Describing a picture

When you need it

Describing a photo is a standard task in school speaking exams and in many international exams at B1 and B2. You get a picture and about a minute to talk about it, sometimes comparing it with a second one. The examiner is not testing whether you notice every detail. They want to hear connected speech: a clear start, words for position, the present continuous for actions, and some careful guessing about what is going on.

The same language is useful outside exams: showing holiday photos, describing a scene to someone on the phone, or explaining a chart or an image in a class discussion.

Structure

1. Say what the picture shows in general. One sentence about the whole scene: This photo shows a family having a picnic in a park.
2. Say where things are. Move around the picture in a logical order, for example from the foreground to the background, or from left to right.
3. Describe the people. Who they are, what they are doing, what they are wearing, how they seem to feel. Actions in the picture take the present continuous: A man is reading.
4. Guess what is happening. Say what you think, and show how sure you are: They might be on holiday. It must be summer, because everyone is wearing T-shirts.
5. Add a personal comment. Link the picture to your own experience or give an opinion: This reminds me of…, I'd like to…, I wouldn't enjoy…

If you do not know a word, do not stop. Describe it instead: a kind of bag you carry on your back, something you use to cut paper. Examiners give credit for keeping going.

Useful phrases

Look has two patterns. Before an adjective it is used alone: she looks tired. Before a noun it needs like: she looks like a teacher, it looks like a library.

Model text

This photo shows a group of students in what looks like a university library. In the foreground there's a long wooden table, and three young people are sitting at it. On the left, a woman is writing something in a notebook, and the man next to her is looking at a laptop. They might be preparing for an exam, because there are a lot of books and papers on the table. In the background I can see tall shelves full of books, and it looks quite dark outside the window, so it's probably evening. Nobody is smiling, and the man in the middle looks tired. I'd say they've been working for hours. The picture reminds me of my own exams last year, when I spent almost every evening in the library.

Common mistakes

• ✗ On the picture I see two people.
  ✓ In the picture I can see two people.
  Ukrainian на картинці and Russian на картинке suggest on, but English uses in for what a picture or photo shows, and can see is the natural verb form.
• ✗ The man sits at the table and reads.
  ✓ The man is sitting at the table and reading.
  Ukrainian and Russian have one present form for both, but English uses the present continuous for actions you see happening in the picture.
• ✗ She looks like tired.
  ✓ She looks tired. / She looks like a student.
  Look + adjective and look like + noun are two different patterns, and mixing them is one of the most frequent errors in this task.
• ✗ On the back plan there are some trees.
  ✓ In the background there are some trees.
  Задній план / задний план translated word by word does not exist in English; the fixed words are background and foreground.
• ✗ At the left there is a car.
  ✓ On the left there is a car.
  Position phrases are fixed: on the left, on the right, in the middle, in the corner.

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