Advanced Vocabulary for "Picture Description" - Duolingo English Test

One of the easiest ways to improve your score on "Picture Description" questions is to use advanced vocabulary in your answers. In this article, we will present 25 advanced words and phrases that you can use on these question types.

We also have a video version of this article!

Table of Contents

• About "Picture Description" Questions
• Describing the Location of Items on "Picture Description" Questions
• Describing Things You Can See Clearly on "Picture Description" Questions
• Describing Things You Cannot See Clearly on "Picture Description" Questions
• Words That Can Be Used to Speculate on "Picture Description Questions"
• Example "Picture Description" Questions and Answers

About "Picture Description" Questions

There are 2 types of "picture description" questions on the Duolingo English Test. In one type, you have to speak your response and in the other, you have to write your response. Both count toward your Production subscore, which, on average, is the most difficult subscore for test takers.

For speaking "Picture Description" questions, you will have 20 seconds to study the image, then you will have 90 seconds to speak about it. There is only one “Speak About the Photo” question on the test.

For writing "Picture Description" questions, you won’t have any time to study the image before you write. You simply have 1 minute to write. You will see this question type 3 times on the test.

👉 For more tips on improving your Production subscore or your answers to "Picture Description" questions, check out our popular articles: 8 Ways to Improve Your Production Score & 9 Best Tips for Picture Description Questions

Describing the Location of Items on "Picture Description" Questions

Below are six phrases that can be used to describe the location of items or people in an image.

And here's how you can use these phrases in complete sentences to describe an image:

Using these words and phrases can also be a great way to structure your response, ensuring that you describe ALL important items in an image.

Below are six more phrases and words that can be used to describe the location of items in an image:

• "In the distance" - means something that is far away or over there
• "In the background" - this is similar to "in the distance" but usually "in the distance" means even further away than the items seen in the background
• "In the foreground"  – the foreground is the opposite of the background. Things in the foreground are close to the camera while things in the background are further away.
• "Behind" - If something is behind a thing or person, it is on the other side of them from where you are, or nearer their back/rear rather than their front.  Sometimes being behind something means it is hidden.
• "In front of" - this means the item is just ahead of or further forward than someone or something else.

"In front of" and "behind" are closely linked. For this reason, they can be hard terms for non-native speakers to grasp. In the example below, the cat is behind the box in the image on the left and the cat is in front of the box in the image on the right.

Alternatively, you could say that in the left image, the box is in front of the cat, and in the right image the box is behind the cat.  

Here is how you can use these words and phrases in complete sentences to describe an image:

Describing Things You Can See Clearly on "Picture Description" Questions

All of the following words are good alternatives to "there is" or "there are" that will help you score higher on the Duolingo English Test:

• "In this image, I see..."
• "This image shows..."
• "This image depicts..."

For example:

All three of these phrases mean the same thing and you can use different ones in different "Picture Description" questions on the test. This range of vocabulary also help to raise your score.

Describing Things You Cannot See Clearly on "Picture Description" Questions

You can use these words to express when you have uncertainty about what you see or when it is difficult to see a part of the photo:

• "I can make out..."
• "It appears that..."
• "There appears to be..."
• "It seems that..."

These phrases are great for images like those below where it is a bit unclear what is happening:

Words That Can Be Used to Speculate on "Picture Description Questions"

To "speculate" means to form a theory about something without firm evidence. For example, in the image below we can speculate that the dog caused the mess seen below, although we didn't see him make the mess and he is looking at the camera with innocent eyes.

Speculating can be a great way to come up with ideas for things to talk about on "Picture Description" questions.

You can use the following terms when speculating about an image:

• "It is not clear..." (if the dog caused the mess)
• "It is difficult to say..." (if the dog caused the mess)
• "It is difficult to tell..." (if the dog caused the mess)
• "...whether...or..." (this is useful when you can not tell if it is one thing or another thing e.g. whether the dog or the cat caused the mess)
• "Perhaps..." (the dog caused the mess)
• "It may be the case that..." (the dog caused the mess)

Here's an example using an unclear image:

Example "Picture Description" Questions and Answers

Now we will present three example "write about the picture" questions and model answers for your review. To practice, we recommend setting a timer for 1 minute and responding to the prompt before looking at our example answer to compare. The vocabulary taught in this article is bolded.

Our example response:

This image shows a woman walking with her bicycle. In the background, I can make out some items like balloons and toys. It is difficult to tell but her bicycle is loaded up with what appears to be coconuts in green plastic bags. It is not clear whether she is leaving the market or arriving to it. It appears to be hot because she is wearing a large hat and a scarf to protect herself from the sun.

Our example response:

In this image, I see a worker on a construction site. He is in the center of the image and around him is dirt and wood structures. Behind him, in the upper right-hand corner, is a large orange dumpster and concrete slabs. On the right-hand side of the image, there is also what appears to be fresh concrete that is drying. Perhaps the man is a supervisor who is inspecting the work to make sure that it was done properly.

Our example response:

This image depicts a quiet street. The sun is intense and in the distance, the sky is bright blue, so it seems that it is midday. The house on the left-hand side is stone, but the other houses are painted vibrant colors. It appears that this is a residential street because there are clothes hanging out to dry.

If you want more practice on "Picture Description" questions, sign up for Arno today. We have unlimited practice questions for every question type on the Duolingo English Test, including "Picture Description" questions. If you purchase credits, you can also get feedback on your grammar and vocabulary.

Here is an example of how Arno can help you master these question types...

Arno will present you with a timed practice question. As soon as you submit your answer, it will then give you an estimated score and a breakdown of your vocabulary so you can see how much advanced vocabulary you are using.

Arno will show you any grammar mistakes made, how to fix them, and why it was a mistake.

Arno then gives you feedback on your grammar and vocabulary and a re-written version of your response to see how a native speaker might have answered.  

For "Speak about the photo" questions you can replay your response to hear how you sound. You can also get a pronunciation assessment.

To see it for yourself, just click below to create your free account and start practicing!