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Written Oct. 10, 2008

Examples of Some Key Language Functions (Page 1)

A language function is the purpose of speaking that sentence or phrase. For example, “I’m sorry” represents the function of apologizing and, “Good Morning!” represents the function of greeting. 

In the speaking test, the examiner will ask certain questions that are testing your knowledge of the suitable ways to speak for certain language functions. It is very useful if you can recognize these language functions.

You should also understand that some questions combine two (or even more) types of language function in one question.

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1. Talking about  personal habits

Example question:  What do you usually do in the evenings?

1. I usually ...
2. I often ...
3. While I'm studying I usually ...
4. Sometimes I ....
5. As a rule, I ...
6. Whenever I can I ...

• Don't say, "I will .." unless your meaning includes the word 'if' (or includes the idea of 'if' without using that word.) For example, the following answer is not correct: "What do you do in the evenings?" – "Well, after I have had my dinner I will usually watch some TV and chat with my parents." 

However, the following answer is ok because it includes the idea of "if": "How do you usually get your news?" – "I usually get my news from the TV or the internet but sometimes, (if there's some special news that I'm interested in,) I'll buy a newspaper and read more about a topic (that) I'm especially interested in."

• The word 'always' means 总是, not 经常.

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2. Expressing likes and dislikes

Example question:  What kinds of music do you like?

1. My favourite  ... is ...
2. I like ...
3. I enjoy ...
4. I'm (quite/rather) keen on ...
5. I just love ...
6. I absolutely adore ....
7. I'm crazy about ...
8. I'm addicted to ...
9. I don't mind ...
10. As far as .... is concerned, I can take it or leave it.
11. I don't care too much for ...
12. My least favourite .... is ...
13. I dislike ...
14. I can't stand ...
15. I hate ... (extreme language)
16. I find ... 

• When you express your feelings, including your likes and dislikes, try to use facial expressions to accompany your words.

• When expressing strong feelings, place extra stress on the key word. These are shown in italics, for example,  "I absolutely adore ..."

• The expression, "I absolutely adore ..." is more suitable for females to say. But males say that when talking about their girlfriend or wife.

• Only say, "I'm addicted to ..." if it's something that you do very frequently and almost can't control. For example, some boys are addicted to computer games. English speakers also say, "addicted" as an exaggeration, such as, "I'm addicted to the internet" or, "I'm addicted to chocolate – I eat some chocolate almost every day."

• Definitely do not say, "very like". (A Band 4 level mistake.) In English we do not say, "Very + verb". Instead, we say, "Verb + very much" or, "Very much + verb". However, for the verb, "like", it's better to say, "I really like spicy food" rather than, "I like spicy food very much" or "I very much like spicy food". In fact, it's ok to just say, "I like spicy food a lot".

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3. Expressing reasons for likes and dislikes 

1. ... because ...
2. ... since ...
3. The main reason I like...... is that it's ......
4. What I like best about ..... is .....
5. The thing I like best about ..... is ......
6. The best/worst thing about ... is ...
7. I don't like that very much because it's too ......
8. That's because I find it ......

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4. Expressing a preference

Example question:  Do you (or, would you) prefer to travel alone or with others? (e.g., a friend)

1. I prefer ... because
2. My preference is ... because ...
3. I prefer A to B because ...
4. If I had the choice, I'd + V ... because ... (假设的话)
5. If I had the choice, I'd rather + V... because ... (假设的话)
6. If I have the choice, I'll + V .... (a real possibility for the future)

• You can also say, "I (very) much prefer ...", "I certainly prefer ..." and "I definitely prefer ...".

• Never say, "I like both of them." or some similar answer. For example, most people like both rice and noodles. If I ask you which do you prefer, to say, "I like both of them" is a poor answer. In this situation, the suitable answer is: "I have no preference, really – I like both of them equally."

• 'Prefer' questions are also asking you to make some comparisons between two things. You should use some of the language of comparing when you give your reason(s) for your preference.

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5. Comparing 

Example question:  

What are the differences between modern art in China and traditional Chinese art?

1. A is bigger than B.
2. B is not as big as A.            

    You can also use some of these:

• Use “much” as in, “A is much better / worse than B”.

• “A is not nearly as good as B.”

• “B is nowhere near as big as A”

• “A is not quite as important as B.”

• “A is almost as important as B, but not quite.”

• “In comparison to B, A is quite big.”  Or, “A is quite big in comparison to B”.

• “Compared to B, A is a lot bigger.”

6.  Talking about recent changes

     = Comparing the recent past and the present

Example question: 

Has your hometown changed much in the past few years? (e.g. 20 years)

Yes, it has. For example, ...

1. Today there are many more cars on the roads than there were thirty years ago.

          ( ... there are/is more_____ than there were/was ....)

2. The air pollution is much worse/much better than it used to be.

           ( ______ is more ____ than it used to be.)

3. Compared to thirty years ago, the population of the city has increased by about two million.

            (Compared to thirty years ago, _______ has + 过去分词)

4. The population of the city has increased by about two million people in the last thirty years.

            (______ has + 过去分词 in the last thirty years)

5. More people today own a car than was the case thirty years ago.

            (More _________ today + present tense than was the case thirty years ago.)

6. Today, more and more people are living in high-rise apartment buildings whereas thirty years ago, we had very few high-rise apartments buildings in our city.

            (Today ______ are + 现在分词 whereas thirty years ago + past tense)

7. More and more large-scale supermarkets are being built nowadays but there were very few of them in my hometown thirty years ago

(More and more ________ are being + 过去分词  nowadays but + past tense thirty years ago.)

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7. Contrasting 

The question is usually 'a compare question'. When you answer one of these questions, you can use a contrasting statement. However, since the grammar of the comparing answers (see above) is more difficult, you will impress the examiner more by mostly using that, rather than by using contrasting statements.

Example: "A is big but B is small."

(____ is _____ but _____ is ____)

• A contrasting statement has two parts and the second part basically repeats the first part in grammatical form but the idea expressed in the second part is the opposite idea to the first part. In the example above, the two ideas expressed are the adjectives 'big' and 'small' but you can use adverbs or phrases as well. For example, "He works quite slowly whereas I work quite fast" or, "I was on my way to work but he was on his way home."

• Of course, it's much better to add words such as 'quite'. For example, "A is quite big while B is rather small."

• Instead of 'but' you can use, 'while' or 'whereas'. It's possible but not necessary to include the expression, "on the other hand". For example, "A is quite big but, on the other hand, B is rather small."

• The verb form doesn't have to be present tense – any suitable verb form is possible.

• When you speak a sentence with a contrasting statement, it is important to stress the words that are in contrast. For example: "A is quite big while B is rather small." The words 'big' and 'small' have the greatest sentence stress but 'A' and 'B' are also stressed.

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