Describe A Person: The Ultimate Guide

In IELTS Speaking Part 2, it is really common to be asked to describe a person. Here is a detailed template which you can use as a whole, or in parts. Go here for Describe a Time or Event: The Ultimate Guide, and here for Describe a Place: The Ultimate Guide.

Examples of these questions are:

Warning: There is a lot of information in this post and includes grammar and vocabulary. You have a choice. You can either go through the post and use the order as a template for any question about describing a person. OR You can use different parts of the post to improve your answers.

To speak well about a person, use the following answer order.

1: Say who they are and how you know them.	2: Say what they are like and what they do.
3/ Say what they have achieved and how they have influenced you.	4: Say why they are special and how you feel about them.

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Stage 1

Step 1 – stage 1

Relatives, Occupations and Social Positions

Examples

Bertha – I would like to talk about my grandmother, When I was a child, my parents were very busy and so my grandmother, who is my father’s mother, had to look after me…

James – I will always remember Dr. McDonald, He was one of my history teachers at · university…

Catherine – I want to talk about my next-door neighbour Win. We moved to our family home when I was only six months old, so Win is the earliest neighbour that I can remember, Win, who lived with her daughter and son-in-law, was always a very elderly woman…

When giving a monologue about a person, it’s always a great idea to say something about the person’s relationship to you, their occupation or social position.

Here are some more examples:

Relationship/Social Positions

Celebrity, star, politician, TV presenter, sports personality, friend of the family, childhood friend, (ex-)boyfriend/(ex-)girlfriend, distant relation

Vocabulary to help you with relatives and occupations

Examples:

I would like to talk about my cousin, who is a plumber like his father.

I really admire Matt Damon, who is an excellent actor and has recently become a huge movie star.

My grandparents were both army surgeons during the second world war.

Step 2 – stage 1

Relative Clauses with “Who”

Examples

Bertha – I would like to talk about my grandmother. When I was a child, my parents were very busy and so my grandmother, who is my father’s mother, had to look after me…

Catherine – I want to talk about my next-door neighbour Win. We moved to our family home when I was only six months old, so Win is the earliest neighbour that I can remember. Win, who lived with her daughter and son-in-law, was always a very elderly lady.

Notice that Bertha and Catherine use parts of sentences (clauses) beginning with who to provide the examiner with information about the person they are talking about. These are called relative clauses.

There are two main types of relative clause, defining and non-defining. Look at the examples below.

More details of the rules for relative clauses

Non-defining relative clause

My mother, who worked as a waitress for many years, thoroughly dislikes politics.

Her good friend Daniel, who became a very successful businessman, had suggested to her once that she study computer programming.

In these examples, the relative clause gives extra information about the person being spoken about The information is not necessary because if we were to remove the relative clause, the sentence would still make sense: My mother thoroughly dislikes politics./Her good friend Daniel had suggested to her once that she study computer programming.

When speaking, you should have a slight pause at the beginning and end of your non­ defining relative clauses.

Defining relative clause

The woman who lived next door to us when I was a child was extremely ugly.

The movie star who starred in the film Titanic has become hugely successful.

These relative clauses are necessary to the meaning of the sentence and are not giving extra information. If we removed the relative clause, the sentence would not make good sense as we would not know which woman or which movie star was being talked about: The woman was extremely ugly./The movie star has become hugely successful.

When using a defining relative clause, you should not pause but speak continuously.

Note: whom is very rarely used in spoken relative clauses – just use who.

Step 3 – stage 1

The Past Continuous & Past Simple to Say How You Met Somebody

James describes how he met Dr. McDonald:

James I will always remember Dr. McDonald. He was one of my history teachers at university. I had always loved history at school and college and so I chose history as my major at university. When I was choosing my courses, I decided to try Roman History and so met Dr. McDonald…

When introducing somebody, it’s often useful to say how, or under what circumstances, you met. Using the past continuous and past simple is a good way to do this.

The past continuous is used together with the past simple to talk about a longer action that was happening when a single or shorter action happened.

Detailed Rules about past continuous and past simple

The structure of the past continuous is: be + verbing

I was walking…

They were talking on the phone.

When or while is often used to link the past continuous and past simple, as in the following examples:

When I was studying at university, my teacher told me to spend more time researching my subject.

While my brother was visiting Vietnam, he lost his passport, wallet, and credit cards. We met when we were working together at the same company.

I first talked to my girlfriend when I asked her the time while we were waiting for the bus.

Verbs of senses and stative verbs are not usually used in the continuous tenses. These verbs include hear, see, smell, have, want, like, love, prefer, know, believe, understand, etc.

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Stage 2

Say what they are like and what they do.

You should:

1.Use adjectives of a personality accurately.  

My mother is a very conservative woman.
He is quite humorous and open-minded.

2.Use adverbs of frequency to talk about past/present behavior.

My grandfather was always busy when I was young.
My nephew often likes me to read him a story before he goes to bed.

3.Use the past continuous, past simple, and past perfect to tell anecdotes.

We were taking the bus to another city when there was a big crash.
He had lived in India for many years, so when he returned, he looked very different.

Step 1 – stage 2

Adjectives of Personality

Examples

Bertha  …My grandmother is a very gentle and kind woman. Her hair- as far back as I can remember. – has always been. brilliant white but she is quite self-conscious about this and wears a shoulder-length wig to hide it…

James …Dr. McDonald was a very experienced history lecturer…

Catherine …When people saw her, they would be struck immediately by the expression on her face, which often appeared to be a scowl. Actually, she was a very friendly and gentle woman…

When speaking about a person, it’s very important to accurately use adjectives of personality to describe what the person is/was like.

Vocabulary to help you with adjectives of personality

Examples:

He is a very extroverted person, and really likes to be the centre of attention.

She seems like a very vivacious and self-assured woman, though she’s perhaps quite abrupt if you make her angry.

My girlfriend really has two sides to her personality; when she’s happy she can be open­ minded, thoughtful and really supportive, but when she’s in a bad mood she can be really irritable and selfish.

Step 2 – Stage 2

Adverbs of Frequency for Habits and Behaviour

Bertha  …When I think of my grandmother’s appearance, the thing which stands out most is her constantly smiling face…

James …Dr. McDonald was about 60 years old and had a huge beer belly. His hair was grey, but quite thick. He always used to have glasses with him but he hardly ever wore them – they usually just dangled around his neck from the glasses strap…I remember that he always brought a pile of teaching notes to class but would then put them, down and never look at the notes again the whole time he was’ teaching –  he knew the information off by heart… .     

Catherine … When people saw her, they would be struck immediately by the expression on her face, which often appeared to be a scowl…Win was originally from London and had a very strong London accent and was never without a cigarette. Because she smoked, whenever she heard something funny she would have this raspy, hoarse laugh. When I visited her she would also be very kind to me, offering to make a cup of tea, but would usually have some bad words to say about her son-in-law, as he often annoyed her on purpose…

Adverbs of frequency are great for describing people’s habits and behaviour.

Refresh your memory of useful adverbs of frequency by looking at the table below.

Vocabulary to help you with adjectives of frequency

You can also talk about how often people do or did things by using the structure:

Times + time period / Every + time

once a day

every morning

twice a week

every evening

three times a month

every day at 6 p.m.

five times a year

every week

every month

every birthday

every summer vacation

Examples:

He took his dog for a walk every day at 5pm.

The teacher gave them a test every month.

Every Christmas, they made the journey home to spend the holidays with their parents.

Step 3 stage 2

The Past Continuous, Past Simple & Past Perfect Tenses to Tell Anecdotes

Bertha … I remember once when we were playing hide-and-seek at home, I ran into the garden and hid so well that she couldn’t find me. It was quite a few hours before I decided to come out and my grandmother was so relieved – she had almost called the police!…

James …I remember once when he organised a university trip to a historical site. I had brought my girlfriend along, even though my girlfriend always said that history was boring. In the end Dr. McDonald told my girlfriend about the history of the place and she was amazed…

Catherine …I remember that Win did all the cleaning in the house while her son-in-law, Fred, and her daughter were out at work. To annoy her, Fred would often stub, his cigarette out, not in the ashtray but on the kitchen floor – making her go crazy.

Help With Perfect Tenses

Notice that Bertha, James and Catherine all tell anecdotes (interesting or amusing short stories) about the people they are describing. This makes what they say much more interesting and is a great way to show what someone’s personality and behaviour are like.

You should also remember how to use the past continuous and past simple from the last lesson, where you learnt to talk about how you met somebody. This is very useful for telling anecdotes.

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Stage 3

Say what they have achieved and how they have influenced you.

You should:

1.Use the third conditional accurately to ·express the importance of somebody to you.  

If I hadn’t met her, I would never have…
I would have made a huge mistake if she hadn’t…

2.Use the present perfect to talk about changes and achievements.

He has taught me to always put others first:

My grandfather has had a great influence on my life.

3.Use phrases of achievements to talk about the person’s accomplishments.

She fought for everything she achieved.
He had a lucky break at the age of 30, then rose to fame quickly.

Step 1 – stage 3

The Third Conditional

Bertha …My grandmother has always taught me to be more patient and understanding towards other people. She had been a nurse for many years and I think if it hadn’t been for her, I would never have studied nursing – which I love…

James    ….…He had a great influence upon me, and made me want to become a history lecturer myself. I’m sure I wouldn’t have studied a Master’s degree in Roman History if I hadn’t met Dr. McDonald…

Let’s look at how the third conditional is constructed:

if+had(n’t) +past participle+would(n’t) have+past participle

If it hadn’t been for her, I would never have studied nursing.

would(n’t) have+past participle+if+had(n’t) +past participle

I wouldn’t have studied a Master’s degree in Roman History if I hadn’t met Dr. McDonald

Both constructions are possible for each third conditional sentence and mean exactly the same thing.

The third conditional is used to talk about: Things that did not happen in the past

If my teacher hadn’t been so relaxed, I’m sure I would have studied harder. (My teacher was too relaxed, so I didn’t study hard enough.)

Details about the conditional sentences

More examples of the third conditional:

If he had won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics, he would’ve been even more famous. (He didn’t win the gold medal, so he didn’t become more famous.)

If my grandmother hadn’t looked after me as a child, a babysitter would have. (My grandmother did look after me, so a babysitter didn’t.)

Things that might not have happened – this explains why the opposite things happened

If Bill Gates hadn’t been so ambitious, he wouldn’t have been so successful. (Bill Gates was very ambitious, and this is why he has been so successful.)

If my niece hadn’t been so lazy at school, she wouldn’t have failed all her exams. (My niece was lazy, and this is why she failed all her exams.)

Pandas probably wouldn’t have survived if they hadn’t been officially protected. (Pandas did survive because they were officially protected.)

Step 2 – Stage 3

The Present Perfect for Talking about Changes and Achievements

Bertha  …My grandmother has always taught me to be more patient and understanding towards other people…

When talking about a person, it’s a good idea to talk about the changes or achievements that person has made. For this, you need to use the present perfect.

The structure of the present perfect is:

have/ has + past participle

Rules for present perfect

My grandfather has had a great influence on my life.

She has become one of the most famous actresses in the world.

My nephew has helped me to see that family is the most important thing.

Step 3 – stage 3

Phrases of Achievements

When talking about people that are important to you, or who you admire, you can use phrases of achievements.

Look at the following phrases of achievements:

Working hard

through sheer hard work

to struggle for/ to do something to strive   for   something

to fight for something

to have the determination to do something to stand up for something/ somebody

to show perseverance

Examples:

She struggled to get where she is now – she deserves to be so famous!

He fought for everything he has achieved – I admire him greatly!

Success

to have the will to succeed to have a desire for success

to climb the ladder of success

to have a long and brilliant career to earn the respect of somebody to get a lucky break

Examples:

Slowly but surely, she climbed the ladder of success and finally reached the top position. He suffered many hardships but nevertheless had a long and brilliant career.

Talent

to have a gift for doing something

to have an outstanding talent for doing something

to develop his/ her talent for doing something/ as a(n) …

For example:

My brother-in-law has really developed bis talent as an actor; in recent years he has often appeared in professional plays.

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STAGE 4 

Say why they are special and how you feel about them.

1.Use expressions of admiration correctly. I love her because…

I will always admire him because…

2.Use expressions of imitation accurately.

I want to be like him when I am a grandfather. I hope I am as successful as he has been.

3.Use role model expressions correctly.

She has always been my hero.
He was a great role model for the younger generation.

Step 1 – stage 4

Expressions of Admiration

Bertha …Gran was a great role model for me when I was growing up, and now I’m an adult I still admire her…

James …For me, Dr. McDonald was the best teacher I’ve ever had.

Catherine …We all agree Win was a great neighbour and feel proud to have known her for so many years.

When speaking about a person, you should use expressions of admiration to say why the person is special, or why you admire them.

Here are some more expressions:

I love her because…

Everyone respects wise and peaceful leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi.

My niece really appreciates what my parents did for her.

I look up to her because…

I will always admire him for…

His colleagues all think highly of my stepbrother and his work.

I feel proud of my mother’s achievements.

She is special to me because…

I truly hold in high regard people such as President Obama who…

Many movie enthusiasts consider him to be the best actor of his generation.

Step 2 – stage 4

Expressions of Imitation

Bertha …Gran was a great role model for me when I was growing up, and now I’m an adult I still admire her. I hope that one day I’ll have children and grandchildren too, and I hope that I’m as good a grandmother as mine was.

When we talk about people who are special or important to us, we often express the feel­ ing that we want to be the same as them in some way.

Let’s look at how to say I hope…:

I hope I am as + adjective + as + person

I hope I will be as + adjective + as + person

Examples:

I hope I am as successful as Bill Gates.

I hope I will be as successful as Bill Gates.

I hope I am as happy as my next-door neighbour when I am old.

I hope I will be as kind a teacher as Mrs. Capp.

Here are some more expressions of imitation:

I would love to be like my mother.

I would like to be as well respected as my grandfather.

I want to be like my neighbour Doris when I’m older.

Step 3 – stage 4

Role Model Expressions

Let’s look at some expressions for describing role models:

mentor

Ringo was his mentor for the first year he lived away from home.

fine example

Rita sets a fine example for the rest of the team – she works so well.

hero

Paul McCartney was my hero for many years. I really admire him.

pop icon

John Lennon became a big pop icon. He was all over the media.

idol

George Harrison, who became quite religious for a while, was my idol when I was a child – I really looked up to him.

sex symbol

Yoko Ono was a sex symbol to some young, alternative people in the 1970s – every young fan wanted to look like her.

charismatic leader

Charles Manson, who was imprisoned for the murder of Sharon Tate, was a crazy charismatic leader during the 1960s.

visionary

Some say that the Beatles were not only a talented rock band, but that they were visionaries for their generation.

Conclusion

There is a lot of information on how to describe a person on this page, and you can use any part separately or use it all together. It’s up to you. The important thing is for you to improve how you speak about people. Practice is essential. Good luck!

This page is adapted from the book 31 High Scoring Formulas to answer IELTS Speaking Questions