Boost Your IELTS Listening Score by Fixing Common Punctuation and Number Mistakes

Getting your punctuation right could mean the difference between gaining or missing a mark in your IELTS Listening test. 

When dealing with various numbers in the IELTS Listening test, it’s important to make sure you have used punctuation like commas, hyphens and full stops correctly. 

In this article, IELTS expert Rocco Nigro looks at common mistakes test takers can make in this area and breaks down English punctuation conventions for numbers.  

Here are some numbers you could potentially hear in an IELTS Listening test: 

1. “one thousand”   

2. “two hundred and twenty thousand”   

3. “four and a half million” 

When writing your answer by using numerals instead of words, you need to make sure that you use English conventions.  Be careful – not all languages are the same. 

Here is the correct way to write these numbers along with some common errors:   

✓ 1,000

× 1.000

× 1’000

✓ 220,000

× 220.000

× 220’000

✓ 4,500,000

✓ 4.5 million (if you are allowed ONE WORD AND A NUMBER) 

× 4.000.000   

When separating thousands, use a comma and NOT a full stop (a period) or an apostrophe.       

Full stop or period?  

Both words are different names for the same punctuation mark. In British English, it is known as a full stop. In American English, it is called a period.  

Decimal numbers use a full stop (a period) in English. Let’s look at some different examples you might hear. 

a. “four and a half” 

b. “ten point seven five” 

c. “four and a half million” 

Here are some common mistakes that can be made, along with the correct convention:

✓ 4.5

× 4,5         

✓ 10.75  

× 10 point 75

× 10,75              

✓ 4.5 million

× 4,5 million

× 4.5 millions     

Make sure you use a full stop (a period) to separate any decimal proportions instead of a comma.  Also, make sure you do not add an ‘s’ to the words ‘hundred’, thousand’ or ‘million’ as this is not done in English. 

If you use the words generally like, “There were hundreds of people at that party last night”, it is fine because a specific figure was not mentioned. However, something like “There were three hundreds guests at the wedding.”, would be an error.  Instead, you should say “three hundred”. 

Sometimes in the IELTS Listening test, numbers are given in fractions. It is important to write them the correct way and avoid errors, but it may depend on the instructions of the question.   

For example, if the task requirement is to use: NO MORE THAN ONE WORD, which of the following ways can be used to write the answer for “2 thirds”?   

a. 2/3 

b. 2 thirds 

c. Two thirds 

d. Two-thirds 

The only correct option is d).   When writing fractions as words, make sure they are hyphenated.  Also, hyphenated words are counted as ONE WORD.   

Option c) is incorrect because the wrong punctuation is used, plus it uses TWO WORDS when the answer only requires ONE.    

Option b) is incorrect as it uses a WORD AND A NUMBER, which does not meet the task requirements.   

Option a) is also incorrect as numbers are not permitted in this task – only words. 

An ordinal number is a figure that shows the position of something that is in a series, such as first, second, third, fourth, etc. It is common to see ordinal numbers in dates (e.g. the 21st of January) or ranking (e.g. the 2nd step, the 5th floor, the 9th question).

Ordinal numbers do not contain punctuation, but if you write them as numerals instead of words, make sure you use the correct abbreviations.

When writing ordinal numbers, remember that with numbers ending with a ‘1’, use ‘st’, which is short for ‘first’ (e.g. 1st, 21st, 31st) except for the number eleven. In this case, the ordinal number is '11th'.

As for numbers ending in ‘2’, use ‘nd’, which is short for ‘second’ (e.g. 2nd, 22nd, 32nd, etc.) except for the number twelve. This ordinal number, twelfth, is written is '12th'.

What about numbers ending with ‘3’? Again, the ordinal number for ‘13’ is '13th' but all other numbers ending in ‘3’ use ‘rd’, which is short for ‘third’.

For other numbers, you can add the suffix ‘-th' to the numeral to make it an ordinal number (e.g. 4th, 5th, 6th etc). However, take care when writing ordinal numbers as words as some have irregular spellings. See the chart below for examples.

A typical answer you may be asked to complete, especially in Part 1 of the IELTS Listening test, is a clock time.  But what is the right convention? 

Firstly, you can use either a colon or a full stop to separate the hours and minutes.  For example, for ‘seven o’clock’, it can be written as: 

7:00 or 7.00.

Sometimes, the speaker in the recording will mention whether the time is in the morning or afternoon/evening.  Look at the following task: 

Listen to the following recording and think about your answer. 

Write no more than TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER. 

Marketing Tasks 

• Meet at ……………(1) before the conference call 

• Make sure presentation is finished by …………… (2) p.m. 

Let’s look at the dialogue: 

Speaker A:  I think we should touch base before the video meeting – what do you think? 

Speaker B:  I agree.  How about we have a chat at nine thirty in the morning? 

Speaker A:  Sounds good to me.  But don’t forget the whole presentation needs to be completed at some time during the day.  I think they said no later than 5 o’clock this evening. 

Speaker B:  Oh, thanks for reminding me! 

So, when it comes to Question 1, you need to indicate that it is in the morning, not the afternoon, so your answer can be: 

9.30 a.m. / 9:30am / 9.30 A.M. / 9:30AM 

However, in Question 2, you should not include ‘pm’ because it is already mentioned in the question.  Therefore, your answer can be: 

5:00 or 5.00 

In the IELTS Listening test, the most common currencies you hear are either dollars or pounds.  If the question does not provide the symbol, then include it in your answer (i.e. ‘$’ for ‘dollars’ and ‘£’ for ‘pounds’).   

When it comes to decimals, use a full stop and not a comma or an apostrophe.  For example, if the answer is ‘four dollars and fifty cents’, the following answer is correct: 

✓ $4.50  

 However, the following answers are incorrect: 

×  4.50$        

× $4.5          

‘four dollars and five cents’ is written as:   

$4.05 not $4.5 

To make sure you use the right convention with punctuation when dealing with figures in your IELTS test, make a list of common numbers that you use in your daily life, such as money amounts, times, proportions etc.   

The more you practice using the correct format, the more likely you are to do this in your IELTS Listening test. 

A good way to practice listening to numbers and using the correct punctuation is with a form completion task like the one below. You can find this task and the audio recording on our IELTS Listening practice questions page.  

Source: Free IELTS Listening – practice sample questions | IDP IELTS 

Our preparation resources are designed to help you feel prepared, confident, and ready to achieve the IELTS Listening score you need to thrive in your new life. 

Find all the guidance and practice materials you need in our IELTS Preparation Hub. 

Find answers to frequently asked questions about IELTS Listening.