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Essential Grammar for IELTS Speaking Part Three

To score well in IELTS Speaking Part Three, candidates need to use a range of grammatical structures to express opinions, compare ideas, analyze issues, and speculate about the future.

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1. Students can download the notes from this lesson here.

2. Students must complete the homework and submit it within two weeks. The homework can be downloaded here.

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Below is a summary of key grammar structures with explanations and examples.

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1. Complex Sentences (Subordinate Clauses)

These show fluency and the ability to connect ideas logically.
✅ Example: Although social media connects people globally, it can also lead to a lack of real-life interaction.

How to Teach:

• Use "although, while, even though" for contrast.

• Use "because, since, as" for reasons.

• Use "if, unless" for conditions.

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2. Conditionals (Hypothetical & Real Situations)

Conditionals help students discuss possibilities, consequences, and hypothetical scenarios.

• First Conditional (Real future situations) → If people recycle more, pollution will decrease.

• Second Conditional (Hypothetical present/future situations) → If I were the mayor, I would invest in public transport.

• Third Conditional (Past hypothetical situations) → If governments had acted earlier, climate change might not be this severe.

📌 Tip: Encourage students to use at least one conditional sentence in their responses.

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3. Passive Voice (Formal & Academic Tone)

Using passive voice makes responses sound more objective and professional.

✅ Example: New policies are being introduced to tackle climate change.
✅ Example: Technology has been widely adopted in education.

How to Teach:

• Use the passive form (is being, has been, will be).

• Practice transforming active to passive (Governments should improve education → Education should be improved by governments).

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4. Modal Verbs (Speculation & Opinions)

Modal verbs help express opinions, suggestions, and possibilities.

• For obligation/necessity: Governments should invest more in renewable energy.

• For possibility: This trend might continue in the future.

• For certainty: This will definitely have an impact on society.

• For suggestions: People ought to exercise regularly to stay healthy.

📌 Tip: Encourage students to replace simple "will" statements with "might, could, should," for a more nuanced response.

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5. Comparatives & Superlatives (Evaluating Ideas)

These structures are useful for comparing trends, situations, or opinions.

✅ Comparative: Online learning is more flexible than traditional classrooms.
✅ Superlative: One of the biggest problems today is climate change.

📌 Tip: Teach students to use "far more, significantly less, one of the most, by far the best" to add variety.

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6. Relative Clauses (Adding Detail & Fluency)

Using relative clauses makes answers more detailed and sophisticated.

✅ Example: The internet, which has revolutionized communication, is now an essential tool for education.
✅ Example: People who live in big cities often experience high levels of stress.

📌 Tip: Encourage students to extend short answers using "which, that, where, who."

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7. Future Tenses (Predictions & Trends)

Since Part Three often includes future-related questions, students should use a variety of tenses.

• Will for predictions: I believe self-driving cars will become common in the next decade.

• Going to for planned trends: More people are going to work remotely in the future.

• Future Perfect for completed actions by a certain time: By 2030, most countries will have adopted green energy.

📌 Tip: Use prediction phrases like "It is likely that, there is a high chance that, in the near future, it is expected that."

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8. Noun Phrases & Hedging (Sounding More Natural & Academic)

Instead of using simple sentences, students can expand their ideas using noun phrases and hedging language.

✅ Example: One of the most significant advantages of working from home is increased flexibility.
✅ Example: It seems that social media is playing an increasingly important role in people's lives.

How to Teach:

• Encourage students to use "one of the most, the majority of, a key factor in" instead of basic statements.

• Teach hedging phrases like "It appears that, it is believed that, some people argue that."

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Final Tips for Teaching Grammar in Speaking Part Three

✔ Encourage variety – Don’t let students use only basic tenses and short sentences.
✔ Practice through debates and discussions – Have students use grammar structures in real conversations.
✔ Give model answers – Show how high-level responses include these grammar patterns.
✔ Use sentence expansion exercises – Start with a basic sentence and ask students to add conditionals, modals, or relative clauses.