In the IELTS speaking test, the examiner may ask for your opinion or feeling about a particular event, book, film, person, situation etc. Many advanced candidates use grammatically correct but unnatural structures in their responses.
So, in this post I’m going to present a simple and natural structure that native speakers commonly use.
Native speakers often use the structure find someone/something + adjective to express a personal perception or feeling about someone or something. In order to use this structure correctly, you must have experienced or observed the situation or person before forming your opinion.
For example, if the examiner asks you what aspect of learning English is most difficult for you, you can say:
I find phrasal verbs particularly difficult.
The use of find is natural in this sentence because you have already experienced learning phrasal verbs.
Examples of use
- I found the book fascinating. I would recommend it to anyone.
- Most people find my uncle extremely wise.
- I find travelling on the Moscow metro very stressful.
- I’m going to watch the new film about Princess Diana. I think I will find it interesting.
- During the meeting, we learned a lot of new ideas. We found it very useful.
- George didn’t like the meal, but I found it delicious.
Unnatural use
Make sure you use this structure only when you are talking about personal perceptions. If something is a fact, do not use find:
My grandfather is very old (NOT: I find my grandfather very old).
This FREE eBook Shows You What Kinds of Tasks and Questions to Expect in the IELTS Speaking Test.
Leave a Reply