Complex Sentence Structures for IELTS Success

Speak Success: Mastering the IELTS Speaking Journey – Chapter 7

Today on our IELTS journey, we’re focusing on Complex Sentence Structures. Enhancing your ability to use a variety of sentence structures, including complex sentences, can significantly boost your IELTS Speaking score. This lesson will guide you through using a mix of simple and complex sentences, mastering conditional sentences and modal verbs, and effectively employing relative clauses and participle phrases.

1. Using a Mix of Simple and Complex Sentences

To effectively communicate in English, it’s important to use both simple and complex sentences. Simple sentences express a single idea, while complex sentences combine multiple ideas, showing your ability to convey detailed and nuanced thoughts.

• Simple Sentence Example: “She studied English.”
  • This sentence is straightforward, with a clear subject (She) and a verb (studied), indicating a single, completed action.
• Complex Sentence Example: “She studied English to prepare for her IELTS exam, which was scheduled for next month.”
  • This complex sentence has multiple parts:
    • The main clause is “She studied English,” which could stand alone as a simple sentence.
    • “To prepare for her IELTS exam” is an infinitive phrase explaining the purpose of her studying.
    • “Which was scheduled for next month” is a relative clause giving additional information about the “IELTS exam.” The word “which” refers back to the noun “IELTS exam” and integrates extra details into the sentence.

Activity:

1. Start with a simple sentence, then expand it into a complex one by adding reasons, time frames, or results.
2. For instance, take the sentence “He travels.” Expand it to “He travels because he loves exploring new cultures.”
3. Practice by writing five simple sentences about daily activities and then converting each into a complex sentence.

2. Conditional Sentences and Modal Verbs

Conditional sentences discuss potential situations and their possible outcomes, while modal verbs express abilities, possibilities, permissions, or obligations.

Zero Conditional Example: “If water reaches 100 degrees Celsius, it boils.”

• This sentence expresses a general truth or scientific fact. The condition (“If water reaches 100 degrees Celsius”) always results in the outcome (“it boils”). The zero conditional is used when the result of the condition is always true.

First Conditional Example: “If it rains tomorrow, we will cancel the trip.”

• Here, the condition is possible and likely in the future (“If it rains tomorrow”). The result (“we will cancel the trip”) is a specific action that will happen if the condition is met. The first conditional is used for real and possible situations.

Second Conditional Example: “If I had more time, I would travel the world.”

• This sentence discusses a hypothetical or unlikely situation (“If I had more time”) and its probable result (“I would travel the world”). The second conditional is often used for unreal, imaginary, or hypothetical situations.

Third Conditional Example: “If she had studied harder, she would have passed the exam.”

• This example talks about a condition in the past that did not happen (“If she had studied harder”) and its possible result in the past (“she would have passed the exam”). The third conditional is used to express regret or to imagine a different outcome in the past.

Activity:

1. Identify and write one example for each type of conditional sentence.
2. Use modal verbs to express different degrees of likelihood: can (possibility), could (less certain possibility or polite request), should (advice), would (polite offer or hypothetical situation).
3. Create scenarios where learners must use conditional sentences with modal verbs to express advice, possibilities, or hypothetical outcomes.

3. Relative Clauses and Participle Phrases

Relative clauses provide extra information without starting a new sentence, while participle phrases add detail about actions or states and can function adjectivally.

Relative Clause Example: “The man, who was wearing a red shirt, is my brother.”

• “The man” is the main subject of the sentence.
• “Who was wearing a red shirt” is a relative clause providing extra information about “the man.” It uses “who” as a relative pronoun to connect the clause to the subject.

Participle Phrase Example: “Walking through the park, she enjoyed the fresh morning air.”

• “Walking through the park” is a participle phrase that describes the action taking place concurrently with the main clause, “she enjoyed the fresh morning air.”
• The phrase provides additional context about what she was doing while enjoying the air, adding depth and detail to the sentence.

Activity:

1. Pick a noun from a list and write a sentence including a relative clause to add information about that noun.
2. For participle phrases, start with a base sentence like “She sits in the cafe.” Add a participle phrase to create “Sipping her coffee, she sits in the cafe.”
3. Engage in an exercise where learners must combine sentences using relative clauses or participle phrases, focusing on how these elements modify the main clause and add richness to the text.

Vocabulary List

• Complex (adj) [kəmˈplɛks]: Consisting of many different and connected parts.
• Conditional (adj) [kənˈdɪʃənl]: Subject to one or more conditions or requirements being met.
• Modal verb (noun) [ˈmoʊdl vɜrb]: An auxiliary verb that expresses necessity or possibility.
• Relative clause (noun) [ˈrɛlətɪv klɔz]: A clause that modifies a noun or pronoun.
• Participle phrase (noun) [ˈpɑrtɪsɪpl freɪz]: A phrase that starts with a present or past participle.

Mastering complex sentence structures is essential for achieving a higher score in the IELTS Speaking test. By practicing the use of varied sentence types, conditional sentences with modal verbs, and incorporating relative clauses and participle phrases, you can enhance the sophistication and clarity of your spoken English. Keep practicing, and you’ll see noticeable improvements in your communication skills!