To prepare for IELTS it is useful to consider the topic of holidays and what people do in

their leisure time.

To start us off, let's listen to someone talking about his holidays:

It's always been a dream of mine to travel around the world and see as many countries

as possible. I suppose everyone dreams of this, although some people are content to

stay close to home. I get about 4 weeks annual leave and I try and take it in summer when

I can link it to the public holidays that fall around then - Christmas, Boxing Day New

Year's Eve, and turn it into a 3 or 4 week vacation. I try to get out of the country

and go on a trip somewhere. Somewhere like Bali, somewhere close. We get about 7 public

holidays in Australia - Christmas, Easter, and Australia Day just to name a few.

He talked about holidays and vacations. What's the difference?

A holiday can be one day or several days, whereas a vacation is usually understood to

be a long time - a week or more. Vacation is a word used more in the United States and

is not very common in Australia. In Australia we say "summer holidays" instead of "summer

vacation".

Listen to our speaker again:

I get about 4 weeks annual leave and I try and take it in summer when I can link it to

the public holidays that fall around then - Christmas, Boxing Day New Year's Eve, and

turn it into a 3 or 4 week vacation.

He said annual leave. We call the time when we don't go to work "leave".

"Sick leave" is when we don't go to work because of illness.

"Annual leave" means the amount of holiday time workers have in a year.

He also mentioned "public holidays". These are days when most people in the country get a day off work but are still paid. They

are days considered important to everyone.

For the Speaking Test, you should be prepared to have something to say about these holidays

in your country - what they are for, when they are held and what people do, like this:

We get about 7 public holidays in Australia - Christmas, Easter, and Australia Day just

to name a few. Australia Day is on the 26th of January, and it celebrates the day the

first Europeans arrived in Australia. People celebrate by having barbeques and playing cricket in the park and on the beaches and

in Sydney there is always a massive fireworks display.

It's a good idea to brainstorm the topic of holidays and try to guess what you might be

asked. It could be something like:

Why are holidays important?

Or

How much should we work and how much should we rest?

Or

Why do we need holidays?

Spend some time to think of questions like these and how you might answer them. Practise

saying your answers - this will help you in the Speaking Test.

In Part 1 of the Speaking Test, the questions can be quite simple, like: What do you do

on the weekends?

How does our speaker reply to that?

On the weekend, I catch up on sleep; I do the housework, the shopping, the washing - all

those household chores.

He says 'do the housework'. In reply to the question 'What do you do on the weekend?'

it's best to reply with the same verb in the same tense - I do the gardening, I do the

shopping.

On the weekend, I catch up on sleep; I do the housework, the shopping, the washing - all

those household chores.

Now listen to our speaker reply to this question. What did you do on the weekend?

Oh. I washed my clothes, I went shopping and I went out on Saturday night and saw a movie.

But mostly I sat around and watched TV.

Because he was asked in the past tense - what did you do, he replies with the past tense

and uses the past tense verbs washed, went and sat instead of wash, go and sit.

Listen again: What did you do on the weekend?

Oh. I washed my clothes, I went shopping and I went out on Saturday night and saw a movie.

But mostly I sat around and watched TV.

A related topic that you can expect to be asked about is leisure time and what you do.

Let's listen to our speaker again:

I have a few interests but music is most important to me. I have a few friends and we meet up

a few times a month and play together. As a child I used to have a few hobbies - flying

pigeons, collecting stamps and football cards.

He calls what he does in his leisure time interests and hobbies. When he was a child

he used to have hobbies. The verb 'used' is followed by 'to have'.

As a child I used to have a few hobbies - flying pigeons, collecting stamps and football cards.

There are many verbs in English which are themselves followed by verbs, but in the infinitive

form like 'to have' without ¬-ing or -ed. Listen for them in this clip.

I need to do a lot of things before I go. I need to pack. I need to organise someone

to look after my cat. And I also want to read about Bali before I go - I don't want to be

just a tourist.

Need to do, need to pack, need to organise, want to read, want to be.

Listen again:

I need to do a lot of things before I go. I need to pack. I need to organise someone

to look after my cat. And I also want to read about Bali before I go - I don't want to be

just a tourist.

Now listen out for one more example of a verb followed by the infinitive:

I try to get out of the country and go on a trip somewhere. Somewhere like Bali, somewhere

close.

verb infinitive Try to get.

However, some verbs are followed by the -ing form, or present participle

Listen to our speaker again:

I enjoy travelling. I like flying, especially taking off and I even like eating the food

they give you.

Enjoy travelling, like flying, like eating.

Listen again:

I enjoy travelling. I like flying, especially taking off and I even like eating the food

they give you.

Some verbs, such as enjoy are only followed by the -ing form: enjoy travelling, enjoy

reading.

But the verb 'like' can be followed by the -ing form or the infinitive.

Listen:

I enjoy travelling. I like to fly, especially taking off and I even like to eat the food

they give you.

You need to learn which verbs are used with only the infinitive or only with the -ing

form. And you need to know which ones are used with both.

Infinitives also follow some adjectives. Listen out for these in the next clip:

I won't be sad to leave work behind and I'll be more than ready to enjoy myself after a

hard year. I'll be happy to spend the last few days doing not much at all.

Sad to leave, ready to enjoy, happy to spend. Listen again:

I won't be sad to leave work behind and I'll be more than ready to enjoy myself after a

hard year. I'll be happy to spend the last few days doing not much at all.

The -ing form isn't always used as a verb. Listen to our speaker talking about his hobbies

again:

I have a few interests but music is most important to me. I have a few friends and we meet up

a few times a month and play together. As a child I used to have a few hobbies - flying

pigeons, collecting stamps and football cards.

"Flying pigeons and collecting stamps". Here the words flying and collecting act like verbs

and nouns at the same time. These are called gerunds.

Listen out for the gerunds in the next clip:

On the weekend, I catch up on sleep; I do the housework, the shopping, the washing - all

those household chores.

Here, "the shopping" and "the washing" are also noun/verbs or gerunds.

Listen one more time:

On the weekend, I catch up on sleep; I do the housework, the shopping, the washing - all

those household chores.

That's all for now.

To find more information about gerunds and infinitives, visit our Study English website.

You'll find all of the Study English episodes there and plenty of activities.

Good luck with your studies. Bye