Prepare for {IELTS}

Describe a family member you spend most time with

You should say:
• Who it is
• What he/she is like
• What you usually do together
• And explain why you spend time with him/her

It was quite tricky to decide who to talk about because I come from quite
a close-knit family and I spend a lot of time with many members of the
family because we have a lot of family get-togethers, but I’ve decided to
talk about my cousin because recently we’ve been hanging out with*
each other a lot.

*to hang out with = to spend a lot of time with someone

Like I said, he’s my cousin, my maternal cousin to be more precise.

Although we’re not exactly the same age, we’re both in our mid twenties
and our friendship circle is the same so whenever I go out with my
mates, he’s there too. When we were growing up, we weren’t as close
because he lived overseas, but since returning to the UK, we’ve been
spending loads of time together. Because of this, we’ve grown much
closer** and get on really well with each other.

**to grow closer = to become/get closer

As for what he’s like, well he’s much more outgoing than me. He could be
described as a social butterfly*, I guess living abroad for a long period
made him more confident because he had to make new friends. When we
go out, he’s the life and soul of the party whereas I am a bit more
introverted**.

*a social butterfly = a person who is sociable and friendly with everyone

**introverted = a person who is shy and quiet and prefers spending time alone

Despite being opposites in terms of our personality, I enjoy being with him.
It could be because opposites attract***, but I think it’s because when I’m
with him I come out of my shell****. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be at home
every night being a hermit***** and that wouldn’t be much fun.

***opposites attract = used to say that people who are very different from each other
are often attracted to each other

****to come out of my/your/their/his/her shell = to become more open and friendly

*****a hermit = a loner; a person who lives alone and apart from the rest of society