Functional English

Describing Experiences
Let’s Learn
How was your holiday? What did you do? What was the
best part? In this lesson, you will practice describing
past experiences, including good ones, bad ones, and
everything in between.

Warm-Up
BR AINSTORMING

Work with your classmates.

Think of some experiences that people often describe.

• vacations •

• sporting events •

• job interviews •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Common Questions
Listen to your teacher ask these common questions.
Practice saying them out loud.

• How was your weekend/holiday/trip? • How did it go?

• Where did you go? • Why? What happened?

• What did you do? • Did you do anything fun/exciting/interesting?

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 Describing Experiences
Functional English

Dialogues
Listen and follow along with the recording. Then work with a partner.
Practice the dialogues. Then switch roles and practice again.

Dialogue 1 Dialogue 2

Practice describing a great experience. Now practice describing a disappointing experience.

A: Welcome back! How was your winter break? A: Hey! How was that new restaurant?

B: It was great, thanks. B: It was terrible.

A: Did you do anything fun? A: Oh really? What was wrong with it?

B: Yeah. We went to New York City! B: Well, first the service was horrible. Then the food
was cold. It was really expensive too.
A: Nice! How was it?
A: That’s too bad.
B: It was awesome. We ate great food and
saw amazing shows. We also went skating B: Yeah. We were really disappointed.
at Rockefeller Center.
A: No doubt!
A: Sounds exciting!

Dialogue 3
Till
Now practice describing an interesting experience. The word “till” means cash register or money drawer.
In spoken English, the word “till” is often used
A: Did you get that job? informally to mean “until.”

B: Yes! I started on Monday. • There are no tens in the till.

• Are you working till noon?

A: How was your first day?

B: Well, it was [pauses] interesting.

A: Why? What happened?

B: Well, first they showed me how to work the till.

Then they left me all alone in the store!

A: Really? How did that go?

B: It went well, actually. I worked till 10:00 pm

and didn’t make any major mistakes.

A: Good for you!

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 Describing Experiences
Functional English

Adjectives
A. Sorting

Here are some common adjectives for describing experiences.

Work with a partner. Sort the adjectives into positive and negative
experiences. Look up any words you don’t know.

• fun • stressful
• awesome • terrible
• horrible • exciting
• disappointing • unforgettable
• surprising • nice
• great • educational
• boring • memorable
• interesting • relaxing

Positive Experiences Negative Experiences

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

B. Describing Experiences

Use the list to share real-life examples of experiences for each adjective.

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 Describing Experiences
Functional English

Practice
A. Complete the Dialogue

Work in pairs. Complete the dialogue, and practice with a partner.

Friend 1: Did you go to that concert?

Friend 2: Yes. It was last night.

Friend 1: How               it?

1. verb

Friend 2: It was               !

2. (negative adjective)

Friend 1: Oh no. What               ?

3. verb

Friend 2: The weather was               ! It               all night. The music
wasn’t great either. 4. (negative adjective) 5. (weather verb)

Friend 1: I’m sorry to               that.

6. (verb)

Friend 2: How was your weekend? Did you               anything               ?
7. (verb) 8. (positive adjective)

Friend 1: Yes. I went               !

9. (-ing verb)

Friend 2: Nice! How was it?

Friend 1: It was               !

10. (positive adjective)

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 Describing Experiences
Functional English

Practice cont.
B. Writing & Speaking Practice

Think of a recent day trip or vacation. Answer the following questions

about it. Write complete sentences. Then describe this experience
to a partner.

1. Where did you go?

2. How was it?

3. What did you do/see?

4. Describe one positive thing about it.

5. Describe one negative thing about it.

Listening
Listen to each question. Choose the correct response.

1. a) It was relaxing, thanks. 4. a) I lost my wallet!

b) No, it wasn’t great. b) Yes, it was great.
c) Toronto. c) Nice!

2. a) It was exciting! 5. a) We went from Friday to Sunday.

b) We went to the cottage. b) That was memorable.
c) Just for a week. c) Yeah. We hiked up a mountain.

3. a) It was disappointing. 6. a) It was horrible.

b) We went fishing. b) We went by bus.
c) It was a lot of fun. c) What a great experience. Lucky you!

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 Describing Experiences
Functional English

Grammar Review
PARTICIPIAL ADJECTIVES

A. Reference

Some adjectives have more than one ending (suffix).

Adjectives about feelings often end in -ed or -ing.

Suffix Use Examples

Use -ing if the noun is the reason • This concert was boring.
or the cause of the feeling adjective. (The noun concert is the reason/cause
In other words, -ing adjectives show of the feeling of boredom.)
-ing
why a person is feeling a certain way. • It was an exciting vacation.
These -ing adjectives are commonly (The noun vacation is the cause
used with nouns that are things. of the feeling of excitement.)

Use -ed to show the result or • She was disappointed.

the effect of the feeling adjective. (The adjective disappointed
In other words, -ed adjectives describes how she felt.)
-ed
describe how a person is feeling. • Their kids were surprised.
These -ed adjectives are commonly (The adjective surprised describes
used with nouns that are people. how their kids felt.)

B. Practice

Choose an -ed or -ing adjective to complete each sentence.

1. The movie was              .

exciting / excited

2. The students were              at the museum.

bored / boring

3. I was               because I didn’t get the job.

disappointed / disappointing

4. The concert announcement was               .

surprised / surprising

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 Describing Experiences
Functional English

Review
Task 1

ASK ABOUT AN EXPERIENCE

Write five questions for your teacher about a recent holiday break or trip. Ask your teacher your questions.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Task 2 Task 3

COMPLETE THE DIALOGUE MY INTERESTING EXPERIENCE

Complete a dialogue about a trip to a foreign country. Tell your class or teacher about an interesting
Use positive and negative adjectives. Find a partner and experience from your past.
perform the dialogue for your teacher. Then switch roles.
• Use at least five sentences.
A: Did you go to                   ? • Use positive and negative adjectives.
• Use -ed and -ing adjectives.
B: Yes. I just got back!
• Answer some follow-up questions about
A: How was the flight? your experience.

B:

A: Oh no! What happened?

B:

A: That’s too bad. Did you do anything fun there?

B:

A: Sounds exciting! Did you try any interesting food?

B:

A: How was that?

B:

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 Describing Experiences
Functional English

Speaking Assessment Tool

Student / Group:                                               

Date Level Assessed By Task Skill

Describing Experiences Speaking

Achieved Achieved With Help Needs Improvement

Criteria

uses a variety of positive

and negative adjectives
for describing experiences

forms questions about

others’ experiences

understands participial
adjectives with -ed and
-ing endings

holds a short conversation

about past experiences

Notes

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 Describing Experiences
Functional English

Self-Assessment
DESCRIBING EXPERIENCES

Add check marks () to show what you've learned in this lesson.

Name:                         Date:                        

Yes (very well) Yes (with help) Not yet

Can I...

describe a past experience that was positive?

describe a past experience that was negative?

begin a conversation about a recent experience?

ask questions about others’ experiences?

use a variety of adjectives to describe

past experiences?

My Notes

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