IELTS Grammar - Unless & If - IELTS with Mark Teacher

Using ‘Unless’ & ‘If’ in IELTS Speaking

Part 1 IELTS Speaking test questions are almost always about you. This includes your preferences, your hobbies, your childhood memories and more.

One common topic in Part 1 is “Your Habits.” In other words, how often you do things.

For example:

How often do you upgrade your computer?
How often do you buy new clothes?
How often do you take a taxi?

You can always answer these questions in a simple way. For example:

How often do you buy new clothes? – “I don’t buy new clothes that much, honestly.”
How often do you take a taxi? – “Hardly ever, to be honest. The subway is the fastest and cheapest way around the city, so I can’t remember the last time I took a taxi.”

In both of the answers above, I said that I don’t do these things often.

It can be difficult to give a longer answer about something you don’t do very often. So how can we share more about ourselves and share more of our English ability?

Share some Exceptions

Exceptions are occasions that are different from your normal routine. You might break your routine in an unusual or very specific situation.

In other words, if you don’t do it often, do you ever do it? When? This kind of moment is the exception that you can share.

Here are two phrases you can use to share exceptions in IELTS Speaking.

Only if + [New Clause]
Unless + [New Clause]

“Unless” and “Only if” show exceptions and have the same meaning. The examiner understands that these are things you do only in specific circumstances.

First, you should share your regular habit (that you don’t do often), then share an exception to that habit. For example:

I don’t go to the library that much. Only if [I need] to use their printers or their bathroom!
I hardly ever take the train to work. Only if [my car has] broken down or something.
I hardly ever watch sports on TV. Unless [it is] the World Cup or the Olympics – I quite enjoy those tournaments.
I never drive my car in winter. Unless [there is] an emergency with my kids.

Both phrases are following by a [New Clause] – a [Subject-Verb]. The [new clauses] are highlighted in the examples above.

Here are some more examples from my IELTS Speaking Grammar Course below:

So let’s use this to improve the answers from the beginning of this post:

How often do you buy new clothes? – “I don’t buy new clothes that much, honestly. Unless there is a big sale or my clothes literally have holes in them!”
How often do you take a taxi? – “Hardly ever, to be honest. Only if there are some problems on the subway, like strikes or construction, because the subway is usually the fastest and cheapest way around the city, so I can’t remember the last time I took a taxi.”

Did you know?

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