Being asked about friends, family or other people in the Cambridge Exam English assessments
Have you ever noticed that the majority of the speaking questions in Cambridge Exams are usually about you?
This is because normally you are asked about personal information and personal experiences, but candidates must be prepared to speak about other people too. There are several question formats that require you to do so, study the examples:
- Does anyone you know have an interesting hobby??
- Do you know anyone who lived abroad?
- Do you have a friend that plays a musical instrument?
- Tell us about someone you know who does exciting things at the weekends.
These questions are normally about your friends or family members, however, you need to prepare answers just in case you are asked about other people: colleagues, neighbours, teachers etc.
Exam tips and advice:
To do this you need to be comfortable speaking in the 3rd person in all tenses: the present simple, present continuous and present perfect simple for example.
One typical error in B2 First candidates is with the use of object pronouns when they use the 1st and 2nd conditional. You need to remember that when you are referring to another person who is not the subject, we use the object pronoun. Study the table.
| SUBJECT PRONOUN | OBJECT PRONOUN |
| I | ME |
| YOU | YOU |
| HE | HIM |
| SHE | HER |
| WE | US |
| THEY | THEM |
That’s right! The pronoun you doesn’t change.
Have a look at our discussion questions and download them in PDF to practice with a speaking partner.
Speaking questions for the B2 First Cambridge English Exam:
Topic: Leisure time
- Do you know anyone who has an interesting hobby?
- Does anyone you know enjoy spending time outdoors?
- Do you know any people who like doing extreme sports?
- Do you have any friends who prefer staying in to going out?
- Do you think most people prefer watching TV to reading books?
- Do you know anyone who doesn’t like playing video games?
- Do you have any friends who dislike going to parties?
- Do you have a friend who hates social media?
- Are any of your friends into an exciting hobby?
- Do you think everyone enjoys surfing the internet in their free time?
Topic: Education
- Are your friends keen on going to school/university?
- Do you have any friends who are failing at school?
- Do you know anyone who has dropped out of school?
- Do you know anyone who has already passed the B2 exam?
- Does anyone you know want to study English at university?
- Do you think everyone needs to learn English?
- Does anyone you know want to become an English teacher?
- Tell us about something interesting that your friends enjoy doing.
- Tell us about something boring that your friends enjoy doing.
- Do you have any friends who speak English more fluently than you?
This exam material is ready and free to use for students and teachers of English.
