PET SPEAKING PART 3: DESCRIBING A PHOTO
( 1 – 1 ½ minutes per candidate)
In PART 3 you have to: Talk about a colour
photo that the Examiner will provide .
USEFUL LANGUAGE:
GIVE A GENERAL INTRODUCTION
'This picture shows …'
'In this picture I can see...'
'This is a picture of …'
TALK ABOUT PLACES
'They’re walking in the country/in a city/in the
mountains'
'She’s talking inside/outside a cafe' or 'I can see
a street market/old building/square/
street/restaurant/beach …'
DESCRIBE PEOPLE’S AGE
'He’s about 40 years old'
'They’re in their eighties'
'She’s a teenager/a young child/a middle-aged
woman'
DESCRIBE PEOPLE’S CLOTHES
'She’s wearing a pair of glasses and a blue T-shirt'
'They’re wearing quite casual/smart clothes'
'He’s wearing a school/work uniform'
DESCRIBE PEOPLE’S ACTIONS
'He’s sitting at a desk/table'
'She’s standing in a queue/line'
'They’re having Breakfast/lunch/dinner'
'Some people are playing on the beach and
others are sunbathing’
DESCRIBE PEOPLE’S ROLES IN A PICTURE
'He’s probably a shop assistant and she’s a
customer'
'This person on the left seems to be a tourist
guide – he’s pointing to a building'
'The man serving the drinks is a waiter'
DESCRIBE PEOPLE’S FEELINGS IN A PICTURE
'You can tell they are enjoying themselves
because they are smiling'
MAKE GUESSES
'He seems a bit frightened. Maybe this is the first
'It might be summer because some people are wearing sunglasses'
time he’s tried this'
'She looks very interested in this activity – she’s 'It’s probably in the country, because'
concentrating very hard' 'This picture could be in Northern Europe because of the buildings'
PARAPHRASE (use these phrases to describe DESCRIBE POSITION
words you don’t know) 'In the middle of the picture there is a family
'It’s something you fry food in' (frying pan) making a salad …'
'It’s a kind of container for flowers' (a vase) 'In the background there are some white
'It’s a cupboard for keeping clothes in' (a cupboards'
wardrobe).
'There’s a window next to the cupboards.
PICTURE DIRRECTIONS
1. ‘In the top right corner …’
2. ‘In the top left corner…’
3. ‘In the bottom right corner…’
4. ‘In the bottom left corner…’
5. ‘In the middle …’
6. ‘In the foreground…’
7. ‘In the background…’
8. ‘in the middle on the right…’
IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER!
4. Give reasons (related to the picture) for your ideas
1. Talk in sentences – don’t produce lists of
5. Talk about the situation as well as the physical things
items you can see (Present Continuous)
you can see in the picture
2. Organize your description – don’t describe
6. Give some personal reaction to the picture
the same thing more than once
7. Listen quietly when your partner describes his/her
3. Start with a general idea of the subject of
photo – don’t give help or comment
the picture before going into details
 1. The picture shows a family enjoying
free time together.
2. There are 4 members in the family, the
parents and their two daughters.
3. They are in a pumpkin farm; I can see
there are a lot of big yellow pumpkins
around them.
4. The family are taking a photo together.
• 1.GENERAL INTRODUCTION
5. I think that they are really happy
• 2.WHO
because all of them have a broad smile.
• 3.WHERE
6. I love this picture because I always
• 4.WHAT
want to spend time with my family and
• 5.HOW
having outdoor activity is a great way
• 6. PERSONAL FEELINGS
to be together.
In this picture we can see a family going to the beach together. The season is summer. There is a
man, a woman and two children. The small boy on the left is wearing blue shorts and is carrying a
red beach towel. His hair is short and fair. His mother is wearing a yellow T-shirt and is carrying a
violet bag on her right shoulder. There is a smiling sun on the bag. She is carrying a brown basket in
her left hand. Her husband is wearing blue shorts with orange stripes. He is carrying a big blue
umbrella and he has got a hat on his head. His daughter is walking next to him. She is wearing a
pink dress and is carrying a big towel in her left hand. Nobody is wearing shoes. I think they feel
very happy because everybody is smiling and they are probably on their summer holiday. In the
background, the sky is blue but there are two white clouds. Some birds are flying in the sky.
This photograph was taken in a family home, in the dining
room, and shows two adults and a little boy sitting at a
dining table.
The main focus of the photograph is the man on the left
hand side, who is working and the little boy on the right
hand side, who is eating. In the background, on the far side
of the table, there is a lady talking on the telephone. It
seems like the two adults are the child’s parents. The room is
clean and bright, with white walls, a window and a
bookcase with lots of books in it against the far wall. There is
a tall, cream lamp on the right, next to the bookcase.
The father, who is wearing a white shirt and black
glasses, looks like he is working from home today; he
appears to be very busy as he is looking down at
his notepad and has a pen in his hand. He is not
smiling so maybe he just wants to get on with his work.
I think the little boy looks about two years old and has
light brown, wavy hair. He is sitting in a high chair and
is wearing a white and blue stripy jumper, with a white
and red bib around his neck. In front of him, there is a
baby’s drinking cup, full of juice and a plate. It looks
like he has finished the food on his plate and is pushing
it away. He has turned away from the table so perhaps
he is now bored and wants to go and play.
The mother, wearing a blue blouse, is talking to
someone on the phone. She could also be working
from home, and is having her lunch while she works as
she has a plate in front of her. On the other hand, she
could just be chatting to a friend.