Descriure una foto en anglès sol ser una de les tasques que s’han de fer a l’Speaking dels exàmens de Cambridge. Estar preparat per a aquesta tasca és bàsic per poder mantindre el control, sentir-se segurs i… fer-ho bé el dia de l’examen!
Avui et donem una sèrie de consells per descriure una foto en anglès amb èxit!
Descripció general
El primer consell que podem donar-te és que comencis la descripció de la imatge a nivell general, com per exemple, explicar quins objectes principals pots veure.
Algunes frases en anglès que pots utilitzar són:
- This is a photo of a / some
- In the photo, I can see…
- The photo shows…
- You can see…
- There is / There are…
Detalls concrets
El segon consell és començar a entrar en detalls. Algunes frases que pots utilitzar per descriure el que veus a la imatge:
Posició i localització:
- in the distance
- at the top
- in the middle of / in the centre of the picture
- behind / in front of / between / next to
- in the picture on the left / right
- in the foreground / background
- at the bottom / on the right corner
Persones:
Consell: menciona qui hi ha a la foto, què està fent, on està, per què estan en aquesta situació, què senten, què ha passat…
- She’s wearing sports clothes…
- He’s got dark-hair and he’s got a beard…
- He’s smiling and he looks friendly.
Escenari:
Consell: descriu l’època de l’any, la forma de la fotografia…
- The photo was taken on holiday / in springtime / during a holiday / at night
- They look like they are posing for a selfie.
- It’s a black-and-white photo.
- The composition of the photo is interesting.
Especulació:
Consell: fes una suposició si no estàs 100% segur del que està passant a la foto.
- Perhaps/Maybe they’re…
- It’s difficult to tell but they may be…
- He may / might / could be in his forties
- She can’t be older than him because
- He must be cold because..
- They are definitely…
- She probably…
- I expect…
- It looks as if…He looks like he…It seems like…
- The people seem to be / appear to be…
Comparació (si hi ha dues fotografies)
Si la instrucció de l’examen és la de comparar les fotografies, no perdis el temps descrivint-les. Fes el que et demanen. Et deixem amb alguns exemples que pots utilitzar:
Comparar – parlar de semblances:
- Both pictures show…
- In both pictures there is / there are…
- …the same as…
- …similar to…
- …as (adjective) as…
Contrastar – parlar de diferències:
- The first picture shows…but/whereas/while the other one shows…
- One of these pictures shows…while the other shows…
- Although the first picture is… the second picture…
- …different from…
- …not as (adjective) as…
Comparacions:
- …more than…
- …looks more peaceful than…
- …much more / a lot more…
- …slightly more / a little bit more…
Aportar una reacció personal
Si vols dir què et fa sentir la fotografia pots utilitzar:
- In my opinion, it reminds me of…
- Personally, I remember a similar experience…
- I think it looks like they are having a lovely time together.
- If I had to choose, I would like to / I’d like to… have a room like this
- I don’t think… this room is a good place to study, it’s very untidy!
Et deixem amb exemples de com descriure una foto en anglès per a nivells intermediate i upper-intermediate.
Nivell B1
This is a picture of a big city on a river. In the foreground, I can see two boats on the river. In the background there are some beautiful buildings. There are trees along the river and there is some traffic on the road. On the right, there is a big modern building. I think it is a museum or concert hall. I can see a family at the entrance. They look very happy. Maybe they are going to concert or a show because they are wearing smart clothes. The photo was taken from high up, perhaps from a skyscraper or a tall building or possibly a drone. In my opinion, it must be the city is London and the river is the River Thames. I would like to visit London one day.
Nivell B2
Both pictures show types of landscapes. The first picture shows the view, perhaps from a cliff by the seaside… it could be the Costa Brava…whereas the second picture shows the view from a country house in the mountains… it might be in the Pyrenees. The photos are probably taken during the summer because it appears to be a sunny day with clear, blue skies. I think that the advantage of staying near the place in the first picture would be that you can go to the beach while the advantage of staying near the second picture could be that it is more peaceful and cheaper. I think both places look lovely, but personally speaking, the first place may be more fun.
Nivell C1
What first strikes me first about these photos is that in both of them the people look like they’re very worried about something. Judging from the first photograph, it seems that the person is taking an exam because it looks like they are sitting in an academic setting…whereas the other person appears to be sitting in a traffic jam. It’s difficult to tell but this photo might have been taken at rush hour when it’s more likely that the roads are congested and you could be held up for a long time. I think both photos clearly show stressful situations but the first gets the message across more effectively. As far as road rage is concerned, I think you have to breathe deeply and be patient because it is dangerous to get too stressed, both for yourself and other people. My advice would be to anyone suffering exam stress, prepare, prepare, prepare. If you revise a lot, you feel less stressed. Personally, the first photo is something I really relate to because I’ve just done exams and I’ve gone through that same situation recently.
Recorda que és important, a l’hora de descriure una foto en anglès, utilitzar una gran varietat d’estructures. Al nostre blog trobaràs moltíssim material gratuït que t’anirà molt bé per enriquir la teva expressió oral.