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IELTS Academic Language Foundations Syllabus

The Language Foundations syllabus for IELTS Academic in full: 4 chapters and 15 topics, every one listed below, plus 50 Language Foundations flashcards with answers.

4Chapters
15Topics
50Flashcards

Language Foundations syllabus: all 4 chapters

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics.

  1. Essential Grammar

     4 topics
    • Tenses and Aspect
    • Articles and Determiners
    • Prepositions
    • Subject-Verb Agreement

  2. Complex Sentence Structures

     4 topics
    • Relative Clauses
    • Conditionals
    • Passive Voice
    • Reported Speech

  3. Vocabulary Building

     4 topics
    • Academic Word List
    • Collocations and Word Families
    • Topic-based Vocabulary
    • Synonyms and Paraphrasing

  4. Spelling and Punctuation

     3 topics
    • Common Spelling Patterns
    • British vs American Spelling
    • Punctuation Rules

IELTS Academic Language Foundations flashcards โ€” 50 questions with answers

  1. What is the form and main use of the present perfect tense?

    Form: have/has + past participle (e.g., 'has increased'). It links past events to the present: actions at an unspecified past time, life experiences, or situations continuing until now, often with 'since', 'for', 'already', 'yet'. Example: 'Sales have risen since 2010.'

  2. When must you use the past simple instead of the present perfect?

    Use the past simple for actions completed at a specific, finished past time, usually with time markers such as 'in 1990', 'last year', 'yesterday', 'two decades ago'. Example: 'The population grew rapidly in the 1980s' (NOT 'has grown in the 1980s').

  3. What is the difference between simple and continuous (progressive) aspect?

    Simple aspect presents an action as complete, habitual, or a general fact ('Water boils at 100ยฐC'). Continuous aspect (be + verb-ing) presents an action as ongoing, temporary, or in progress at a point in time ('The economy is growing'). Stative verbs (know, believe, own) are normally not used in the continuous.

  4. Which tense is standard for describing trends in an IELTS Task 1 graph with future projections, and what forms express prediction?

    Past data uses the past simple; projections use 'will + verb', 'is expected to + verb', 'is projected to + verb', or 'is forecast to + verb'. Example: 'The figure is projected to reach 40% by 2030.'

  5. What are the three articles in English and their basic functions?

    'A' and 'an' (indefinite): first mention of a singular countable noun or any non-specific member of a group ('an' before vowel sounds). 'The' (definite): a specific noun known to both writer and reader, or something unique (the sun, the government). Zero article: plural or uncountable nouns used generally ('Education is important').

  6. When is the zero article (no article) required?

    Before uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns used in a general sense ('Pollution harms cities'; 'Computers are useful'), before most proper nouns (countries, cities, languages), and in fixed phrases (go to school, at work, by car). Exceptions: 'the' with plural country names (the Netherlands, the USA) and unique items.

  7. What is the difference between 'few / a few' and 'little / a little'?

    'Few' and 'a few' go with plural countable nouns; 'little' and 'a little' go with uncountable nouns. With 'a', the meaning is positive ('a few options' = some); without 'a', the meaning is negative or insufficient ('few options' = almost none; 'little time' = not enough time).

  8. What is the rule for 'much', 'many', 'a lot of', and 'amount/number of'?

    'Many' and 'number of' pair with countable nouns ('many studies', 'a large number of students'); 'much' and 'amount of' pair with uncountable nouns ('much research', 'a large amount of money'). 'A lot of / plenty of' work with both but are less formal in academic writing.

  9. Which prepositions describe change and difference with numbers (e.g., in IELTS Task 1)?

    'Increase/decrease BY' = the size of the change ('rose by 10%'); 'increase/decrease TO' = the final value ('rose to 60%'); 'FROM ... TO ...' = start and end points; 'AT' = a fixed level or peak ('peaked at 500'); 'an increase OF 10%' after the noun form.

  10. What are the standard prepositions of time: 'in', 'on', 'at'?

    'In' for months, years, seasons, centuries, and longer periods (in 2020, in summer); 'on' for days and dates (on Monday, on 5 June); 'at' for clock times and points (at 6 pm, at night, at the weekend in British English).

  11. Give the correct dependent prepositions for: depend, responsible, interested, capable, and 'result'.

    Depend ON, responsible FOR, interested IN, capable OF; 'result IN' = cause an outcome ('smoking results in disease'), while 'result FROM' = be caused by ('disease results from smoking').

  12. What is the basic rule of subject-verb agreement?

    A singular subject takes a singular verb; a plural subject takes a plural verb. The verb agrees with the head noun of the subject, not with nouns in intervening phrases: 'The number of students HAS risen' ('number' is the head, not 'students').

  13. How do 'the number of' and 'a number of' differ in verb agreement?

    'The number of + plural noun' takes a singular verb because 'number' is the subject ('The number of cars has increased'). 'A number of + plural noun' means 'several' and takes a plural verb ('A number of cars have been sold').

  14. What verb form follows 'each', 'every', 'everyone', 'either', and 'neither' used alone?

    They are grammatically singular and take singular verbs: 'Each of the students has a book'; 'Everyone agrees'; 'Neither of the options is ideal'. With 'either...or / neither...nor' joining two subjects, the verb agrees with the nearer subject (proximity rule).

  15. How do collective nouns like 'government', 'team', and 'family' agree with verbs?

    In British English they may take singular or plural verbs depending on whether the group is seen as a unit ('The government has decided') or as individuals ('The team are arguing'). American English strongly prefers the singular. In IELTS writing, be consistent; singular is the safe choice.

  16. Which relative pronouns are used for people, things, possession, place, and time?

    'Who' (people, subject), 'whom' (people, formal object), 'which' (things), 'that' (people or things in defining clauses only), 'whose' (possession, people or things), 'where' (places), 'when' (times), 'why' (reasons after 'the reason').

  17. What is the difference between defining and non-defining relative clauses?

    A defining (restrictive) clause identifies which noun is meant and has no commas: 'Students who study daily perform better.' A non-defining clause adds extra, removable information, is set off by commas, and cannot use 'that': 'My tutor, who lives in Leeds, is retiring.'

  18. When can the relative pronoun be omitted from a relative clause?

    Only in a defining clause when the pronoun is the OBJECT of the clause: 'the book (that) I read'. It cannot be omitted when it is the subject ('the man who called') or in any non-defining clause.

  19. How is a reduced relative clause formed?

    Delete the relative pronoun and the verb 'be': active meaning takes -ing ('the students studying abroad' = who are studying), passive meaning takes the past participle ('the data collected in 2020' = which was collected). This is a compact, academic style.

  20. What are the structures and uses of the zero and first conditionals?

    Zero conditional: If + present simple, present simple โ€” for general truths ('If water freezes, it expands'). First conditional: If + present simple, will + base verb โ€” for real future possibilities ('If taxes rise, spending will fall'). Never put 'will' in the if-clause.

Show the other 30 Language Foundations flashcards

  1. What is the structure and meaning of the second conditional?

    If + past simple, would + base verb. It expresses unreal or hypothetical present/future situations: 'If governments invested more, poverty would decline.' 'Were' is preferred for all persons in formal style: 'If I were the mayor...'

  2. What is the structure and meaning of the third conditional?

    If + past perfect, would have + past participle. It describes unreal past situations and their imagined past results: 'If the policy had been introduced earlier, the crisis would have been avoided.'

  3. What is a mixed conditional and give an example.

    A conditional that combines times: typically an unreal past condition with a present result โ€” If + past perfect, would + base verb: 'If she had taken the IELTS earlier, she would be at university now.' (Past condition, present consequence.)

  4. How is the passive voice formed, and how does tense change it?

    Form: be (in the required tense) + past participle. Present simple: 'is produced'; past simple: 'was produced'; present perfect: 'has been produced'; present continuous: 'is being produced'; future: 'will be produced'; with modals: 'can be produced'.

  5. When is the passive voice preferred in academic writing?

    When the agent is unknown, obvious, or unimportant; to focus on the action, process, or result rather than the doer; and to describe processes and procedures objectively: 'The samples were heated' , 'Wheat is harvested and then transported to mills.' Use 'by + agent' only if the doer matters.

  6. Which type of IELTS Task 1 question requires heavy use of the passive, and with what sequencers?

    Process diagrams. Steps use present simple passive linked by sequencers: 'First, the beans are picked; next, they are dried; after that, they are roasted; finally, the product is packaged.'

  7. What is the general rule of 'backshift' in reported speech?

    When the reporting verb is past ('said', 'told'), tenses move one step back: present simple โ†’ past simple; present perfect and past simple โ†’ past perfect; will โ†’ would; can โ†’ could; may โ†’ might. 'I am tired' โ†’ 'She said (that) she was tired.'

  8. How do time and place expressions change in reported speech?

    now โ†’ then; today โ†’ that day; yesterday โ†’ the day before / the previous day; tomorrow โ†’ the next/following day; ago โ†’ before; here โ†’ there; this โ†’ that. 'I saw it yesterday' โ†’ 'He said he had seen it the day before.'

  9. How are questions converted to reported speech?

    Use statement word order (no inversion, no auxiliary 'do', no question mark). Yes/no questions use 'if/whether': 'Do you agree?' โ†’ 'She asked whether I agreed.' Wh-questions keep the wh-word: 'Where do you live?' โ†’ 'He asked where I lived.'

  10. How are commands and requests reported?

    With 'tell/ask/order/advise + object + (not) to + infinitive': 'Sit down' โ†’ 'The teacher told us to sit down'; 'Please don't be late' โ†’ 'She asked me not to be late.'

  11. What is the Academic Word List (AWL) and how is it organized?

    A list of 570 word families compiled by Averil Coxhead (2000) that occur frequently across academic texts, excluding the 2,000 most common general words. It is divided into 10 sublists by frequency, Sublist 1 being the most frequent (e.g., analyse, approach, area, assess, concept, data).

  12. Give the full word family of the AWL item 'analyse' and 'benefit'.

    Analyse (v), analysis (n, plural analyses), analyst (n, person), analytical/analytic (adj), analytically (adv). Benefit (n/v), beneficial (adj), beneficiary (n, person), beneficially (adv); collocation: 'benefit FROM something'.

  13. Which common academic verbs from the AWL replace informal verbs like 'get', 'show', and 'help'?

    get โ†’ obtain/acquire; show โ†’ demonstrate/illustrate/indicate; help โ†’ facilitate/assist; make worse โ†’ exacerbate; make up โ†’ constitute/comprise; look into โ†’ investigate/examine. Using such AWL verbs raises the Lexical Resource band.

  14. What is a collocation, and why does it matter for the IELTS Lexical Resource score?

    A collocation is a conventional word partnership โ€” words that naturally occur together ('heavy rain', not 'strong rain'; 'make a decision', not 'do a decision'). Band 7+ Lexical Resource requires awareness of collocation and natural, precise word combinations.

  15. Which verbs collocate with 'research', 'attention', 'a role', and 'a problem'?

    conduct / carry out / undertake research; pay / attract / draw attention; play a role (in); pose / tackle / address / solve / alleviate a problem. Common errors: 'make research', 'play attention', 'make a role'.

  16. Give strong adjective + noun collocations for describing size and change in academic writing.

    a significant/substantial/dramatic increase; a slight/marginal/modest decline; a sharp/steep rise or fall; a growing/pressing concern; far-reaching consequences; a considerable amount; a wide range of options.

  17. Name five key environment-topic vocabulary items with meanings.

    Emissions = gases released into the air; renewable energy = power from non-depleting sources (solar, wind); sustainability = meeting needs without harming future generations; deforestation = clearing of forests; carbon footprint = total greenhouse gases caused by a person or activity; biodiversity = variety of species.

  18. Name five key education-topic vocabulary items with meanings.

    Curriculum = the subjects/content of a course of study; compulsory education = schooling required by law; tuition fees = money paid for teaching; vocational training = job-skill-focused education; literacy = ability to read and write; distance learning = studying remotely, often online.

  19. Name five key health-topic vocabulary items with meanings.

    Sedentary lifestyle = one with little physical activity; obesity = the state of being dangerously overweight; preventive (preventative) care = healthcare aimed at stopping illness before it starts; life expectancy = average years a person is expected to live; chronic disease = a long-lasting condition (e.g., diabetes); epidemic = rapid spread of disease.

  20. What are the four main paraphrasing techniques for IELTS?

    1) Synonyms ('important' โ†’ 'crucial'); 2) changing word form ('decide' โ†’ 'make a decision'; 'globally' โ†’ 'across the globe'); 3) changing voice (active โ†” passive: 'People consume more' โ†’ 'More is consumed'); 4) restructuring the sentence (changing clause order or using a different grammatical pattern). Meaning must stay identical.

  21. Give formal academic synonyms for: important, big, show, many, and 'people'.

    important โ†’ crucial, vital, significant, essential; big โ†’ considerable, substantial, significant; show โ†’ demonstrate, indicate, reveal, illustrate; many โ†’ numerous, a great number of, a multitude of; people โ†’ individuals, citizens, residents, the population.

  22. Why is paraphrasing essential in IELTS Writing, and where must it be used?

    Copying the question prompt verbatim earns no credit and lowers Task Response/Lexical Resource; the Task 2 introduction must restate the question in your own words, and Task 1 must paraphrase the graph description. Paraphrasing also demonstrates lexical range across the whole essay.

  23. State the doubling (CVC) rule for adding -ing/-ed and the 'y' rule for adding suffixes.

    Double the final consonant of a stressed syllable ending consonant-vowel-consonant: stop โ†’ stopped, begin โ†’ beginning (but visit โ†’ visited, unstressed). Change final 'y' to 'i' before suffixes when 'y' follows a consonant: study โ†’ studied, happy โ†’ happiness โ€” but keep 'y' before -ing: studying.

  24. What are the rules for dropping silent 'e' and for 'i before e'?

    Drop silent final 'e' before a vowel suffix (make โ†’ making, use โ†’ usable) but keep it before a consonant suffix (hope โ†’ hopeful); exceptions keep 'e' after soft c/g (noticeable, manageable). 'I before e except after c' when the sound is /iห/: believe, achieve, but receive, ceiling; exceptions: seize, weird.

  25. How do nouns form plurals when ending in -y, -f/-fe, -o, and sibilants (-s, -x, -ch, -sh)?

    Consonant + y โ†’ -ies (city โ†’ cities); vowel + y โ†’ -s (days). Many -f/-fe โ†’ -ves (leaf โ†’ leaves, life โ†’ lives; exceptions: roofs, beliefs). Sibilant endings add -es (boxes, watches). Many -o words add -es (tomatoes, potatoes; but photos, pianos).

  26. List the five main British vs American spelling pattern differences with examples.

    1) -our vs -or: colour/color, behaviour/behavior; 2) -re vs -er: centre/center, metre/meter; 3) -ise vs -ize: organise/organize, analyse/analyze; 4) doubled 'l' in BrE: travelled/traveled, cancelled/canceled; 5) -ogue vs -og and -ence/-ense: catalogue/catalog, defence/defense, licence (n., BrE)/license.

  27. Does IELTS accept both British and American spelling?

    Yes โ€” both are accepted, but you must be CONSISTENT within one piece of writing: do not mix 'colour' with 'organize' style choices randomly. Mixing systems or misspelling in either system counts against Lexical Resource accuracy.

  28. What is a comma splice and how do you fix it?

    A comma splice joins two independent clauses with only a comma: 'The city grew, pollution increased.' Fix it by (a) using a full stop, (b) a semicolon, (c) a coordinating conjunction ('...grew, and pollution...'), or (d) a subordinator ('As the city grew, pollution increased'). It is a frequent Grammatical Range and Accuracy penalty.

  29. What are the rules for using a semicolon and a colon in academic writing?

    Semicolon: joins two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction ('Demand rose; prices followed') and separates complex list items. Colon: introduces a list, explanation, or elaboration after a complete clause ('Three factors matter: cost, time, and quality'). A colon must follow a full independent clause.

  30. What are the two apostrophe functions, and how do its/it's differ?

    Apostrophes mark possession (the student's book; plural: the students' books; irregular plural: children's) and contraction (don't, it's = it is/has). 'Its' (no apostrophe) is the possessive of 'it': 'The city expanded its borders.' Contractions should generally be avoided in formal IELTS writing.

IELTS Academic Language Foundations FAQ

What is in the IELTS Academic Language Foundations syllabus?

IELTS Academic Language Foundations is split into 4 chapters: Essential Grammar, Complex Sentence Structures, Vocabulary Building and Spelling and Punctuation. Together they contain 15 topics.

How many chapters are in IELTS Academic Language Foundations?

4 chapters, containing 15 topics. The largest chapter is Essential Grammar, with 4 topics.

Are there flashcards for IELTS Academic Language Foundations?

Yes โ€” a 50-card Language Foundations deck, printed in full in the flashcards section of this page and available in the Examius app with spaced repetition. The free plan covers one exam of your choice, including its flashcards; Examius Pro, a one-time purchase, unlocks every other exam and deck.