Why qualifying words decide True False Not Given answers
Every statement makes a claim with a size. "Some museums charge entry" and "All museums charge entry" are about the same topic, but they are different claims, and a passage can support one while contradicting the other. The word that sets the size is the qualifier.
Question writers know that you scan for content words: museums, entry, charge. When you find them, it feels like a match. So the change that decides the answer is often hidden in a word you did not scan for. Many wrong answers come from comparing topics instead of comparing strength.
That rule is why qualifiers matter so much. A statement only agrees if the passage supports it at its full strength. If the passage says the strength is lower, or names an exception, the statement is contradicted. If the passage never says how many, how often or whether anything else counts, the statement is Not Given.
Qualifying words in IELTS Reading: the ones to circle
Qualifiers fall into a few families. Inside each family, the words sit on a scale from strongest to weakest. The passage rarely repeats the statement's word, so learn the paraphrases too.
Qualifier families and how passages paraphrase them
| Family | Strongest → weakest | What the passage may say instead |
|---|---|---|
| How many | all / every → most → many → some → a few → none | the vast majority, nearly all, more than half, a proportion of, few, hardly any, not a single |
| How often | always → usually → often → sometimes → rarely → never | invariably, as a rule, typically, frequently, occasionally, on rare occasions, at no point |
| Limit | only, solely, exclusively, entirely | nothing but, restricted to, confined to; or a list that adds something else ("as well as", "also") |
| Certainty | will, must, proves → is likely → may, might | is thought to, suggests, appears to: these hedges have a sheet of their own |
BandLadder advice: circle the qualifier in the statement before you scan. If there is none, the statement is making a plain, unlimited claim, and that is worth noticing too.
Two words cause more trouble than the rest. Only quietly rules out everything else, so one extra item in the passage makes it FALSE. Few sounds like "some" but works like a negative: "few travellers completed the journey" contradicts "most travellers completed it". Statements that compare two things (more than, older, the largest) need a different check, covered in True False Not Given comparisons.
How to answer True False Not Given with qualifiers
The strength check (BandLadder method)
- 1
Circle the qualifier. Before you scan, circle the word in the statement that sets its size: all, most, only, always, never, usually. No qualifier means a plain claim.
- 2
Find the place. Scan for the content words or their synonyms to find the sentence the statement is built on. Read the sentence before it and after it as well.
- 3
Find the passage's strength. Look for the passage's own qualifier, which is usually a paraphrase, and for any exception: but, although, except, others, also, instead.
- 4
Compare the two. Same strength, or the passage clearly covers it: TRUE. Passage sets a different strength or names an exception: FALSE. Passage never says how many or how often: NOT GIVEN.
What the comparison usually gives you
| Passage says | Statement says | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| the vast majority live in mild settings | Most live in mild settings. | TRUE | Same strength, different words. |
| the vast majority live in mild settings | Most live in extreme settings. | FALSE | The passage puts most of them somewhere else. |
| few travellers completed the route | Most travellers completed the route. | FALSE | Few and most cannot both be true. |
| it lends drills as well as sewing machines | It only lends drills. | FALSE | The passage names a second item. |
| members may borrow up to three tools | Most members borrow three tools. | NOT GIVEN | A limit is not a count of what people do. |
The middle rows are the classic qualifier traps. The last row is the one learners most often get wrong.
True False Not Given examples with qualifiers
Statement: Mostqualifier species of tardigrades live in naturally extreme environments. Passage: Despite their widespread reputation as indestructible extremophiles, the vast majority= most of tardigrade species inhabit relatively mild, moisture-rich settings, including damp mosses, forest leaf litter, soil, and freshwater sediments.
- → The qualifier matches: "the vast majority" is the passage's way of saying most.
- → What that majority does is the opposite: mild settings, not extreme ones. Answer: FALSE.
- → The word "extremophiles" is the bait. It sits in the same sentence, but it describes their reputation, not where they live.
Statement: Most merchantsqualifier on the ancient Silk Road completed the entire journey between China and the Mediterranean. Passage: In reality, overland commerce across Central Asia operated as a fragmented relay system. Few individual travellers≠ most ever completed the entire five-thousand-kilometre expanse between major civilisations.
- → The content words match almost word for word, which is exactly why careless readers write TRUE.
- → Few and most sit at opposite ends of the scale. The passage contradicts the statement's size. Answer: FALSE.
Passage: The community tool library lends drills, ladders and garden tools. Since last spring it has also lent sewing machinesextra item. Members may borrow up to three itemsa limit at a time, and returned tools are usually checked within a week, although larger machines can take longerexception.
- → "The library only lends equipment for building work." FALSE: "also" adds sewing machines.
- → "Returned tools are always checked within a week." FALSE: the "although" clause names an exception.
- → "Most members borrow three items at a time." NOT GIVEN: the passage gives the limit, not what members actually do.
- → "Sewing machines are the most popular items." NOT GIVEN: popularity is never compared.
Notice the pattern in Example 3. Both FALSE answers come from a word that adds something (also) or breaks the rule (although). Both NOT GIVEN answers ask for a size the passage never measured. If you want to see this check applied to a full set, one question at a time, Solve Along walks through BandLadder questions step by step.
How to distinguish False and Not Given: qualifier traps
✗ The topic matches the passage, so the answer is TRUE.
✓ The topic and the strength must both match before you write TRUE.
A matching topic only tells you where to look. The qualifier tells you what the passage must commit to.
✗ The statement says "only", so it must be FALSE.
✓ "Only" is FALSE when the passage names something else, and TRUE when the passage also limits it.
Absolute words are risky, not wrong. Look for the extra item or the matching limit before deciding.
✗ The passage says members can borrow three tools, so "most borrow three" is TRUE.
✓ A rule, a limit or a possibility is not a count of what people actually do: NOT GIVEN.
"Can", "up to" and "may" describe what is allowed. "Most" claims what happens.
✗ "Usually" and "always" are close enough, so TRUE.
✓ Look for the exception. If the passage names one, "always" is FALSE.
Exception words such as although, except and but are the evidence that the strength is lower.
Your turn: qualifier practice
A survey of 120 rooftop gardens in one city found that most grew vegetables; the rest grew only flowers. A few of the gardens kept bees, and every garden with bees had been set up after 2015. Most gardens were watered by hand, but the largest ones used drip systems instead.
Do the statements agree with the information in the passage? Write TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN.
- All of the gardens surveyed grew vegetables.
- A. TRUE
- B. FALSE
- C. NOT GIVEN
Show answer
FALSE
"The rest grew only flowers" names gardens with no vegetables, so "all" is contradicted.
- Only a small number of the gardens kept bees.
- A. TRUE
- B. FALSE
- C. NOT GIVEN
Show answer
TRUE
"A few" is a small number; the statement matches the passage's strength.
- Some of the gardens with bees were set up before 2015.
- A. TRUE
- B. FALSE
- C. NOT GIVEN
Show answer
FALSE
"Every garden with bees" was set up after 2015, so none was set up before.
- Most of the gardens with bees also grew vegetables.
- A. TRUE
- B. FALSE
- C. NOT GIVEN
Show answer
NOT GIVEN
The passage gives a size for each group separately but never says how many bee-keeping gardens grew vegetables.
- Most of the people who ran the gardens were retired.
- A. TRUE
- B. FALSE
- C. NOT GIVEN
Show answer
NOT GIVEN
The gardeners' ages or jobs are never mentioned, so the claim is neither confirmed nor contradicted.
BandLadder questions
Practise it now
Use the method on original BandLadder questions. Attempt them free and see your score.
Questions
FAQ
What are qualifying words in IELTS Reading?+
They are words that set how strong a claim is: all, most, some, few, only, always, usually, never. In True False Not Given, the passage must support the statement at that exact strength for the answer to be TRUE.
What is the difference between False and Not Given in IELTS Reading?+
FALSE means the passage contradicts the statement. NOT GIVEN means the passage neither agrees with nor contradicts it. With qualifiers, a different strength or a named exception gives FALSE; a size the passage never measures gives NOT GIVEN.
Is a statement with 'all' or 'never' always FALSE?+
No. Absolute words are often FALSE because passages tend to include exceptions, but if the passage also says all or never, the answer is TRUE. Always check the passage.
If the passage says 'most' and the statement says 'all', is it False or Not Given?+
Usually FALSE. A writer who chooses 'most' is signalling that some do not, and passages normally make this explicit by mentioning the rest or an exception (others, the remainder, although). Find that evidence in the same or next sentence before you decide.
How do I identify Not Given in IELTS Reading?+
Find the part of the passage the statement is about. If it never says how many, how often or whether anything else is included, and nothing in it contradicts the statement, the answer is NOT GIVEN.
Do qualifiers work the same way in Yes No Not Given?+
Yes. The method is the same; you compare the strength of the statement with the strength of the writer's view or claim instead of the information in the text.
Sources
- ielts.org: IELTS Academic Reading format, Identifying information (True/False/Not given): https://ielts.org/take-a-test/test-types/ielts-academic-test/ielts-academic-format-reading
- ielts.org: IELTS General Training Reading format, Identifying information (True/False/Not given): https://ielts.org/take-a-test/test-types/ielts-general-training-test/ielts-general-training-format-reading
- BandLadder True False Not Given sets: Tardigrades; Caravan Logistics on the Silk Routes; Harnessing the Wind: https://bandladder.com/ielts-reading-practice/true-false-not-given
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