulary Bank

Expressions to help you give more colour and complexity to your answers:

Positive

a heart of gold (My mother has a heart of gold)

firm but fair

life and soul of the party

a little angel / is as good as gold

he looks out for me / he has my back

never has a bad word to say about anybody

is a good sport

Negative

a real tiger mum

won’t listen to reason

is a bit of a wallflower

is a little devil / looks like butter wouldn’t melt in (his or her) mouth

drinks like a fish

is a real prima donna

is very touchy, can’t take a joke

For Top Cats: look at these pictures and give me astounding, jaw-droppingly brilliant complex sentences. Because I have a heart of gold, allow me to offer an example.

My close friend Pete, who lives in Birmingham which is the second biggest city in the UK, plays bass guitar in a band called The Deep Six. Pete, who is a good sport, never has a bad word to say about anyone, in fact he always looks out for me when I go to visit him because my London accent makes me stand out. However, and I’m sure he won’t mind me spilling the beans, he enjoys a beer or two. To be honest, he drinks like a fish although he can still play which I find truly amazing. Cheers, Pete, keep on rocking.

Piece of cake, yeah ? OK, impress me. Don’t be afraid to use your imagination … GO !

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