IELTS Listening short answer questions
Short answer questions ask something directly — how many, how much, what kind, who — and expect an answer of a word or two. There is no sentence to complete and no options to choose between, so there is nothing to lean on except what you heard and what the instruction allows.
Because the question is direct, the listening is rarely the problem. Two things cost marks instead. The first is the word limit, which candidates break by answering in a phrase when a word was asked for. The second is numbers — specifically the ‑teen and ‑ty pair, which differ by one unstressed syllable and are the sounds most reliably misheard in English.
Thirteen and thirty share a first syllable. What separates them is where the stress falls and how the word ends, and in connected speech at exam pace the ending is quiet.
What it looks like on the paper
Direct questions with a word limit such as NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER. The answers come in the order of the recording.
Where it appears
Parts 1 and 2 most often, sometimes Part 4. It is the least common of the completion-style tasks, but the ‑teen/‑ty problem it exposes shows up across the whole paper.
Try one
Try one — no sign-up
The instruction says ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER. How many people are going on the trip?
Where the marks actually go
‑teen against ‑ty
Thirteen and thirty, fourteen and forty, fifteen and fifty. One unstressed syllable apart, and both plausible answers to the same question.
What to do: Listen to the end of the word, not the start. ‑teen keeps a long vowel and finishes on an n; ‑ty is shorter and finishes on a small t sound.
An extra, needless word
"Thirty people" where "thirty" was asked for, or "about thirty" where the number was wanted.
What to do: Answer the question and stop. A unit or a hedge is almost never required.
Answering a different question
Two numbers are often mentioned close together — a price and a quantity, a date and a time.
What to do: Keep the question word in mind while you listen. How many and how much do not have the same answer.
The method, in order
- 1Read the question and the word limit, and note the question word.
- 2Decide what kind of answer it must be — a number, a name, a noun.
- 3Listen for that kind of thing, and for the end of any number you hear.
- 4Write the shortest answer that answers it.
- 5In the transfer time, cut any word you added to make it sound complete.
How to practise this one on purpose
Drill the number pairs on their own, at real speed: thirteen and thirty, fourteen and forty, fifteen and fifty. Slow speech makes the ending obvious and therefore trains nothing. Then practise answering in the fewest words allowed, which is a trimming habit as much as a listening one.
Common questions
Can I answer in a full sentence?
No. A full sentence will break the word limit, and the limit is applied strictly.
How do I get better at ‑teen and ‑ty?
By hearing the pair deliberately, many times, at real speed rather than slowly — slow speech makes the ending clear and so trains nothing. It is a recognition habit, not a vocabulary gap.
What if the answer is a name or a place I cannot spell?
Spell it as you heard it and move on. Proper nouns in Part 1 are normally either spelled out letter by letter or printed somewhere on the question paper, precisely because the test is not trying to catch you on unfamiliar names. If it was neither, it is unlikely to be the answer.
Is this the type costing you marks?
The free listening check is six short clips and three minutes. It gives you an indicative band and, more usefully, which listening skills the misses cluster in — so the next month of practice goes somewhere.
Take the free listening test →The other question types
Lisenia is an independent study tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the British Council, IDP or Cambridge Assessment English. Band figures here are indicative practice guidance, not official scores.