15 USEFUL

PHRASES
FOR IELTS SPEAKING PART 1

KEITH O'HARE
About the Author

Keith runs The Keith Speaking Academy. He has

been working in international education for
over 20 years as a teacher, teacher trainer, and
education manager.

He has helped over 40,000 students prepare

for their IELTS Speaking test with his online
courses.

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IELTS Speaking Part 1 is so important because you need to make a good
first impression. Check this lesson to help you impress the examiner.

Why IELTS Speaking Part 1 is Important?

IELTS Speaking Part 1 is so important because you need to make a good

first impression.

You need to be
1. Calm
2. In control
3. Well prepared

In this lesson, I will help you get well prepared by giving you 15 useful
phrases for IELTS Speaking Part 1 that can help you impress the
examiner.

The great thing about these phrases can be used for all sorts of topics.
Do remember, to practice these phrases a lot, as you need to use them
naturally to make a good impression.

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COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY
 1. Yes, I can’t get enough of it

In part 1 the examiner may ask you if you like different things.

For example,

Do you like music?

Do you like art?
Do you like social media?
Do you like coffee?

Instead of saying ‘yes, I like it’, you could say,

Yes, I can’t get enough of it

Notice this is for singular things, but if the question is about plural
things, such as cakes, you need to change the ‘it’ for ‘them’

For example,

Do you like cakes?

Do you like books?
Do you like cars?

Yes, I can’t get enough of them.

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 2. What I like most about it is

This is a nice expression to help you develop your answers a little. It’s a
more complex signpost that emphasizes what you like and so naturally
you will go on to say why.

So you may use a structure like this:

What I like most about it is + adjective clause + example

For example,
Do you like science?

Yes, what I like most about it is it’s so interesting . For example, last
week I read an article about solar panels and how we can use them

We can use this phrase for those questions we saw above, such as:

Do you like music?

Do you like art?
Do you like social media?
Do you like coffee?

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 3. I love that it allows me to

Again, this is a nice phrase that lets you naturally develop your answer a
little.

IELTS Speaking Part 1 TIP:

Develop your answer a little, but not too much!

For example,

Do you like science?

Yes, I love that it allows me to understand the world around us

Do you like social media?

Yes, I love that it allows me to connect with family and friends at the
press of a button

Do you like coffee?

Yes, I love that it allows me to wake up quickly and be on the ball at

work

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COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY
In IELTS Speaking Part 1 the examiner may ask you about your ability
and if you are good at doing certain activities.

For example,

Are you good at cooking?

Are you good at swimming?
Are you good at playing sports?

Here, of course, you can say, you are good at it or bad at it. However,
you could use richer vocabulary with phrases like the ones below

4. Yes, I have a knack for it

To have a knack for ____ = to be good / talented at ______

Are you good at cooking?

Yes, I have a knack for it

5. No, I am hopeless at it

Are you good at cooking?

No, I am hopeless at it

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COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY
IELTS Speaking Part 1 is all about you and your experience, so it is
natural that the examiner will ask you about activities you do and how
often you do them.

For example,

Do you play football? How often?

How often do you sing?
Do you often go to parks?

Here are some useful phrase for IELTS Speaking Part 1 that can help you
with this.

Other ways to say “sometimes”

6. Yes, from time to time

7. Yes, now and again

8. Yes, every once in a while

Another way to say “usually”

9. Yes, I play football at the weekends, more often than not

Another way to say “never”

10. No, I’m not in the least bit interested in that

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COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY
In IELTS Speaking Part 1, you may get questions asking your opinion
about something.

For instance,

Do you prefer hot weather or cold weather?

What’s your favourite kind of weather?

If you start your answer with a connector or signpost, it can make your
answer more coherent and easier for the examiner to follow. Here are
some examples,

11. Without a doubt,

12. In all seriousness,

13. To be totally upfront,

Do you prefer hot weather or cold weather?

Without a doubt, I prefer cold weather because in the hot weather, if

it’s sunny, my skins burns so easily

In all seriousness, I prefer cold weather because in the hot weather, if

it’s sunny, my skins burns so easily

To be totally upfront, I prefer cold weather because in the hot

weather, if it’s sunny, my skins burns so easily

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COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY
Another common question type in IELTS Speaking Part 1 is ‘Would you
______?’

For example,

Would you like to be famous?

Would you give a pen as a present?

Here are two simple phrases for IELTS Speaking Part 1 you can use to
answer this kind of question.

14. Yes, I wouldn’t think twice about it

This means, yes for sure, I would not hesitate and I do not need to
think about it.

15. No, not for the love of money

This means no not at all, even if you gave me a lot of money, I would
not do it.

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COPYRIGHT © 2022, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY
Remember in Part 1, you should talk about you and your life experiences.
Also, you do need to develop your answers a little, but not too much.

These 15 phrases can help you show off your use of language, but do
practice these phrases a lot before using them in the test.

Make sure you are comfortable using them and that you can use them
naturally.

If you want to build your pronunciation, especially intonation, try my

online course: Fluent Grammar for IELTS Speaking.

Find out more about my work at

WWW.KEITHSPEAKINGACADEMY.COM
15. No, not for the love of money

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