Predict before you listen: noun, number or verb?

Good listeners in IELTS don't just listen. They guess what's coming before it comes. If you know the answer will be a number, your ears will catch a number. If you know it will be a plural noun, you'll catch the final s. This lesson shows you how to predict any gap in a few seconds.

Why this matters

You get a short time to read the questions before each part. Most students just read the questions. Strong students read and predict. When the audio starts, half of their work is already done. Prediction also helps you check your answer. If you predicted a noun and wrote a verb, something is wrong.

Three questions to ask for every gap

1. What type of word fits?

Look at the words around the gap.

Gap	Word type	Why
The course costs £__________.	number	the £ sign
Please bring a __________.	singular noun	"a" before the gap
The rooms are very __________.	adjective	"very" before the gap
Students must __________ before 9 am.	verb	"must" before the gap
The tour lasts about __________.	number + time word	"lasts about" means a length of time
Open on __________ only.	day or date	"on" before a time word

2. Singular or plural?

Words like a, one and each mean singular. Words like several, many and two mean plural. Lesson L10 covers this.

3. What kind of thing is it?

This is the deeper prediction. Use the topic and your common sense.

Example: To join the gym, you need to bring a __________ and a recent photo.

Word type: singular noun. What kind of thing? Probably a document, like passport, ID card or letter. Now you know what to listen for.

How to do it fast

You won't have time to write sentences. Use tiny marks next to each question on your rough paper:

N for noun, V for verb, A for adjective, # for number
add an s if it's plural

It takes one or two seconds per question.

Try it yourself

Predict the word type for each gap.

The museum was built in __________.
Visitors should wear comfortable __________.
The main reason for the delay was __________ weather.
The best way to travel there is by __________.
Children under __________ go free.

Show the answers

1) number, a year. 2) plural noun, like shoes. 3) adjective, like bad or stormy. 4) noun, a type of transport. 5) number, an age.

Honest note

Sometimes your prediction will be wrong. That's okay. The point isn't to be perfect. It's to make your brain ready. A brain that's ready catches more.

Your task today

Take one practice test. Before playing any audio, predict all 40 gaps. Then do the test. Afterwards, check how many predictions were right.