Tng hp bi Mysheo.

com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

Cch dng t trong IELTS Writing

1. Is advice countable ?
Advice is uncountable. Therefore, it's incorrect to use advices. However,
you can still use some along with advice.
For example:
+ Can you give me a piece of advice?
+ Can you give me some advice?
+ Can you give me your advice?
WRONG:
+ Thanks for your advices?

2. Past tense of hang out ?

For example, how to say this sentence in the past "Peter and I always hang
out for football over the weekend"
You should say HUNG OUT. Hence, it should be: "Peter and I always hung
out for football over the weekend"
HANGED OUT is used in the sense of "to put someone to death by
hanging".

3. Drunk vs Drunken
NOUN:
+ Drunk = A drunkard:
He is a drunk: he always drinks alcohol to the point of impairment of
physical and mental faculties. Drinking has become his habit and he can't
quit.
+ Drunken can't be used as a noun.

1
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

ADJECTIVE:
+ Drunk:
He got drunk yesterday and his parents had to drive him back home. (here
drunk was used after a verb)
He were drunk yesterday. (also drunk was used after a verb) In formal
writing, Drunk shouldn't be used in front of a noun. However there are some
exceptions such as drunk driver and drunk driving since they have been put
into use for a very long time.
For example:
A drunk driver was fined heavily because of the serious damages caused by
him yesterday.
Drunk driving is unacceptable in all the countries.
Bear in mind that a drunken driver is also a correct phrase. The difference
is that the phrase "a drunken driver" only refers to a driver who got drunk
and "a drunk driver" refers to a driver whose alcohol level exceeds the
legal limit.
+ Drunken:
A drunken student ruined the whole graduation ceremony.
As you can see Drunken can also be used as an adjective as Drunk. The
difference is that Drunken should be used in front of a noun whereas
Drunk should be used after a verb.
VERB:
+ Drunk: Past participle of drink
They have drunk only vodka since they came to the party.
+ Drunken: can't be as a verb.

4. At any time and Anytime

According to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, at any time and
anytime all mean the same.
2
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

Correct
Call me anytime.
We should arrive anytime between 5 and 6 p.m.
Call me at any time.
Can I call you at any time of the day?
People don't use at anytime. Example: Call me at anytime

5. Assume and Presume.

Assume: To take for granted or without proof
Presume: To take for granted as being true in the absence of proof to the
contrary.
As can be seen from the definitions above, there is almost no difference
between Assume and Presume. Actually, the difference lies in the degree of
certainty. Assume is used when your guesses are absolutely not based on
any evidence. Presume is used when you have got more information about
the associated events and you are quite sure with your guesses.
Examples:
Teacher: I assume you all have prepared for the upcoming exam at the end
of this week. (He doesn't know if they have prepared or not)
Friend: I saw you came back from the party very late last night. I
presume you haven't prepared for today's lectures. (Because I knew my
friend didn't come back early yesterday to prepare for the lectures tomorrow,
I'm quite sure he knows nothing about the lectures' content)

6. Bare with me Bear with me

Bear with me is a standard expression used as a request for forbearance
or patience.
3
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

Ex: Please bear with me a moment so I can find the homework exercise
for you!
Bare with me would be an invitation to undress.

7. As Late As
Let's consider the following example:
As late as yesterday night, John was still working on his research paper
which would be due today morning.
From the above example, you can see that the phrase As Late As implies the
meaning of "surprising Late." Even though today morning is the deadline for
John to submit his research paper, he couldn't finish it early and was working
on it yesterday night.

8. As Early As
The early history of the automobile can be divided into a number of eras,
based on the prevalent means of propulsion. Later periods were defined by
trends in exterior styling, size, and utility preferences.
In 1769 the first steam powered auto-mobile capable of human transportation
was built by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot.[1]:14
From the above example, you can see that the phrase As Early As implies
the meaning of "surprising early". Without this, we might have thought the
invention of automobiles or cars had not been that long ago. Roughly, we
could have imagined it started in the 19th century, not the 18th century.
However, the fact is that it started much longer than that.

9. Equipment vs Equipments
4
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

According to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, EQUIPMENT is

uncountable. Hence, it's incorrect to use EQUIPMENTS. Rather, you
should use "Pieces of Equipment".
Bear in mind that you will find a great number of online articles using
EQUIPMENTS. Mostly, these articles are related to engineering subjects.
For academic writing, especially for IELTS exams, it's best to use
EQUIPMENT as an uncountable noun.

10.

Elder VS Elderly

Elder is used for someone who is superior to another or others.

Example:
My elder brother has got married. (talking about my brother who is older
than I am but not necessarily an old man)
The elder lecturers in my university were really experienced. (talking
about the lecturers who had got long years of work experience. It's not
necessary that they had to be old people. They were just people who had
worked there for a really long period of time compared to the others)
Elderly is used for AGED people.
Example:
His elderly brother has passed away. (talking about his brother who might
be either older or younger than he is and DEFINITELY an old man)
The phrase "The elderly" is used to refer to a group of old citizens.

11.

UPSTAIRS vs UPSTAIR

According to TheFreeDictionary.com, UPSTAIR can only be used as an

adjective. For example: The upstair rooms in my house are very big.
5
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

Whereas UPSTAIRS can be used as a noun, an adjective and an adverb.

( Dictionary.com )
For example:
The upstairs of this house is entirely rented. (NOUN)
Please go upstairs for our meeting! (ADVERB)
You can get discounts for the upstairs apartment. (ADJECTIVE)
However, UPSTAIRS is the word that people use more frequently. In my
opinion, UPSTAIR sounds a bit poetic.

12.

LEFT OFF meaning

Example:
LECTURER: Let us start off our lecture by finishing what we left off
yesterday.
=> Yesterday the lecturer couldn't finish the lecture because of time
constraints. Hence, the lecturer wanted to finish what he hadn't taught
before going into the new lecture.
DICTIONARY: thefreedictionary.com
leave off (doing something): to stop doing something. Ex: Mr. Summers
finally left off talking and returned to his seat.
leave off something: to forget or omit something. Ex: All the names
beginning with "R" were left off the list.

13.

On weekdays or at weekdays

Since this is a very popular question for which people also ask for the
prepositions to use along with "weekend", we will show you the examples
on how to use both weekdays and weekend.
Correct:
On weekdays
During the week
At the weekend
6
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

On the weekend
Over the weekend
Incorrect:
In weekdays
In the weekend
Examples:
On weekdays, he never goes to class and on the weekend, he always goes
to bars. Hence, he always gets bad marks in exams.
She has to work from the early morning to the late evening so she always
feels tired during the week and over the weekend she always stays at home
to recover.

14.

On the other hand or in the other hand

On the other hand is the correct idiom to use in English. It means

"conversely" or "alternatively".
Example:
On the one hand, you said you didn't have enough time to prepare for the
exam. On the other hand, you went to the party for the whole day.
If you study hard, you can pass the exam. On the other hand, if you keep
playing video games every day, you will definitely fail.
In the other hand is not an idiom in English. It simply means you are
holding something in the "other" hand.

15.

Reward or Award

Reward is used when someone has done something well.

Example:
+ Susan has been rewarded with a her dream job after months of hard work
looking for jobs.
+ Mother: Have you done your homework today?
7
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

Son: Yes, mom. I finished the assignment this morning.

Mother: wowww! (so surprised) I will buy you the bicycle you wanted.
=> The son was rewarded with the bicycle he wanted because of his hard
work.
Award is also used when someone has done something well. The difference
is that this is more formal and an award tends to be something like a
certificate or a medal.
Example:
+ Susan was awarded as the best student in the Mathematics class this
semester.
+ Tom received an award for getting outstanding results in his class.
+ Mr. Sarfraz Munir successfully defended his Doctoral thesis and was
awarded with a PhD degree.

16.

Prices are correct as of

Some have asked this question: what does it mean by Prices are correct
as of May 2012 ?
In many articles, people often use this phrase to indicate how much a
product/service costs. However, prices are often subject to change, they
can't guarantee the prices will be the same.
Hence, it basically means the prices are the same as mentioned in May
2012. After that period, the prices can change.
They have very similar meanings because they both come from Latin and
have the same origin. However, in today's society, the ways they are used
have changed slightly.

17.

Devoted and Dedicated

Devoted is more likely to be used to talk about family or loved ones (WITH
8
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

EMOTIONS) whereas Dedicated is used to talk about work or other

interests (MORE ABOUT COMMITMENT).
For example:
+ He is devoted to teaching.
+ Their parents are devoted to their education.
+ She is devoted to her baby.
+ Peter spent his whole life to write a book which was dedicated to
"Teaching Methodologies".
+ He sang the song which was dedicated to his girlfriend.
+ Her dedication to medicine was so great that she had time for little else.

18.

Following and Below

Following is used to refer to something which will be mentioned right

after what you are talking about. (LOGICAL POSITION)
Below has almost the same meaning. The only difference is that Belowis
used when you are focusing more on the position (in print) of the subject
you are going to mention. (PHYSICAL POSITION)
Example:
1) Following is the list of subjects which are available in this semester.
> Physics
> Maths
2) Below is the list of available subjects in this semester.
> Physics
> Maths
3) The following list of subjects will be known by students at the end of
this month.
> Physics
> Maths
4) The finalised list of available subjects for this semester is
9
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

shownbelow.
> Physics
> Maths
5) To get a higher score in the IELTS exam, please follow the
stepsbelow:
> Practice
> Review
> Take sample tests
WRONG: To get a higher score in the IELTS exam, please follow the
below steps.
CORRECT: To get a higher score in the IELTS exam, please follow
thefollowing steps.

19.

Is there and Are there

They are actually interchangeable. It only depends on the context and

what you are thinking about the subjects.
Following are 2 correct examples:
Is there any difference between "Due To" and "Because Of"?
Are there any differences between "Due To" and "Because Of"?
"There is" is used for singular nouns and "There are" is used for plural
nouns. For example:
There is a very big snake in my room.
There are many IELTS books about how to improve reading skills.

20.
A Variety Of
In general, the phrase A Variety Of is used the same as a number of is
used.
For example:
There are a number of reasons to globalisation.
There are a wide variety of vegetables available in this supermarket.
10
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

There are a variety of IELTS books for you to choose.

However, when you use certain modifiers along with A Variety Of, you
will have to use singular verbs. For example:
Such a wide variety of IELTS books is making confusions to many
students.
The same thing is applied for a number of: There is such a large number
of candidates because of the advertised salary for the job.

21.
Because Of; Due To
For example:
+ Because of the rain, we couldn't play tennis yesterday.
+ He failed the exam because of his carelessness.
+ Because of the late arrival of the train, I missed my exam.
Due To is an adjective. Due To is often followed by a noun/noun phrase.
For example:
+ His absence in class was due to the rain.
+ His success was all due to his hard work during the semester.
In informal speech, we might encounter such improper usage as:
+ His absence was because of the late arrival of the train.
+ He came late due to the heavy rain.

22.

Relate to and Pertain to

+ They almost have the same meaning and can be used interchangeably.

For example:
> These research papers relate to Global Warming which I have been
given as one of my key assignments.
> These research papers pertain to Global Warming which I have been
given as one of my key assignments.
11
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

> I don't think that anything discussed in this meeting pertained to me.
+ However, there are cases in which you should use relate to instead
ofpertain to and vice versa.
Example:
> how does air pollution relate to chemistry? ( it's more about the
relationship between air pollution and chemistry )
> The documents in this briefcase pertain to my court case ( this is not
about the relationship between the documents and my court case but this is
more about the content of the documents which can be used for my court
case )

23. Inform of vs Inform about

This explanation is just our habit of using these words.
+ Inform of: we use this when the whole idea is used as a phrase.
Ex:
> Can you please inform me of Peter's problem?
> Can you inform our teacher of my absence for today's class?
As you can see, we have known something and we want to know more
about it.
+ Inform about: when the detailed information is left out.
Ex:
> Can you inform me about Peter? ( we didn't tell what happened to Peter )
> Can you inform our teacher about me? (we didn't say the person was
absent)
> Can you inform me about what happened to Peter? (we don't know what
happened)
12
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

From the examples, you can see that we haven't known what happened so
we ask those question.
+ Inform someone that is usually used to confirm.
Ex: Please be informed that you have been selected as one of our potential
candidates for the job. (very formal and quite often used in business emails)

24.
Everyone vs Every one
+ Everyone
> means everybody
> is used when you want to refer to all the people in a group.
For example: Peter was angry with everyone after he knew the truth.
+ Every one is used when you are referring to the individuals of a group.
For example: Every one of us must be responsible for the project.

25.

Occur and Incur

Occur: to happen, to take place unexpectedly.

> The lunar eclipse occurred while I was traveling to Australia.
> The corruption of the bank occurred during the 1980s.
Incur: To acquire or come into (something usually undesirable).
> Peter incurred many additional expenses while he was studying abroad.
> Any extra cost will be incurred by the client. (the client will have to pay

26.
Speak to vs Speak with
English is one of the most common language which has been widely used
in many different nations. Hence, there are variations on how to use
English and for our question today, it has been quite a controversial topic.
The explanation below is just our personal recommendation.
Speak to: when the other party tends to only listen.
13
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

From TheFreeDictionary, it is used to address (a person).

Speak to also implies a somewhat sense of authority.
For example:
> Yesterday, he spoke to 1,000 Republicans.
> Peter's father spoke to him because Peter didn't do well in the exam.
From TheFreeDictionary, "speak to someone" can be used when sending
someone away with a flea in his or her ear. Ex: "This is not the first time I
have had to speak to you about your timekeeping."
Speak with seems to be used when referring to a conversation when the
other party actually talks back.
For example: Peter was speaking with his father about his holiday.

27.
Effect and Influence
Affect is a verb.
Ex: Inflation affects the buying power of the dollar.
Effect is a noun.
Ex: The drug had an immediate effect on the pain.
Influence has the same meaning as the word affect.
+ The first difference is that it can be used as a noun or a verb.
+ The second difference is that it's usually used when there is a sense of
control being exerted, especially when there is a specific result.
Ex: The preference of your boss can influence your decision making.

28.
Remind about and Remind of
Remind about is typically used when ANOTHER
PERSON/THINGbrings something to your attention or makes you
remember something that you must do.
Ex:
14
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

You are reminded about something you must do.

Please remind me about doing my homework!
Please remind me about my appointment with the doctor!
Remind of: is used to make someone remember someone that they know
or something that happened in the past. Situation: A reminds you of B.
Ex:
You smell a neighbor cooking a turkey and it reminds you of your last
Thanksgiving dinner.
The turkey cooked during the summer reminded you of last Thanksgiving.

29.
Is friendship countable?
It depends on what you want to say.
Uncountable Friendship: When it refers to the fact of close relationships
among people.
For example: Friendship isn't about whom you have known the longest...
It's about who came, and never left your side.
Countable Friendships: when you are referring to the physical contacts ,
for instance, between several countries, nations or particular relationships
between people .
For example: Friendships with other countries are very important for the
development of a country.

30.

Familiar with Familiar to

Familiar with = well informed about or knowing thoroughly. For

example:
I'm familiar with his art work.
Are you familiar with the problems that usually arise in this shop?
15
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

Familiar to = recognizable. For example:

Your friend doesn't look familiar to me.
His art work is familiar to millions of people.

31.

TOP SPELLING MISTAKES

1) Seperate vs. Separate

Se-para-te: Correct
Se-per-ate: Incorrect
Ex: we had to separate 2 fighting boys.
2) Indispensible vs. Indispensable
Indispensable: Correct
Ex: Your insight is indispensable.
3) Occuring vs. Occurring
Occurring: Correct
Ex: Prevent errors from occurring.
4) Recieve vs. Receive
Receive: Correct
Ex: You will receive your qualifications.

(Mysheo ang tng hp tip ebook ny

v s gi bn bn cp nht trong thi gian ti.)

16
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong

Tng hp bi Mysheo.com

Be the best. Live the best. Believe in the best.

17
www.facebook.com/mysheo.huong