In this post: superlatives with the, comparing like with like, how to write multiples, and the passive for processes and maps, with the passive mistakes I made most often.
Task 1 Grammar · 5 parts
- 1. Six grammar groups and tenses
- 2. Comparisons and the passive (you are here)
- 3. Relative and participle clauses
- 4. Numbers and agreement
- 5. Rewrites, checklist and practice
✦ In this post
3. Comparatives, superlatives and multiples
Comparison sentences are the core of static charts. I cover proportion language and contrast with while/whereas in the static charts post. Here I focus on three grammar points: the with superlatives, comparing like with like, and how to write multiples.
1. A superlative always takes the, and “the largest number” beats “biggest number”
✗ Original: Overall, London is the city which has oldest and longest underground system, and the system in Tokyo has biggest number of passengers.
→ Revised: Overall, London has the oldest and longest underground system, while Tokyo’s system carries the largest number of passengers.
(Task 22) oldest, longest and biggest are all missing the. Number collocates with large/small more naturally than with big. the city which has can simply go, which makes the sentence shorter.
✗ Original: In contrast, the shortest system is in Kyoto, which has less number of users as well.
→ Revised: In contrast, Kyoto has the shortest system and also the fewest passengers.
(Task 22) Number cannot be modified by less. For “not many people”, use fewer users or a smaller number of users.
2. Compare like with like: that of / those of
“A’s prices were more stable than B’s” has to compare A’s prices with B’s prices, not A’s prices with B itself. Many learners drop the second “prices” because their first language lets them, and the English sentence ends up comparing prices with a metal.
✓ Good: Overall, the proportion of the authorities’ expenditure on transport decreased in Italia, Portugal, and the UK, while that in the USA witnessed an upward trend.
(Task 40) that stands for the proportion, which avoids repeating the noun and keeps the comparison balanced. (Italia should be Italy.)
✓ Good: As regards North America, the water for industrial usage is the main contributor, making up nearly half of the total, closely followed by that for agricultural use, which accounts for 39%.
(Task 2) that for agricultural use matches the water for industrial usage, and one sentence contains a participle clause, followed by and a which clause.
✗ Original: Regarding Copper, the fluctuation was not as significant as other metals …
→ Revised: Copper prices fluctuated less than those of the other two metals.
(Task 8) The original compares “the fluctuation” with “metals”. Changing it to those of the other two metals (meaning prices), or making Copper prices the subject, fixes the comparison.
3. Multiples: twice as … as, three times, double / triple
| What you want to say | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A is double B | A is twice as high/large as B | The figure in South America (19%) was more than twice as high as that in Africa (9%). (my example) |
| A is three times B | A is three times as high as B / three times the figure for B | UK banana sales in 2004 were more than three times the 1999 figure. (my example) |
| An amount doubles (verb) | double / triple / quadruple | Coffee sales in Switzerland doubled from 3 to 6 million euros. (my example) |
| A is only half of B | A is half as high as B / half the figure for B | The proportion was only half that of Britain. (my example) |
| Noun form | a twofold / threefold increase | There was a threefold increase in sales. (my example) |
✗ Original: Moving to the bananas’ sales, the number in UK in 2004 was 47 million, which was more that tripled the sales in 1999.
→ Revised: UK banana sales reached €47 million in 2004, more than three times the 1999 figure of €15 million.
(Task 24) more that is a slip for more than. Tripled is a past-tense verb and cannot follow more than as if it were a noun. Either use it as a verb (sales more than tripled) or write more than three times the 1999 figure. Number is also not quite right for sales; for money, write sales or the figure.
✗ Original: Moreover, nearly doubled of the ratio of water usage for domestic use in Africa(9%), that in South America(19%) holds roughly one-fifth of total usage.
→ Revised: Domestic use accounted for 19% in South America, more than twice the figure for Africa (9%).
(Task 2) Doubled is a verb and cannot take of like a noun. And 19 is more than double 9, so the direction should be more than, not nearly.
✗ Original: Compared with 36% in Britain, other goods and services were the second highest proportion in Hong Kong with only 28%.
→ Revised: Other goods and services accounted for only 28% of spending in Hong Kong, compared with 36% in Britain, making it the second largest category there.
(Task 14) An opening participle phrase with Compared with should share its subject with the main clause, but my sentence sets “36%” against “other goods and services”. Moving compared with after the figure is the safest fix.
4. The passive: the workhorse of processes and maps
The passive has only one formula: be + past participle. Processes use the present passive; maps use was / has been / will be + p.p., depending on the time. I have already covered how to write process steps and use nominalisation in the process diagrams post, so here are the six passive mistakes I made most often, side by side:
| Type of mistake | Original | Correction | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| be and been stacked together | after those bottles are been compressed, they are been crushed | after being compressed, the bottles are crushed | Task 9 |
| Missing be | a car park for both staff and public located on the right of the hospital road | a car park for staff and the public was located to the right of Hospital Road | Task 19 |
| Active and passive reversed | A hotel is replaced the castle | The castle has been replaced by a hotel. | Task 33 |
| Intransitive verb forced into the passive | The main road will be taken place by a pedestrians only pathway. | The main road will be replaced by a pedestrian-only street. | Task 46 |
| Active where the passive is needed | Those bottles are sorted … before compressing into blocks. | … before being compressed into blocks. | Task 9 |
| Passive used as if it were active | several rose gardens and seats were surrounded the stage | the stage was surrounded by rose gardens and seats | Task 18 |
Locate belongs to the same family: located means “placed”, so you need is located / which is located, not which located in or which locates across from (Tasks 19 and 33). Take place (happen), happen, remain, rise and fall are all intransitive and have no passive.
Passive frames for different times
| Time | Passive form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Process (no time) | is / are + p.p. | The clay is dug up and placed on a metal grid. (my example) |
| A map of the past | was / were + p.p. | In 2000, two car parks were located in the west. (my example) |
| Past → present | has / have been + p.p. | The fountain has been replaced by a rose garden. (Task 18) |
| Past → past | had been + p.p. | By 2010, two roundabouts had been built. (my example) |
| Future plans | will be / is going to be + p.p. | Roads will be expanded and a new bridge will be constructed. (Task 31) |
| Proposed | is planned / proposed to be + p.p. | A new roundabout is planned to be built in the south. (Task 31) |
| Possibility / ability | can be + p.p. | In 2007, the hospital could be reached from City Road. (my example) |
✓ Good: In the first stage, the used bottles from households or individuals are collected in the bins and trash cans in the street.
(Task 9) The first sentence of a process: the subject is the thing being processed, and the verb is are collected.
✓ Good: Overall, the town is going to witness dramatic changes; roads are planned to be expanded, and several facilities are going to be built to cater to various users.
(Task 46) are planned to be expanded and are going to be built: alternating two forms of the future passive keeps it from sounding repetitive.
✗ Original: The given picture illustrates the procedure by which the plants and tree are processed the transformed into ethanol …
→ Revised: The diagram illustrates how plants and trees are processed and transformed into ethanol.
(Task 37) the is a slip for and, and tree should be plural. are processed and transformed into is the most common opening for a process: two past participles sharing one are.
Continue reading · Part 3 of 5
IELTS Notes in English · Task 1 Structure (post 7 of 7)
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✦ Target Your Future
Some days you practise for hours and the score still does not move. I hope these notes remind you that the setbacks are part of the road: every recording you replayed, every essay you rewrote and every sentence you finally dared to say is progress you have already made.
I wrote this down so the next person can take fewer detours. You do not have to follow my method exactly. Find a rhythm that works for you, rest when you need to, and come back for the next small step.
I hope what you take away is more than a number on a score report: a little more confidence in yourself, and the courage to step a bit closer to the world.
— Ting
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