IELTS Speaking Test
Part 1 Question Types:
Time and Frequency

The IELTS Speaking Test Part 1 features 12 Questions on 3 different topics.

These topics can be hard to predict in the IELTS Speaking. In the past, I’ve seen questions from Chocolate and Mirrors to Shoes and Magazines. But don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you have to practise every single possible IELTS topic you can imagine in order to be ready for the exam.

A much easier way to prepare is by familiarising yourself with the IELTS Part 1 Question Types.

IELTS Speaking Test Part 1 Question Types:

• Time and Frequency: “How often do you? / How long have you?”

  • We’ll be talking about this kind of question in this post.

• Personal Preferences: “(What) Do you like? / (What) Do you prefer?”

  • Click here to learn more about this question type

• Closed Questions: “Do you / Can you / Did you / Is it?”

  • Click here to learn more about this question type

• Your country: “What do people in your country…”

  • Click here to learn more about this question type

With this knowledge, you can even make your own questions to practise talking about a specific topic, or to simply get comfortable with IELTS Speaking questions.

Below, I’ve provided questions about Time & Frequency. I’ll help you with grammar, and you can feel confident that your answers will help you score higher.

Time & Frequency: How long have you…?

Mark will guide you through the different parts of this question in this next audio clip along with how to answer this type of question. Notes and extra examples are below:

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The grammar can be tricky for this one. It’s best to start your answer with:

• I’ve been doing it for….

• I’ve been working there for…

• I’ve been studying there since…

‘For’ is used with Numbers and Amounts

• For 2 years

• For 10 months

• For the past 5 years

• For a few minutes

Here is an IELTS Speaking Test Part 1 example answer for:
“How long have you been working at your current job?”
I’ve been working for Kim’s Legal Firm for about 6 years.

She’s been with the company for 2 or 3 months.

‘Since’ is used with Specific Dates: Names of Days, Months,  and Specific Years

• Since Tuesday

  • names of days

• Since April

  • names of months

• Since 2012

  • specific year, not an amount of years

• Since the 1st of June

  • specific date

• Since my birthday

  • specific day

Here is an IELTS Speaking Test Part 1 example answer for:
“How long have you been working at your current job?”
I’ve been working for Kim’s Legal Firm since June 2011.

Other examples:
He’s been studying in Berlin since last month.
I guess I’ve been working there… actually I remember, since March 2nd, since my sister’s birthday.

‘Since’ is also used with Sentences

• Since I was a kid

• Since I moved to this city

• Since high school / university

  • Since (I was in…) high school

  • ‘I was in…’ is implied

I Used to… and what you did Before

You can easily add more detail by explaining what you used to do before. Like this:

Here are some IELTS Speaking Test Part 1 example answers for: “How long have you been working at your current job?”

• I’ve been working at Kim’ Legal Firm since June 2011. I used to be an intern there until I got offered a full-time position.

• I used to work in a cocktail bar before I found my first IT job. Now I’ve been working for CityBank for about 4 years.

• I’ve been working at my current job since 2008. I joined the company right after I graduated university.

• I worked as a server for about 4 months, but then I realized it wasn’t for me, so now I’m a teacher, full time, and I’ve been doing that for 3 years now.

Here are some IELTS Speaking Test Part 1 example questions and answers:

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How long have you been studying for?

Kat: I’ve been studying here for about 4 years now. I got my bachelors degree from another university, but I actually decided to study here because they have much more modern facilities and I really appreciate that with what I’m studying now.

Mark: I’ve been working on my PhD since 2013, and I’m currently in my final year of studies. I used to work for a pharmaceutical company, but I decided to go back university,  and that experience has helped me a lot. I think all that experience in the field has made studying a lot easier.

How long have you been working at your current job?

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Kat: I’ve been working as teacher for about 4 years now, but I’ve worked for many different companies in the past. I got my first marketing job in 2009, yeah 2009, and I stayed there for only about a year. Then I worked for another company as an intern and then finally I decided I really wanted to be a teacher, so I stopped marketing and I’ve been teaching ever since.

Mark: I’ve been working in telecommunications since 2012. I graduated with a master’s degree from Mexico City University and I spent almost 4 months as an intern trying to get my foot in the door. And eventually they offered me a full-time position and now I am the manager of my own team. So I think I’m gonna stay there for a while longer and see how high can get within the company.

Here are some more IELTS Speaking Test Part 1 example questions:

How long have you been studying?

How long have you been working there?

How long have you been working at your current job?

How long have you been doing that for?

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