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Useful Verb Patterns for IELTS Essays

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The Most Useful Verb Patterns for IELTS Essays

Many IELTS students focus heavily on vocabulary but overlook one extremely important area of grammar: verb patterns.

Incorrect verb patterns are one of the most common grammar problems in IELTS Writing. Even students with strong vocabulary often lose marks because they use verbs incorrectly after certain expressions.

For example:

Incorrect

Governments should encourage people recycle more.

Correct

Governments should encourage people to recycle more.

Small grammar mistakes like this can affect your Grammatical Range and Accuracy score.

In this article, you will learn:

  • the most useful verb patterns for IELTS Writing
  • common mistakes students make
  • how to use verb patterns naturally
  • practical examples for IELTS essays

What Are Verb Patterns?

Verb patterns describe the grammatical structure that follows a verb.

For example:

Some verbs are followed by:

  • infinitives
  • gerunds
  • objects
  • clauses

Example:

Governments should encourage people to use public transport.

Pattern:

encourage + object + to infinitive

Learning these patterns improves both:

  • grammar accuracy
  • sentence flexibility

Why Verb Patterns Matter in IELTS

Incorrect verb patterns:

  • sound unnatural
  • create grammar errors
  • reduce accuracy

Correct verb patterns help your writing sound:

  • more natural
  • more fluent
  • more academic

They are especially useful for:

  • discussing opinions
  • explaining causes
  • presenting arguments
  • describing solutions

1. Verb + To Infinitive

Many common IELTS verbs are followed by:

to + verb

Examples:

  • want to
  • need to
  • decide to
  • hope to
  • plan to

Examples

Governments need to invest more money in education.

Many students hope to study abroad in the future.

Common Mistake

Incorrect

People want improve their English.

Correct

People want to improve their English.

2. Verb + Gerund (-ing)

Some verbs are followed by:

verb + ing

Examples:

  • avoid
  • consider
  • suggest
  • enjoy
  • recommend

Examples

Governments should consider improving public transport systems.

Many people enjoy using social media platforms.

Common Mistake

Incorrect

Experts suggest to reduce pollution.

Correct

Experts suggest reducing pollution.

3. Verb + Object + To Infinitive

Very useful for IELTS arguments.

Examples:

  • encourage
  • allow
  • force
  • persuade
  • enable

Pattern:

verb + object + to infinitive

Examples

Technology allows people to communicate instantly.

Governments should encourage citizens to recycle more waste.

Common Mistake

Incorrect

Schools encourage students studying harder.

Correct

Schools encourage students to study harder.

4. Modal Verbs + Base Verb

After modal verbs:

  • should
  • could
  • may
  • might
  • must

use the base form of the verb.

Examples

Governments should invest more in healthcare.

People may become too dependent on technology.

Common Mistake

Incorrect

Governments should investing more money.

Correct

Governments should invest more money.

5. Be + Past Participle (Passive Voice)

Passive voice is common in academic writing.

Examples

Public transport systems should be improved.

More environmental laws should be introduced.

Passive structures are useful when:

  • the action is more important than the person doing it

6. Verb + That Clause

Useful for presenting opinions and arguments.

Examples:

  • believe
  • think
  • argue
  • claim

Examples

Many people believe that technology improves modern life.

Some experts argue that online education is more flexible.

7. It + Be + Adjective + To Infinitive

A very useful academic structure.

Examples

It is important to reduce pollution levels.

It is difficult to solve traffic congestion completely.

This pattern sounds natural and formal.

8. There Is / There Are

Useful for introducing ideas.

Examples

There are several advantages to remote working.

There is increasing concern about climate change.

Common Mistake

Incorrect

There have many problems.

Correct

There are many problems.

This is a very common IELTS grammar error.

9. Cause / Lead To / Result In

Excellent for discussing effects and consequences.

Examples

Air pollution can lead to serious health problems.

Excessive screen time may result in sleep disorders.

These patterns are extremely useful in Task 2 essays.

10. Help + Object + Verb

After “help”, both structures are possible:

  • help someone do something
  • help someone to do something

Examples

Technology helps students access information more easily.

Public transport can help people reduce travel costs.

Weak vs Strong Example

Weak Version

Governments should encourage recycling. Recycling is good. Recycling helps the environment.

This sounds repetitive and basic.

Stronger Version

Governments should encourage citizens to recycle more because this can help reduce environmental pollution significantly.

This version:

  • uses better verb patterns
  • sounds more natural
  • demonstrates stronger grammar control

Why Students Make Verb Pattern Mistakes

Common reasons include:

  • translating directly from their first language
  • memorising vocabulary without grammar patterns
  • focusing only on “advanced words”

Learning vocabulary together with grammar patterns is much more effective.

How to Learn Verb Patterns Effectively

1. Learn Vocabulary in Chunks

Do not memorise:

encourage

Memorise:

encourage someone to do something

This helps you use the word correctly automatically.

2. Keep a Grammar Notebook

Write:

  • common verb patterns
  • example sentences
  • corrections from your essays

Review them regularly.

3. Read Model Essays Carefully

Notice:

  • how verbs connect to other words
  • sentence structures
  • academic patterns

This improves grammatical awareness.

4. Practise Writing Sentences

Do not only study rules.

Write:

  • your own examples
  • IELTS-style sentences
  • short paragraphs

Active practice improves retention.

Final Advice

Strong IELTS grammar is not about using the most difficult structures possible.

It is about:

  • accuracy
  • control
  • natural communication

To improve your verb patterns:

  • learn grammar together with vocabulary
  • focus on common academic structures
  • avoid direct translation from your first language
  • practise regularly

Remember:

  • small grammar mistakes can lower your score
  • natural structures are more effective than forced complexity
  • accurate verb patterns make essays sound more fluent and academic

Now I suggest you read some of my model essays:
👉 MODEL IELTS ESSAYS

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About Mike

About Mike
I’m Mike Wattie from Australia. I have been teaching IELTS for over 20 years in Asia and Australia.

I have written IELTS books and this enables me to be an effective tutor. This is because I understand the main problems that students have taking the test and also the ways to overcome them.

Maybe you would like me to teach you the necessary skills and strategies to pass your test.

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