It’s
important to be creative in your oral preparation, to expand on the truth and
tell a story. Pretend you are
auditioning for a play and write your answers as a short monologue.
Consider the
standard question “Where are you going on holiday?”
A typical answer
would use the same verb and tense as in the question
“I am going to Spain”
Here are 10
ways you can improve this answer for a better grade in your oral exam or
speaking test.
1. Use the
future tense
"I will go to Spain."
2. Add some
people and use the ‘nous’ conjugation of the verb
"I am going on holiday with my parents, we will go to Spain."
3. Give your
opinion
Using the future conditional tense to say where you would prefer to go
"I am going to Spain but I would prefer to be going to Greece."
4. Say where you
went last year
Use the past tense (le passé composé)
"Last year I went to Spain but this year I will go to Greece."
5. Tell us where
you usually go
Using ‘d’habitude + present tense’
"Usually I go to Spain but this year I will go to Greece."
6. Or where you
used to go when you were young
Using the imperfect tense (l’imparfait)
"When I was young I used to go to Spain but this year I will go to Greece."
Literal Tip:When I was young I was going to Spain
7. Use an
alternative verb to that used in the question
"I will spend the holidays in Spain."
8. Y – the
adverbial pronoun
"I go there."
Lightning
Lesson: ‘There’ must refer back to a place already mentioned, this avoids
repetition, but remember the placement of ‘y’ is important. Adverbial pronouns
belong in between the pronoun (I/you/he/she/we) and the verb. The literal
translation is ‘I there go’.
9. Demonstrate a
wide vocabulary by including words like
"instead of, however, never the less, therefore"
10. Now put all
of these tips together to build an A* answer
"When I was young I used to Spain on holiday with my family, and we went there last year. However this summer I will spend the holidays with my friends instead of my parents. We are going camping but I would prefer to be going to Spain."
Actionable
Post your answer in the comments box below.
