Use of tenses in the IELTS Academic Task 1

by Vigorosk

When do we use the future tense for graphs?

If a line graph shows some data in future (e.g. till 2025), must we use future simple tense for the period of years 2015 - 2025?

Thanks in advance.

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Oct 08, 2015
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IELTS Graphs in the Future
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Vigorosk,

Yes, you should use the future simple tense for anything past the current year.

Take a look at this lesson to see how to describe a graph in the future

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Usage of the Past Perfect Continuous Tense

by serge
(turkey)

Please help me about usage of past perfect continuous tense with the upward/downward trends.

İs it ok to use it like below?

1) temperatures had been decreasing 4 celsius approximately since hottest day of the week

2) temperatures was decreasing 4 celsius approximately as of the hottest day of the week

3) The total amount of bike usage had been decreasing between 1960 and 2000.

4) or should ı use "was on decrease" with 3

plz help

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Sep 05, 2015
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Past perfect in IELTS Task 1
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Serge,

I think you are over-complicating things.

You need to use the past simple for completed actions in the past, which is clearly the case for (3).

As for (1) and (2), it is possible you could use PRESENT perfect continuous, but only if you are referring to a point in the past up until the present. So for example if temperatures have been decreasing from 1995-2015 (this year).

But this does not seem to make sense as you are talking about days of the week. I would really need to see the graphs you are referring to.

So depending on this, these seem like the possibilities:

1) temperatures have been decreasing 4 celsius approximately since hottest day of the week

OR

2) temperatures decreased 4 celsius approximately as of the hottest day of the week

3) The total amount of bike usage decreased between 1960 and 2000.

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Tense

by Chaminda
(Sri Lanka)

What tense Should I use in writing task 1?

Because it was observed almost always past tenses have been used in the model answers.

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Oct 25, 2016
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Past Simple
by: IELTS buddy

Hi Chaminda,

Yes you will find that it nearly always is in the past, so you will be using the past simple but you should always check the years carefully to make sure.

For example, you sometimes get graphs that also include the past and future, in which it is not just the past simple.

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