How to Describe Your Favorite Photos in English | Grammar in Use

We all have photos on our phones. Sometimes we share them with others. Are you ready to talk about some favorite memories? Let me help you gain confidence describing some of your photos. I'll share mine and teach you some patterns to follow. Tip number one. Be ready to share information about when and where. Use the simple past. Let me show you how. Here's your task. Find an interesting photo on your phone. Describe where you were and what you did there. Use the simple past because you're describing finished actions. Also explain when that was. Tip number two. If it's a photo from a trip, be prepared to explain what you were doing there. Use the past progressive. Let me show you how. Where was that? In Florida, I was visiting my friend Natasha. She took me to a park, and I liked the sculpture. I wanted to be like the children. I used the past progressive, was visiting, because that was an action or an event in progress when I took the photo. While visiting my friend in Florida, we went to a park. We took some photos there. Here's a task. Find a photo from a trip on your phone. Describe where you were and what you were doing there. Use the past progressive. But remember, finished past actions use the simple past. Tip three. Be ready to share the timeline. What happened before or after? I'll give you an example. That's Flavia and Andrea, right? Yes, they came to a book event in my town. We took this photo after my talk. That's Flavia on the left. Andrea is on the right. And that's me in the middle. This is me before my presentation. We didn't take photos during the event. The main event was the book event, and I explained what happened before and after. With before, after, and during, we can use a noun or a noun phrase. I could also use a whole idea, a whole clause with a subject and verb with before and after. Before I gave my presentation, we took this photo. After my presentation ended, we took a group photo. Here's your task. See if you can find a group photo on your phone. Choose a special event, an important event. Describe something that happened before, during, or after. And your bonus challenge is if you can explain who's who using words like on the right, on the left, and in the middle. Tip 4. Be ready to explain what you were feeling at the time. I'll show you how to use the verb remember. Where was this? In New Hampshire, my daughter and I were staying at my favorite hotel by a lake. It looks nice. Yeah, I remember feeling so happy to be at the lake. I remember the sunset. It was so peaceful, and I remember not wanting to forget that beautiful moment. Remember can be followed by a noun. I remember the sunset. Remember can also be followed by a gerund, the ing form. I remember feeling so happy. I remember not wanting to forget. See how we can use a negative gerund with not. Here's your task. Find a photo of a special moment on your phone. Describe how you felt at the time. Use remember. I remember what, or I remember feeling, doing, wanting, not wanting. Tip 5. Be ready to explain who took the photo and why they took it. You can use connecting words. Let me show you some. Was this near your home? Not too far away, but in another town. I needed a photo from my website, and I liked the fall leaves, so I asked my daughter to take some photos. Our dog was with us, but she behaved well. She sat quietly while we took photos. We can use words to connect or join sentences together. And is for an addition. So is for a result. But is for a contrast. I needed a photo for my website, and I liked the fall leaves, so I asked my daughter to take some photos. Our dog was with us, but she behaved well. Here's your task. Find a photo and try to describe it in a long sentence using connecting words. For example, you might give two details that created a result and use this pattern. Or you can give a couple of details and then create a contrast. Did anything interesting happen while you were taking the photo? When and how do we use while? We can use while with the simple past if the two actions were finished. She sat quietly while we took photos. We can use while with the past progressive to explain that both actions were in progress at the same time. Our dog was watching other people while we were taking photos. These are both unfinished actions. We can also use while to talk about an action that was interrupted. My dog barked a couple of times while we were taking photos. So the barking interrupted the process of taking photos. Here's your final task. Find an interesting photo on your phone and recall what happened or what was happening while you were taking the photo. That's all for now. If you enjoyed this practice, please like, subscribe, and turn on notifications. Thanks for watching and happy studies!