Unit 1 from Cambridge Common mistakes at IELTS Intermediate ... and how to avoid them

P5

We use the

• with countries or places where the name refers to a group of islands or states: the United States, the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates, the UK
• with superlatives: the best, the longest, the highest
• with cardinal numbers: the first, the second, the third
• when there is only one in the world: the environment, the internet, the sun
• to refer to the only one in this particular area: the government, the police, the river
• in the phrase: the same as

We don't use the

• with a single country or place: America, England, China
• to talk about something in general. We use the plural if we are talking about something in general; we use the to identify one specific example. Compare:

People with reading difficulties often have problems with numbers.
The number eight is considered lucky in some countries.

My father has fished in rivers all over Australia.

P7

Some nouns in English are 'uncountable'. This means they do not have a plural form. Some common uncountable nouns are: advice, advertising, food, furniture, garbage, information, knowledge, money, shopping, time, traffic, travel.

With uncountable nouns, you use use:

• the singular form: food, information, money
• a little / amount of / much / some: How much money do you have?

The amount of traffic on the roads is increasing each year.

• a singular verb: There was already a little furniture in the flat.

If a noun is uncountable, you cannot use:

• a plural form: advice, furnitures, garbages, informations, knowledges
• a/an: an advice, a garbage, a knowledge
• a few / many / number of: a few shopping, many traffic, the number of knowledge
• a number: three travels, four furniture
• a plural verb: There were a little furniture in the flat.
• If you want to add a number to an uncountable noun, you can use a piece of / some / a few pieces of: a piece of advice, three pieces of furniture, a few pieces of garbage.

I was surprised by the number of time it took us to reach the castle.

                                    amount

I can't wait to visit the market and do a few shopping.
                                                            some

The furnitures in the hotel room were quite old but they were very comfortable.
                                                     was                       it was

P9
Correct the 14 mistakes in the text below.

The globalisation has had an enormous impact on many part of the world. Nowadays, even in some of most remote parts of world, we connect to internet and conduct business. However, they is adavantage and disadvantage to this.  One disadvantages, for example, is that the local culture and language can be affected. It can also mean that local businesses has to reduce their prices to compare with bigger overseas companies. However, there are advantages; for example, globalisation can bring more business to a small area, which is good for the local economy. It may also help to stop young person moving away from more remote area. If a young person have the chance to run a business and be successful no matter where he or she lives, then perhaps more people will choose to stay in these small communities. It also means that news from around the world are available to everyone, and this can be reduce the feeling of isolation.














The globalisation (globalization) has had an enormous impact on many parts of the world. Nowadays, even in some of most remote parts of the world, we connect to the internet and conduct business. However, they is (there are) adavantages and disadvantages to this.  One disadvantages, for example, is that the local culture and language can be affected. It can also mean that local businesses has (have) to reduce their prices to compare with bigger overseas companies. However, there are advantages; for example, globalisation can bring more business to a small area, which is good for the local economy. It may also help to stop young person (people) moving away from more remote areas. If a young person have (has) the chance to run a business and be successful no matter where he or she lives, then perhaps more people will choose to stay in these small communities. It also means that news from around the world are is available to everyone, and this can be reduce the feeling of isolation.