C1 Advanced Speaking Part 4: Quantities and Types of People

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In C1 Advanced Speaking Part 4, when many questions ask about ‘people’ or ‘children’ or ‘businesses’, it is much easier to answer if you use expressions for quantities of people and types of people which means you can be much more coherent and also speak for longer. The following article goes with this article on Sweeping Statements.

It is not very natural to make absolute statements like All people like… or Everyone in Western countries thinks… This doesn’t sound very clever and can some­ times be rude. Even in one country or one culture, many people have different ways of life and different opinions.

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It is much easier to give shorter answers for each group, rather than try to talk a group so large (people / children) that it’s almost impossible to give a good answer.

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Quantities

You can use these expressions for quantities of people:
most
the majority of
a large percentage of
nearly all
a vast amount of
few
hardly any
not many
a minority of
only some

Types of People

You can also combine them with the expressions for types of people to say which people in society usually do something or believe something.

For example:

Look at some examples of how quantities and types of people words can be combined together:
Most young people can play at least one sport.
The majority of elderly people enjoy board games.
A large percentage of the population smokes too much.
Nearly all university students get far too much homework.
A vast amount of business people don’t get enough free time.
A tremendous amount of young girls care too much about fashion.

Here are some sample answers showing how you can use these groups:

Example 1 – Today, not many people like listening to the radio……… Pretty much everyone has a television now…….. For most people, televisions are very appealing because… However, there are many people that don’t share the same opinion……. It also depends on the lifestyle of the individual – many taxi drivers love listening to the radio because it is a very convenient way to hear news and plays without distracting them from driving.

Example 2 – In my country nearly everyone enjoys eating meat, though not in large quantities, However, some people, mainly Buddhists and young people who are members of animal rights movements, make a concerted effort not to eat meat for ethical reasons. Although some scientists say it is important to eat meat for health reasons………

Evaluating Opinions

When evaluating opinions, we should start by saying how many and what types of people hold those opinions.

Quantities of people
nearly everyone
almost everybody
the (vast) majority of + types of people
most + types of people
a large percentage of + types of people
some + types of people
a few + types of people
a handful of+ types of people

Types of people – ages
elderly people I retired people I the older generation
working people office workers students
adolescents/teenagers married couples

Types of people – behaviour
very active people/sporty people/energetic people religious people
animal lovers/food lovers lazy people

People with + adjective-noun combination
People with creative talent believe…
People with strong political views think…
People with a lot of energy like to…

People who have…
People who have an interest in art…
People who have lots of free time…
People who have their own pets…

More examples:
Most people with a lot of energy like to regularly play team and individual sports.
A handful of people who have lots of free time actually decide to do volunteer work.
A large percentage of teenagers have problems communicating properly with their parents and teachers.

Age Groups &Generations	Work-related Groups	Social Classes
the older generation	retired people	poor people
the elderly	office workers	rich people
younger people	white-collar workers	the working classes
school kids	unemployed people	the middle classes
the younger generation	housewives	the upper classes
adolescents	job seeker	the lower classes

It is much easier to give organised and very coherent speaking Part 3 answers, if you talk about ‘groups of people’ rather than just ‘people’. Here are some other ways to split them up. Be careful, though. Try to use only three groups at the most in an answer.

School children – pre-schoolers, kindergarten kids, primary school kids, middle school students, high school students, early developers, late developers

Income – extremely wealthy people, the well off, people in the middle-income bracket, low-wage earners, the unemployed

Class – upper class, the upper classes, middle class, the middle classes, working class, the working classes

Workplace – office workers / civil servants / manual labourers / farm workers / blue collar workers / white collar workers / military personnel, health workers / skilled professionals

Geography – people in colder countries, people in tropical countries, people from the north / south / east / west, people who live by the coast / in the mountains / on the plains / in the suburbs / in inner cities / in industrialised areas / in the countryside

Personality – more introverted, more extroverted, fun-loving, adventure seeking, couch potatoes

The ways to split them are too many to list here, but below are some more examples using some of the above.

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C1 Advanced Speaking Part 4 Sample Answers

Q – In your opinion is working for a travel company a good job for young people? Why/Why not?

A – In general, I would say yes, although grouping all youngsters together isn’t that useful. From my perspective, a job like this is a wonderful chance for someone who likes to help people, with the chance to travel a secondary bonus. However, I sometimes feel that many outgoing young workers only think about the travel when they take such a job. Such people don’t really care whether their customers have the best holiday experience possible, or are just trying to increase their commission. Introverted young travel company employees, on the other hand may hate meeting so many people or even going abroad. They might be great working on the computer, though.

Q – Why do you think some people lose their temper more often than others?

A – From where I stand, there are several reasons, but it really depends on who the person is. Firstly, many young teenagers find they can’t control their tempers easily, but that is usually due to their hormones. Apart from them, I would say someone losing their temper is really down to how much stress they are under. Most single working mothers, for example, have a hectic life raising their children with little help. This often means the kids have more freedom and do things they shouldn’t. As a result, it is not uncommon for these women to let off some steam by losing their temper. Many also believe that many creative types, such as artists, musicians or authors are highly strung due to stressful deadlines and such things. However, if you take a look at most successful businessmen, military officers or even politicians, they have been under pressure for so long, they are used to keeping a level head when all around, others are losing theirs.

Q – What kind of responsibilities do you think rich people have? Why?

A – Many more than people usually think, in my opinion. First of all, I think that really wealthy people are just like anyone. some or good, some maybe not so good. However, the vast majority of them in my view want to be seen as a normal person, so they try not to throw around their money, making people less fortunate than them uncomfortable. Secondly, from an economic perspective, I also believe that if someone has more than enough money, they should spend it. Some will have servants to cater to their every whim, many will have their home renovated or redecorated regularly, while most like to show off occasionally by throwing parties or inviting friends on holiday. All of these activities drip money back into the economy by paying workers, buying locally sourced goods and socialising. Finally, I think there is a moral component to their responsibility. Such rich people should act in such a manner that they should be admired in the media, rather than ridiculed. Whether they like it or not, they are more visible than normal working people, so they should act accordingly.

Q – Why do people spend time sunbathing when they are told it is so bad for their health?

A – Many do this so they have such a suntan that it will be commented on by their friends and colleagues. Their messaging is varied with some skinflints wanting to show that they can get a great tan without going on an expensive abroad, while other show-offs do the opposite and use their tan as an advert for the latest tourist hotspot they have travelled to. There is also the fact that many lower income families find sunbathing at the seaside much cheaper and more convenient if they have several children. The beach is good fun for the kids and the parents can just relax, enjoying the sun and sand.

How to Practice

AS ever the best way to practice natural English is with a native speaking teacher. For some students, that is difficult, so think about what you are confident in talking about. Think about the groups that you know about and answer questions using them. Once you start to become more confident, substitute other groups for the original ones.

Remember that you don’t always need to compare people from the same group as you can see from the answers above.

Conclusion

Well, try and put these into practice for your C1 Advanced Speaking Part 4 and it will give you many more options and more to talk about without coming up with fantastic ideas. Good luck and remember the other article on sweeping statements which helps in a different way.