Speakout Advanced p 15. Commenting on the Pictures.

Speaking
Remember that in the speaking task you need to comment on the pictures relating them to the topic. And
to do that, you may need to describe what you see or to speculate about it.

1. Say where people and things are in the picture

In the top/bottom right/left-hand cornerOn the left-hand sideOn the right/left.
At the top/bottomAt the rear
In the distanceIn the middle
In the foreground/backgroundIn the front/ back
Between/ beside/next to/near/ close to/far from/over/above/underneath/below
By the door
Between/among
Opposite/ in front of

2. Describe people and things

The scene/picture shows/depicts/ portrays
I can seeThere is/areIn this picture I can clearly see.
This is a picture ofThis picture is a representation of
They look excited /look like tourists/ look as if they are about to take off /look as though they belong to
Barbie doll's feet

You can also describe what is happening, what has just happened, what is going to happen next

Physical Description

Hair




He is going bald /bld/. His hair is receding. He has got a receding hairline.
She wears her hair in a ponytail. She has got a ponytail.
He has got a beard/a moustache/ a goatee/some stubble/ dreadlocks/ sideburns
He has got cropped hair
He has got a crew cut
She wears her hair in a plait /plt/ /a braid /bred// a French plait/a French braid/pigtails/ a
bun/cornrows
She has got a plait/braid/ a French plait/a French braid/pigtails/ a bun/cornrows
She has got layered/ permed hair. Her hair is permed/layered
She wears her hair in a bob.
She has got ginger hair (ginger: a light brownish-orange colour)
She has got curly/ straight/ wavy/ thick/ thin /dyed hair
He has got greasy, unkempt hair. (Unkempt: /nkempt/ not well cared for; not neat or tidy)
She has got a fringe
She has highlights in her hair

Height and Weight

He is rather tall/ fairly short/medium height.
He is quite plump/stout/ slim/skinny/bony/wiry/strong/hefty
Plump: having a soft, round body; slightly fat. E.g. a short, plump woman. A plump face.
Stout: /stat/ rather fat, plump.
Bony: /bni/ very thin so that the bones can be seen under the skin. E.g. a bony hand. a tall bony
man.
Wiry: /wari/ thin but strong. Sinewy /snjui/ E.g. a wiry little man.
Hefty: big and heavy. E.g. Her brothers were both hefty men in their forties.

Clothes



He is wearing a pair of polka-dot pyjamas
He is wearing a striped /strapt// check(ed) shirt
He is wearing a pinstriped suit/ a business suit/ a two-piece suit/a three-piece suit (with waistcoat/vest)
Pinstriped:


He is wearing a jogging suit/ tracksuit/ a sweatsuit/ a sweatshirt/ sweatpants
He is wearing a baggy/loose/tight/ a tight-fitting T-shirt
She is wearing high-heeled shoes/ flat shoes/ high heels





He is wearing trainers/ wellingtons/ lace-ups/ loafers/ slippers/ flip-flops/cowboy boots
He looks a little scruffy. He is wearing a scruffy pair of jeans.
Scruffy: /skrfi/ dirty or untidy. Shabby.
She is wearing shabby old jeans and a T-shirt.
A wrinkled suit. The suit has wrinkles.
Unkempt: not well cared for; not neat or tidy
He looked tired and dishevelled /devld/ (very untidy)
She is wearing a sober /sb(r)//bright dress
A bleached/stonewashed pair of jeans.
Bleach: to become white or pale.
Stonewashed: washed in a special way so that the cloth loses some colour and looks older


He is wearing a polo neck/turtleneck/ V-neck/ crew neck sweater
A polo shirt
He is wearing tapering/ tapered/flared jeans
Taper: /tep(r)/ to become gradually narrower
Flared: /fled/ wider at the bottom
Swimsuit (also swimming costume /bathing suit) (worn by women)
Trunks/ swimming trunks (worn by men)
A short-sleeved shirt/ a long-sleeved shirt
a dress with short / long sleeves. He rolled up his sleeves
To judge from the clothes he is wearing


3. Speculate. Make deductions about the people/things/place.

Perhaps it's... Perhaps he feels
Maybe it's... It makes me think (that) maybe he/she It makes me think (that) maybe she
knows the truth.
It's difficult to say, but...
I think I can see.
It must be winter. It must be spring.
They must beThey cant beshe may be
On the other hand she might be She might simply be looking at something outside.
The room/landscape might make me feel.
It might suggest (that) It might suggest (that) he is guilty.
It might/could be
He/she could be/ must be/ might be She could be lost but Im not sure.
These people could be
This one could be...
They seem to be
It seems like he/she / It seems to me that / It looks to me as if he/she
It seems like she has no alternative. It seems to me that you have no alternative. It looks to me
as if he has no alternative.
She appears to beI imagine its very satisfying to
I suppose/guess/reckon hes/shes about I suppose shes about to start.
Id hazard a guess (that) Id hazard a guess (that)the meeting is at 5:30 pm.
If I had to make a guess, Id say (that) If I had to make a guess, Id say (that) they will be at
home very soon.
As far as I am concernedI tend to think that My personal view is that
Im fairly sureIm pretty sure he/ she Im pretty sure he will arrive late.
Id say he/ she looks/ doesnt look Id say he doesnt look very surprised.
Id say they are probably
If I were him, Id probably feel
One possibility is thatIts also possible that he...
Apparently,
Judging by the fact that
To judge from his posture,
Similarly,
As far as I can gather, he is involved in a fight. From what I can gather, theres been some kind of
problem.
I wonder what he/ she I wonder what hell do now.
Theres something about him / her. Theres something about him that makes me nervous.
He/ she gives the impression of being He gives the impression of being very funny.


When you cant tell

I cant tell who/where/what I cant tell you whether the person is a man or a woman
I cant see the expression on his face, but I think he must be
Im not sure whether this photo is meant to illustrate new technologies in general or the internet in
particular.

Advantages and disadvantages

There are a number of advantages/ disadvantages to working in an office/living with your
parentsOne advantage/disadvantage would be
The benefits/ drawbacks of .are obvious, I think.
Its easy to see the benefits of laptop computers, dont you think?
Mobile phones certainly make it easier to keep in touch, wouldnt you say?
The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages
Im not sure whether there are any health risks associated with heating food in a microwave oven.
I would find it difficult to think of any disadvantages connected with electricity.
Perhaps we have to distinguish between electricity itself and the means of generating it.
Swings and roundabouts: used to say that there are advantages and disadvantages whatever decision
you make. E.g. If you earn more, you pay more in tax, so it's all swings and roundabouts. What you
gain on the swings you may lose on the roundabouts.


4. Compare and contrast

In contrast to
As in the previous picture
Similar to/ different from/ the same as
PART 1
I'm speaking English for my own satisfaction / my job / in order to improve my
employment prospects.
If you want to go ahead these days, you need to have a good command of English
I always loved (the sea).
I'd love to visit places untouched by man.
However, there's no place like home.
That's a big question!
I want to be a useful member of society.
I'm keen on ...
I'm an avid (traveler, zapalony) ...
I haven't given it much thought until now.

PART 2
What strikes me about the first picture is the fact that...
This picture reminds me of...
Judging from the photograph, the children...
The man appears to be...
From what we can see here, he must...
There are many similarities...
Both picture depict...
Both picture are quite similar in that they show...
When you give it a closer look it reveals...

The first picture ... whereas the other picture ...
Another important difference is...
Picture ... doesn't show ... as clearly as ...
Picture ... attempts to ... but I think picture ... does this more effectively...
All pictures are interesting, but ... gives a stronger idea of...

It's difficult to tell from a photograph but this picture could have been taken in ...
I might be wrong, but I'd say that this picture ...
I would imagine/guess that this picture comes from ...

Picture ... is by far the best to show because ...
To me, picture ... is essential for this kind of publication.

I'm surprised there is no picture showing...
A picture of ... would get the message across more effectively.
The cover would be so much better if we had a picture of ...
So let's look at the alternatives ...

The name for this escapes me at present, but it's for/it's like ...
The name for it is on the tip of my tongue ...

PART 3
Up to the problem in question ...
The main problem centres around ...

It's my belief ...
For my part ...
As I see it ...
As I was saying ...
I forgot to mention ...
I'm of the opinion that ...
To my mind ...
To my way of thinking ...
I am convinced that ...
I am inclined to believe that ...

Don't get me wrong but shouldn't we ... ?
Judging by ... they must be ...
... is a separate issue.
Moving on to ...
Taking everything into account ...

I couldn't agree more.
I agree up to a point.
I think I see what you mean, but ...
I'm in two minds about it. / I'm ambivalent about ...
I don't see eye to eye with you here ...
That's true in a way, I suppose, but ...
I don't feel convinced ...
That's one way of looking at it. On the other hand ...

Can you take a clear stand on that matter?
It brings to the question / idea / problem of ...

Perhaps we should put ... first? What do you think?
A strong point in favour of ... is that ...
What do you think should go next?
Are you happy with this order then?
Do you go along with that?

PART 4
Just following from what X was saying, I also feel ...
While generally agreeing with X, I must say that ...
Adding to what X has just said, I think ...
I can sympathise with what X said but ...
One thing X didn't mention is ...
Surprising, as it may seem, I don't support X's view on ...
Perhaps it should be also emphasized that ... / it should be pointed out that ...