IELTS · Learn · 30 October 2026 · 5 min read

IELTS Reading: True/False/Not Given vs Yes/No/Not Given

The difference between True/False/Not Given and Yes/No/Not Given in IELTS Reading, how to tell False from Not Given, and a step-by-step method.

Two question types in IELTS Reading cause more lost marks than almost any other: True/False/Not Given and Yes/No/Not Given. They look alike, and the method for answering them is almost the same. The difference lies in what the statements are being checked against.

This guide explains that difference, shows how to separate "False" from "Not Given", and gives a method you can use on any passage. For the wider format, see our guides to Academic Reading and General Training Reading.

The difference in one table

The logic is the same in both. Only the target changes: information in one, opinion in the other.

Important: write the exact words the instructions ask for. If the question asks for TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN, writing YES or NO is marked wrong, and the reverse is also true. The safest habit is to write the full answer word every time.

What each answer means

TRUE or YES

The passage states the same thing, usually in different words. The statement is a paraphrase of something in the text.

FALSE or NO

The passage states the opposite, or something that cannot be true at the same time as the statement. The text directly contradicts it.

NOT GIVEN

The passage does not say whether the statement is true or not. The topic may be mentioned, but the specific claim is not confirmed or contradicted.

Separating False from Not Given

This is where most marks go. Ask one question:

Does the passage say something that makes this statement impossible?

• If yes, the answer is False (or No).
• If the passage simply does not deal with the point, the answer is Not Given.

Here is a short passage we have written for practice:

The town's first public library opened in 1891 in two rooms above the market hall. Within ten years, demand had grown so much that a separate building was needed, and the council paid for it by raising local taxes.

Now three statements:

1. The library began in a building shared with the market. True. "Above the market hall" means the same building.
2. The first library had its own purpose-built building. False. It started in two rooms above the market hall, which contradicts this.
3. Many residents objected to the tax rise. Not Given. Taxes are mentioned, but nothing is said about objections.

Statement 3 is the typical trap. The topic, the tax rise, appears in the passage, so it feels as if the answer must be there. It is not.

A step-by-step method

1. Read the instructions. Note whether you are looking for facts (T/F/NG) or the writer's views (Y/N/NG).
2. Read the statement and underline key words, especially names, numbers, dates and words that are hard to paraphrase.
3. Find the location in the passage. The questions usually follow the order of the text, so the answer to question 3 is usually after the answer to question 2.
4. Read the relevant sentences closely. Not just the sentence with the key word; the one before and after often matters.
5. Compare meaning, not words. Ask whether the passage says the same thing, the opposite, or nothing about this exact point.
6. Decide and move on. If you are spending more than about a minute and a half, choose your best answer and return later if there is time.

Tip: because answers follow the passage order, a Not Given answer can be hard to locate. If you find the answers before and after it, the Not Given point should sit between them. If nothing there matches, that is evidence for Not Given.

Words that change the meaning

Small words decide many of these questions. Watch for:

• Qualifiers: all, most, some, only, always, usually, never. "Some visitors" in the text does not support "all visitors" in the statement.
• Comparisons: more than, the first, the largest. The passage may give the facts but not the comparison.
• Cause and effect: a statement may claim that A caused B when the passage only says both happened.
• Time: now, still, no longer, at first. A fact that was true in the past may not be true now.
• Certainty: in Yes/No/Not Given, the writer may suggest or doubt something. A statement that says the writer is certain may then be No or Not Given.

Common mistakes

• Using your own knowledge. Judge only from the passage. A statement can be true in real life and still be Not Given.
• Matching words instead of meaning. A statement that repeats words from the passage can still be False.
• Treating "not mentioned" as False. False needs a contradiction.
• Misreading Yes/No questions as fact questions. In Yes/No/Not Given, a fact reported in the passage that the writer does not give a view on can still lead to Not Given.
• Spending too long on one statement. Each question is worth the same mark.

How to practice

• Do one set of these questions a day for a week, then review every wrong answer by finding the exact sentence that decides it.
• For each Not Given answer, write one sentence that would have made it True and one that would have made it False. This trains you to see what is missing.
• Keep a list of the qualifiers and time words that caught you out.

Find timed Reading practice on the IELTS hub, and use our six-week IELTS study plan to schedule it. For current test details, check ielts.org.

Key points

• True/False/Not Given checks facts; Yes/No/Not Given checks the writer's views.
• False or No needs a contradiction. Not Given means the passage does not say.
• Answers follow the order of the passage.
• Judge only from the text, not your own knowledge.
• Write exactly the answer words the instructions ask for.