Sport and free time come up in IELTS from two angles. In Writing Task 2, you may be asked whether it’s fair that footballers earn more than doctors, whether a country should host the Olympic Games or spend the money on sports grounds for everyone, and whether PE should be compulsory at school. In Speaking Part 1, you’ll often be asked about your hobbies and weekends, and in Part 3 the conversation moves to bigger questions: why some sports fill stadiums while others don’t, and how people will spend their free time twenty years from now.
The trap in this topic is the very first sentence. Many learners reach for make sport, and the answer stumbles before it has started. In British English you do sport, in American English you play sports, and in an essay take part in sport or do physical activity is often more precise. Another frequent slip is win instead of beat when you’re talking about an opponent.
Below are 29 collocations for essays and Speaking answers about sport, professional athletes, major competitions and leisure, the mistakes learners most often make with them, and an example of how LetsWords gives feedback on a sentence you write. Illness and healthcare are covered on our health vocabulary page, eating habits on the food vocabulary page, and you’ll find every other topic in IELTS vocabulary by topic.
Sport and leisure: words and collocations
Doing sport
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| do sport (BrE) / play sports (AmE) | to take part in sport | Children who do sport at school are more likely to stay active later. |
| take up a sport | to start doing a sport | My father took up running at the age of fifty. |
| take part in | to participate in | Thousands of amateurs take part in the city marathon every year. |
| keep fit | to stay in good physical shape | Many people join a gym simply to keep fit. |
| lead an active lifestyle | to move and exercise regularly | It is easier to lead an active lifestyle if you live near a park. |
| physical activity | any movement that uses your body | Even a short walk counts as physical activity. |
| physical education (PE) | sport and exercise lessons at school | Physical education should be more than running laps. |
| team sports | sports played by teams | Team sports teach children to cooperate and accept defeat. |
| competitive sport | sport where the aim is to win | Not every child enjoys competitive sport, and that is fine. |
Professional sport
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| professional athletes | people who are paid to compete | Professional athletes train for hours every day. |
| earn huge salaries | to be paid very large amounts | Top footballers earn huge salaries compared with nurses. |
| sponsorship deals | contracts in which companies pay athletes or teams | A single sponsorship deal can be worth more than a player’s salary. |
| a role model | someone people want to copy | Sports stars are role models for millions of teenagers. |
| performance-enhancing drugs | banned substances that improve results | Athletes caught using performance-enhancing drugs should be banned. |
| fair play | playing honestly and by the rules | Fair play matters more in youth sport than winning. |
| beat a rival | to defeat an opponent | Our team finally beat its old rival in the final. |
| win a championship | to come first in a competition | The club has not won a championship for twenty years. |
| a spectator sport | a sport people like to watch | Football is the most popular spectator sport in Europe. |
Major events
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| host the Olympic Games | to hold the Olympics in your country or city | Hosting the Olympic Games costs billions. |
| a major sporting event | a large international competition | A major sporting event brings visitors but also traffic and high prices. |
| sports facilities | stadiums, pools, pitches and gyms | Many towns lack basic sports facilities. |
| at grassroots level | among ordinary amateur players | Money spent at grassroots level reaches far more people. |
| leave a lasting legacy | to bring benefits that continue for years | The Games left a lasting legacy of new parks and transport links. |
| a source of national pride | something that makes a country proud | An Olympic medal is a source of national pride. |
Free time
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| leisure activities | things people do in their free time | For many teenagers, leisure activities now mean screens rather than sport. |
| spare time | time when you are not working or studying | In my spare time, I usually go cycling. |
| pursue a hobby | to spend time developing a hobby | Adults rarely have enough time to pursue a hobby seriously. |
| a sedentary lifestyle | a way of life with very little movement | Office work encourages a sedentary lifestyle. |
| outdoor activities | activities done outside, in the open air | Many families prefer outdoor activities such as hiking to an evening in front of the TV. |
Common mistakes
1. Make sport
I try to make sport three times a week.
Correct: I try to do sport three times a week. Make is about creating or producing something, so it doesn’t go with sport. In British English it’s do sport, in American English play sports. With a particular sport, the verb depends on the sport: play football, go swimming, do yoga.
2. Win or beat
Our team won the strongest club in the league.
Correct: Our team beat the strongest club in the league. Win goes with the thing you win: win a match, win a medal, win the cup. An opponent you beat or defeat: the team or player you play against can’t be the object of win.
3. Go to swimming
We go to swimming every Sunday.
Correct: We go swimming every Sunday. With activities ending in -ing, go takes no preposition: go swimming, go cycling, go skiing. Go to is for places: go to the pool, go to the gym.
4. Spend time for
Teenagers spend too much time for computer games.
Correct: Teenagers spend too much time on computer games. When you say what the time goes on, spend time takes on, not for. It sounds even more natural with an -ing form: spend too much time playing computer games.
How LetsWords explains mistakes like these
While you’re reading a table, every word looks familiar. The mistakes appear when you write. Here’s what one task in LetsWords looks like.
You’re reviewing take up a sport. LetsWords shows you its meaning in your native language, you recall the English expression and write a sentence about yourself or someone you know:
My brother took up to football at school and soon won all his rivals.
The feedback, which LetsWords gives in your native language, points out two mistakes:
- took up to football → took up football: in this meaning, take up is followed directly by the sport, with no to;
- won all his rivals → beat all his rivals: you win a match or a cup, but you beat an opponent.
My brother took up football at school and soon beat all his rivals.
A few days later, the expression comes back in review, and you use it in a new situation, for example in an essay about sport at school. That’s how a collocation from a list becomes one you can pull from memory and write without a mistake.
Start practising with feedback on your mistakes
When you sign up, you choose IELTS as your goal and pick your level, and LetsWords sets up your practice. You can try the feedback before you pay.
Using these collocations in Writing Task 2
An exam-style task:
Many countries spend large amounts of money on hosting international sporting events. Some people think this money would be better spent on sports facilities for ordinary people. Discuss both views and give your opinion.
A model paragraph covering the second view and the writer’s opinion:
Critics argue that the same money could make a far greater difference at grassroots level. Stadiums built to host the Olympic Games are often half-empty a few years later, whereas local swimming pools and football pitches are used every day. If children have safe and affordable sports facilities near home, they are more likely to take up a sport and lead an active lifestyle as adults. This matters because a sedentary lifestyle is now common even among teenagers, who spend hours in front of screens. In my opinion, a single tournament can inspire people for one summer, but physical activity becomes a habit only when it is part of everyday life.
Why this paragraph works. The argument moves step by step: the money → where it actually gets used → what that changes for children → why it matters now. Whereas sets the two options side by side in a single sentence. Each collocation fits its situation exactly: take up a sport is about starting, lead an active lifestyle is about a habit that lasts for years. The last sentence answers “give your opinion” and sums up by contrasting one summer with everyday life.
Using them in Speaking
Part 3 question: Why do some sports attract more spectators than others?
Partly it’s tradition. Football has been the main spectator sport in Europe for over a century, so watching it is part of family life. But I think money matters even more: when a sport attracts big sponsorship deals and TV money, matches are shown everywhere and players become celebrities and role models. Sports like rowing can be just as exciting, but most people only see them during the Olympics.
The answer gives two reasons and links them with but … even more, so it’s clear which one matters most. The rowing example rounds off the idea without any unnecessary retelling.
Practise for free
- do sport: taking part in sport, and which verb goes with which sport;
- do exercise: being physically active;
- keep fit: staying healthy and strong;
- take up: starting a new hobby or sport;
- take part in: participating;
- win vs beat: winning a game vs beating an opponent;
- trainer: an instructor, and sports shoes in British English;
- spend time: spending time with someone or on something.
How to take a position and hold it through to the conclusion is shown in our guide to the IELTS opinion essay.
From the list to real use
Reading that you beat an opponent rather than win them is easy; getting it right while you’re writing about a match is a skill. Move from the list to real use with LetsWords: work through an IELTS set for your level and add collocations from this page to your collection, such as take up a sport or a sedentary lifestyle. You recall each expression from a prompt and write a sentence with it, LetsWords points out the mistake and explains it in your native language (Russian, Korean or Vietnamese), and spaced repetition brings the expression back until it comes naturally. Sports vocabulary pays off in Writing too: the IELTS Writing section has Task 2 prompts on physical activity and gyms (in the Health topic) and on free time (in the Society topic), and a full answer gets detailed feedback on all four criteria. When you sign up, you answer a few questions about your goal and level, and LetsWords sets up your practice; you can try the feedback before you pay. For other topics, see IELTS vocabulary by topic.