IELTSVegaTrue, False, Not Given in IELTS Reading: the test that settles every answer
How to answer True False Not Given in IELTS Reading: the one test that separates FALSE from NOT GIVEN, the qualifier traps, Yes/No/Not Given, and practice.
In IELTS Reading, True / False / Not Given questions give you a statement and ask whether the passage agrees with it (TRUE), contradicts it (FALSE), or says nothing that settles it either way (NOT GIVEN). The whole question type turns on one distinction: FALSE needs a sentence in the passage that makes the statement impossible; NOT GIVEN means no such sentence exists. If you can point to the line that rules the statement out, it is FALSE. If all you can say is "it doesn't say that", it is NOT GIVEN.
Below: the three answers defined precisely, the FALSE versus NOT GIVEN test, the words that set the traps, how Yes / No / Not Given differs, a step-by-step method, and a practice passage with every answer explained.
What TRUE, FALSE and NOT GIVEN actually mean
- The passage is the whole universe. Whether the statement is true in real life is irrelevant; only what the passage says counts.
- TRUE is almost never a word-for-word match. Expect paraphrase: "spread quickly" in the text, "grew rapidly" in the statement.
- NOT GIVEN does not mean the topic is missing. Usually the topic is there and the specific detail the statement adds is not.
| Answer | It means | What you must be able to do |
|---|---|---|
| TRUE | The passage states the same information, usually in different words | Point to the sentence that says it |
| FALSE | The passage states something that cannot be true at the same time as the statement | Point to the sentence that contradicts it |
| NOT GIVEN | The passage does not tell you whether the statement is true or false | Find the topic, and show the specific claim is never confirmed or denied |
FALSE vs NOT GIVEN: the one test
This is where most marks are lost, and the fix is a single question. After you find the relevant part of the passage, ask: is there a sentence here that makes the statement impossible?
Example passage sentence: "Most rooftop farms are small, run by volunteers or by restaurants."
- Do not choose FALSE because a statement feels unlikely, or NOT GIVEN because you could not find the sentence quickly. Both are guesses dressed as answers.
- Do not "fill in" with your own knowledge. If you think "well, that must be right", you are about to mark a NOT GIVEN as TRUE.
| Statement | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Most rooftop farms are large commercial businesses. | FALSE | "Most are small" cannot be true at the same time as "most are large" |
| Most rooftop farms are run by volunteers. | NOT GIVEN | Volunteers and restaurants are both named; the passage never says which group runs most of them |
| Some rooftop farms are run by restaurants. | TRUE | Restaurants are named as one kind of operator |
The words that set the traps
Statements are usually built so that one small word decides the answer. Underline these before you look at the passage.
| Type | Examples | How it catches people |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity | all, most, some, few, only, none | The passage says some; the statement says all |
| Frequency | always, usually, often, never, rarely | The passage says often; the statement says always |
| Comparison | more than, the largest, the first, the only | The passage describes one thing; the statement compares it with another the passage never measures |
| Cause | because, due to, led to, as a result | Both events are in the passage, but it never says one caused the other |
| Certainty | will, definitely, proved, is believed, may | The passage reports a claim ("supporters argue"); the statement presents it as a proven fact |
| Numbers and dates | in 1990, three times, within five years | One digit or one year changes the answer |
True False Not Given vs Yes No Not Given
Yes / No / Not Given works exactly the same way, with one difference: it asks about the writer's views or claims rather than factual information. You will see it with passages that argue a position. YES means the statement agrees with the writer's view; NO means it contradicts it; NOT GIVEN means the writer's view on that point cannot be worked out from the passage.
- In Yes / No / Not Given, look for the writer's stance: words like "argue", "clearly", "unfortunately", "it is a mistake to". A view reported from someone else ("critics say") is not necessarily the writer's own.
| True / False / Not Given | Yes / No / Not Given | |
|---|---|---|
| Tests | Facts and information in the passage | The writer's opinions, claims or views |
| Agrees | TRUE | YES |
| Contradicts | FALSE | NO |
| Cannot tell | NOT GIVEN | NOT GIVEN |
| Write the right set | Writing YES in a TFNG question is marked wrong | Writing TRUE in a YNNG question is marked wrong |
How to answer True False Not Given, step by step
Timing matters because both Reading tests give you 60 minutes for 40 questions, with no extra time to transfer answers. A True False Not Given set that eats ten minutes takes them from the passages that follow.
- 1. Read the statement and underline the content words plus any trap words: the quantity, frequency, comparison, cause or certainty word that the answer will hinge on.
- 2. Find the place in the passage. The answers come in the same order as the information in the passage, so the answer to question 3 sits after the answer to question 2. Names, numbers and dates are the fastest things to scan for.
- 3. Read the relevant sentence, and the one either side, slowly. This is the only careful reading the question needs.
- 4. Compare it with the statement, word by word on the trap words. Paraphrase is expected; a changed quantity or certainty is not paraphrase.
- 5. Apply the test. Contradicted by a sentence: FALSE. Stated: TRUE. Topic present but the specific claim neither stated nor contradicted: NOT GIVEN.
- 6. Do not leave a blank. No marks are deducted for wrong answers, so if you are running out of time, give your best answer and move on.
Practice: True False Not Given with answers
Read the passage, decide TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN for each statement, then check the explanations.
Rooftop farming. Growing food on the roofs of city buildings dates back more than a century, but it has spread quickly over the past two decades. Most rooftop farms are small, run by volunteers or by restaurants that want fresh herbs within a few metres of the kitchen. A smaller number are commercial operations that sell vegetables to shops.
Supporters argue that rooftop farms cool the buildings beneath them in summer, because soil and plants absorb heat that a bare roof would pass into the rooms below. Measurements on several buildings have supported this, although the effect depends heavily on the depth of the soil. Critics point out that a roof must be strong enough to carry wet soil, and that older buildings often need expensive structural work before any planting can begin.
The economics remain difficult. Commercial rooftop farms usually grow leafy greens and herbs, which sell at high prices and grow quickly, rather than staple crops such as wheat or potatoes. Even so, several well-known projects have closed within five years of opening, typically because rent and labour cost more than the harvest earned. Those that survive often earn extra income from tours, workshops and private events.
Some city governments now offer grants to building owners who install green roofs, though the conditions vary widely and few of the schemes are aimed specifically at food production.
- 1. Rooftop farming first appeared in the last twenty years.
- 2. Most rooftop farms are run as commercial businesses.
- 3. Rooftop farms can lower the temperature of the rooms beneath them in summer.
- 4. The cooling effect is the same whatever depth of soil is used.
- 5. Strengthening an older roof usually costs more than a farm earns in its first year.
- 6. Commercial rooftop farms tend to grow crops that sell for high prices.
- 7. Rooftop farms that run tours are more likely to survive than those that do not.
- 8. Most city grant schemes for green roofs are designed for growing food.
Answers and explanations
- Seven or eight right: your method works; build speed with timed sets.
- Mistakes on 5 and 7: you are filling gaps with reasonable assumptions. Go back to the test: is there a sentence that settles it?
- Mistakes on 1, 2 or 8: you are matching topics rather than checking the trap words. Underline the quantity and time words first.
| # | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FALSE | "Dates back more than a century" contradicts "first appeared in the last twenty years". The last two decades are when it spread, not when it began |
| 2 | FALSE | "Most rooftop farms are small, run by volunteers or by restaurants"; commercial operations are "a smaller number" |
| 3 | TRUE | Supporters argue it, and "measurements on several buildings have supported this". The passage confirms the claim, so it is no longer only an opinion |
| 4 | FALSE | "The effect depends heavily on the depth of the soil" makes "the same whatever depth" impossible |
| 5 | NOT GIVEN | The passage says the work is expensive, but never compares its cost with a farm's earnings |
| 6 | TRUE | They grow leafy greens and herbs, "which sell at high prices". "Tend to" matches "usually" |
| 7 | NOT GIVEN | The passage describes what survivors often do. It never compares the survival of farms with and without tours. This is the cause trap |
| 8 | FALSE | "Few of the schemes are aimed specifically at food production" contradicts "most" |
Drill it until the pattern is automatic
At four or five per test you will never see enough True False Not Given questions to make the distinction automatic. On IELTSVega you can practise Academic and General Training Reading by question type, so you can do a whole block of True / False / Not Given with an explanation for every answer, then sit a full timed passage to check that your pacing held.