IELTS Speaking for Success - 💍 Describe an important old thing that your family has kept for a long time (Part 2) + Transcript

Episode Date: November 7, 2025

Get our premium episode archive: https://www.patreon.com/ieltssfs You should say: what it is, how/when your family first got this thing, how long your family has kept it, and explain why this thing is important to your family. Tune in and have a great day! - Book a class with Rory here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://successwithielts.com/rory⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Our course on Phrasal Verbs: https://successwithielts.com/podcourses Transcript: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up for our archive to get access to the transcript⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find an IELTS Speaking Partner: https://links.successwithielts.com/ieltspartner Our social media: https://linktr.ee/successwithielts © 2025 Podcourses Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, hello, lovely and welcome into Ailed Speaking Part 2. A very interesting topic today. Describe an important old thing that your family has kept for a long time. You should say what it is, how when your family first got this thing, how long your family has kept it, and explain why this thing is important to your family. Wow. So first of all, it should be something important, old, and something that your family has kept. So your family has had this thing at home for a long time. Rory, give us your story. Oh, I think we have a ton of heirlooms in the house, to be honest with you.

But the one that stands out the most for me is a portrait-style photograph of my late grandmother, which we must have had for decades now. When it comes to when we first got the thing, honestly, I have no idea. It's been with us almost as long as I can remember, and it's always been in our dining room next to the kitchen. In terms of why we've hung on to it for so long, well, family is pretty important, obviously,

so having pictures of past and present family members is important for a sense of continuity, if nothing else. To tell you a bit more about what it looks like, I know I said it's a photograph, but it's also a very nicely done one with good use of light that highlights all the features of my grandmother's face. You might even say it shows her in a good light. The frame of the thing is very ornate and made this sort of polished material that almost glows in the light of the room itself.

It's like it's not just a picture. It's also a cornerstone of the decorations in the room itself, and everything on the walls is structured around it. and not sure it has much monetary value, but the sentimental value should be obvious, at least. It's also worth mentioning the material it's made from. I don't think it's like the normal celluloid or whatever photos are usually made from. It's like it's being pieced together from different parts when you look closely. You can make out these fine lines between the smaller segments that make it up.

You would think that would make it look odd, but as long as your face isn't pressed up against it, then it's still a great photo, at least I think so. It's A4 size, so it's bigger, and maybe that necessitates something different. But I'm not really in the know about that sort of thing. I'm no photographer. If we didn't have the portrait hanging in the house, I think we'd have missed out on a real connection to the past, as well as something that draws the room design and decoration together.

It's really nice to have there. It's like a sign of home now. As you know, we now release all of our premium content for free, and it's available for one month. After one month, it goes into our super secret archive. To sign up for the archive, click the link in the description below. See you soon. So, dear listener, you need to choose an important old thing.

If you don't have this thing, then you imagine it. Usually it's a photograph or it's something like a painting, a book, a piece of, of jewelry, a diamond. Like, imagine anything, important and old, but you should be able to describe it, because it's difficult to describe a piece of jewelry, for example. But a photo could be okay, or a book, right? Don't say that something like, oh, a yacht is an important, old thing that my family has kept for a long time, a helicopter. Well, unless you're a millionaires, I'm... So you can start off with, um, we have a... ton of heirlooms in the house.

Airloom. Things we have inherited. A valuable object that has been given by older members of a family to younger members. So if Rory's grandma has given him this book or a ring, this is an heirloom. Usually kind of jewelry, right? A ring, a diamond, a necklace. write some old photographs or well-la-la but furniture yeah and also cups glasses well anything you inherit that's got value yeah but very very common like jewelry yes so i have a lot of heirlooms in the house but the one that stands out

the most for me is a portrait style photograph of my late grandmother so something that stands out is like I remember this one particular object that is memorable for me. So you can just remember the whole phrase. We have a lot of heirlooms. We have a ton of heirlooms in the house. But the one that stands out the most for me is blah, blah, blah. We must have had it for decades. So we probably have had it for a long time.

We must have had it for decades. We started having it. We've had it for a long time and we still have it. Dear listener, are you okay with this structure? Are you with me? We must have had it for decades, for years, for a long time. Logical deduction. Oh yes, very advanced. We change the topic. When it comes to when we first got the thing. So as for when we first got it, I have no idea. or we got it 20 years ago or just imagine something.

But use present perfect. It has been with us for a long time. So it's been with us. It has been with us. Present perfect because you have kept it for a long time. And all the time until now. And you can also say it's been with us as long as I can remember. So it's always been in the dining room.

or it's always been in the kitchen. We change the topic again and now use in terms of, in terms of why we've had it for so long, is because, ta-ta-ta-ta. Or which verb did you use here, Rory? Oh, we hung on to it. It's a phrasal verb. You hang on to something.

But the verb is hang, right? Oh, yes. Well, we've, we have hung on to it. Hang-hung-hung. And it's pretty important for our family because like pictures of the past and present family members are important. A sense of continuity.

What does it mean? Oh God, like connection to the past and into the future, I suppose, is the best way to talk about it. To tell you more about what it looks like, it's a photograph, it's a very nicely done photograph, and it shows all the features of my grandmother's face. So our faces have certain features, facial features. The photograph shows my grandma in a good light.

So like she looks really pretty in this photo. In the photo, Deleisina, okay? So you see my family in the photo. The frame. Photographs usually are usually put in a frame. So the frame is also very ornate. What does it mean ornate? It just looks nice.

It's decorative. Decorative. The frame is made of polished materials and glows. So it has this light. It doesn't have any monetary value. So it's not expensive, right? But it has the sentimental value. And Rory, do I use an article?

Do I say, like, this photo has. a sentimental value or the photo has sentimental value or the sentimental value. I would say it has sentimental value but I suppose you could say it has a sentimental value and it would be okay but I think you're more likely to have it without the article. It's worth mentioning that, so it's important to mention that it's also worth mentioning that It's made of wood or leather or gold. But if you don't know what the material is, don't worry, because I didn't know either. I guessed at it.

I was like, I don't think it's like celluloid. And then I said, or whatever photos are normally made from. Because I don't know what the word is. I think it's celluloid. Am I right? Are photos made from celluloid? Oh, I have no idea. Oh, Maria.

Yeah, you can also mention the size of a photo. Like, it's a 4. It's an A4 sized. photo. So Rory, the photo is hanging on the wall, right? Yes. Do you doubt that? No, no, I'm just curious. So usually, like, we hang a photo on the wall. Right. Or if a photo is standing, what can I say? Like, the photo stands on my desk, or the photo, I don't know, stands on the shelf?

Yeah, if it's freestanding, yeah. So this photo helps us to keep this connection. to the past, right? So it sort of symbolizes the connection to the past to my grandmother. It's really nice to have such a photo like a sign of home. Oh, nice. Cute and cuddly. I think my home would feel very different without that. Yeah, de list. So don't pick any crazy objects. So a photo, a book, a piece of jewelry. But if you choose jewelry, then you need to to be able to describe it, right? I would say so, yes.

But I didn't describe that. I described a picture. But what things could we use in my description to talk about other things? For example, heirlooms, usually an old thing. And then, well, it could be when we first got the thing, that could be used to talk about anything. It's always been in our home, I would imagine.

Then talking about old things, they were hanging onto them, probably all of them are important for a sense of continuity, so we can keep that too. Then we could talk about it's also very nicely made or very well made, and it will also be worth mentioning the material it's made from, and then you could say, I think it's this or whatever these things are made from, and of course with a conditional, if we didn't have this thing in our house, or if we didn't have this thing, it would be a shame.

So all of these structures and phrases and words could be used to describe any old, thing, not just a picture, anything. Roy, do you have photos of you in your house? In my house that I live in now? Yeah, like portraits of you. I have pictures of my friends and I. I don't have individual pictures of me. I think that's a bit narcissistic.

Do you have pictures of your stuff? No. I have got photos of my brother and like of my family, my parents. Oh yeah, I have a picture of my brother in me on the fridge. Oh, well that's okay. That's like two people. Don't have many photos. Hmm. Yeah, but I will talk about, you know, if I want to talk about it, I would talk about a diamond ring

that my grandmother gave to my mother. So kind of like, I've got a mother. She had a mother. So my mother's mother gave the ring to her. So originally it was my grandmother's diamond ring. She got it from her husband. Then my mother had it and now I have it. Oh my God, I feel like I need a flow chart for this.

But you could say it's always been in the family. You could say that about anything. Yeah, it's always been in the family. Yeah. It's always been in the family. Radio listener, thank you very much. We'll get back to you in our next episode. Bye!

Describe an important old thing that your family has kept for a long time. You should say what it is. How when your family first got this thing? how long your family has kept it and explain why this thing is important to your family. Oh, I think we have a ton of heirlooms in the house, to be honest with you. But the one that stands out the most for me is a portrait-style photograph of my late grandmother, which we must have had for decades now. When it comes to when we first got the thing, honestly, I have no idea.

It's been with us almost as long as I can remember, and it's always been in our dining room next to the kitchen. In terms of why we've hung on to it for so long, well, family is pretty important, obviously, so having pictures of past and present family members is important for a sense of continuity, if nothing else. To tell you a bit more about what it looks like, I know I said it's a photograph, but it's also a very nicely done one with good use of light that highlights all the features of my grandmother's face. You might even say it shows her in a good light.

The frame of the thing is very ornate and made the same. sort of polished material that almost glows in the light of the room itself. It's like it's not just a picture. It's also a cornerstone of the decorations in the room itself, and everything on the walls is structured around it. I'm not sure it has much monetary value, but the sentimental value should be obvious, at least. It's also worth mentioning the material it's made from.

I don't think it's like the normal celluloid or whatever photos are usually made from. It's like it's being pieced together from different parts when you look closely. You can make out these fine lines between the smaller segments that make it up. You would think that would make it look odd, but as long as your face isn't pressed up against it, then it's still a great photo, at least I think so. It's a4 size, so it's bigger, and maybe that necessitates something different. But I'm not really in the know about that sort of thing. I'm no photographer. If we didn't have the portrait hanging in the house,

I think we'd have missed out on a real connection to the past, as well as something that draws the room design and decoration together. It's really nice to have there. It's like a sign of home now.