Why Would Learning ‘ed’

and ‘ing’ Adjectives Help

With the IELTS Speaking

Test?

The Simple Answer

Whether its IELTS or any other test, the speaking

component will most likely ask you to speak

about yourself and the things around you.

Speaking About Yourself

In English we often use

‘ed’ adjectives to describe

how we feel -

“I was tired after walking

along the Great Wall of

China but I was also

fascinated with its long

history.”

Speaking About The Things Around You

In English we often use

‘ing’ adjectives to describe

how the things around us

make us feel -

“Walking along the Great

Wall of China was tiring

but its long history is

fascinating.”

The Common Mistake

It is very common for non English speaker to use ‘ed’

and ‘ing’ in the wrong way and unfortunately native

speaker (such as testers) will hear these mistakes.

“I was tiring after walking along the Great Wall of

China but I was also fascinating with its long

history.”

“Walking along the Great Wall of China was tired

but its long history is fascinated.”

Sample Questions

Now you have seen some sentences structures

let’s take a look at some sample questions

which come from the come from the British

Council IELTS preparation page.

They should give you an indication of how

adjectives will help get you a great score.

Where You Live?

Let’s talk about your home town or village:

● what kind of place is it?

● what’s the most interesting part of your

town/village?

● what kind of jobs do the people in your

town/village do?

● would you say it’s a good place to live? (why?)

What Kind of Place Is It?

Non ‘ed’ and ‘ing’

adjectives:

small, big, pretty,

beautiful, peaceful,

noisy, quaint, vibrant,

colourful

‘ed’ and ‘ing’

adjectives:

charming, fascinating,

exciting, interesting,

surprising, relaxing

“I come from a charming little town.”

“I’m from an exciting and interesting city that

is always surprising.”

Would You Say it is a Good Place to Live?

Non ‘ed’ and ‘ing’

adjectives:

nice, great, fantastic,

brilliant, terrible,

horrible

‘ed’ and ‘ing’

adjectives:

alarming, annoying,

boring, depressing,

entertaining,

exhausting, relaxing

“I always feel

relaxed when I

go back to my

home town.”

“Going back to

my home town

is always

relaxing.”

“There are many new highways being built where I’m

from. It can be very frustrating and confusing.”

“There are lots

of fascinating

little cafes in

my town

where you can

unwind when

you feel a little

bit tired.”

“There’s been

a distressing

increase in the

amount of air

pollution in

my city and I

am very

disturbed that

nothing is

being done to

improve it.”

“There’s been an

overwhelming increase in the

number of cars being driven in

my city. The noise and traffic

jams are very annoying and it

can be extremely frustrating

when trying to find somewhere

to park.”

What Is Important To You?

Describe something you own which is very

important to you. You should say:

● where you got it from

● how long you have had it

● what you use it for; and

● explain why it is important to you.

I have a banjo which I

have owned for many

years. It feels very

soothing when I play

it. Sometimes I go

busking and it’s is

rather thrilling to see

the excited reaction

of passers-by when

they hear me playing.

I try to play tunes

which keep my

audience enthralled

because a captivated

audience is more

likely to put coins in

my case by the time I

am finished.

I have an old VW which I have had for about 10

years. It breaks down sometimes and its problems

can be perplexing. However I always feel very

satisfied when I can fix it and get it back on the road.

What Is Important To You?

Rounding off questions

Tell me

● is it valuable in terms of money?

● would it be easy to replace?

It is not worth much

money but it would

be very frustrating to

have to replace it as I

am so familiar with

the way it feels and

sounds.

It is not worth much money but it would be

devastating if I ever had to replace it. I would feel

very discouraged if I had to find a new car after I

have put in so much tiring work into this one.

Talking About Values

Let’s consider first of all how people’s values

have changed.

● What kind of things give status to people in your

country?

● Have things changed since your parents’ time?

People like to own the

latest exciting technology

but lose interest in it

whenever something new

is comes along. It is a

perplexing phenomena and

the fact that I behave this

way too makes me feel

somewhat embarrassed.

In conclusion

I hope this slideshow has given

you some ideas as to how your

speaking can be enhanced when

you use ‘ed’ and ‘ing’ adjectives.

If you are currently frustrated

and confused when you use

these adjectives can I suggest

that you take a look at my app.

In conclusion

It is based on the principle that

learning by repetition will create

habits and these habits will then

affect both your ability to speak

and write when using these

adjectives.

In conclusion

The app might be boring but it will

be effective in improving your

chances of doing well on speaking

tests.

In fact you might be astonished

and astounded with your results!

Big Tick is a small developer of iPhone

apps which make learning English a

little easier. Find us on:

iTunes

Facebook

Google+

Twitter

Sino Weibo

Photo Attributions

"Natural Earth projection SW" by Strebe - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons -

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