Describe a time when your friend damaged something you owned.: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

What was it & when did it happen?
How was it damaged?
How did you react?

41 unique answers with expert feedback

How did you feel when your friend broke your racket?

I felt a mix of disappointment and sadness. Losing the game was already tough, and seeing my prized racket broken added to that feeling. It was hard to process both the loss of the game and the damage to something I valued so much.

What did you learn from this experience?

I learned that material possessions can be replaced, but friendships are more important. It taught me to prioritize my relationship with my friend over a physical object, and that sometimes emotions can lead to regrettable actions.

How did your friend react after breaking the racket?

He felt really bad about it and apologized. The next week, he surprised me by buying a new racket to replace the one he broke. It showed that he valued our friendship and wanted to make amends for his mistake.

Band 6-7

00:00

So, there was this time when I was in class 9 and my dad had gifted me an expensive toy which I had bought to the school to show my friends. My friend sat beside me and we were playing games and studying in the class, whereas in between we got the time to go for a break and eat some food. After we ate our food, we came outside and we were playing with the toy I got. So, I showed him the toy I got. It was an expensive Lego toy and seeing him, he got happy and when I was playing with him, he tried to pull it from me. And when he pulled it from me, in that reality, I thought, yeah, I'll give it to you. Just wait a bit of time. But he was like, no, I need it right now. So, I was like, okay, give me two minutes. But he just didn't wait and he pulled it and it broke into pieces. My heart that time shattered because I was thinking what will I tell my parents, what will my parents think, what do I tell him right now, how expensive was it. But I was furious at that time, but I had to forgive him. So, after the next day, I apologized and I told, yeah, it's okay. It's cool. You don't have to worry about it.

Follow up questions

How did you feel when your friend broke your toy?

I felt really upset and angry at first because it was a gift from my dad and I was worried about how to explain it to my parents. It felt like my heart shattered, and I didn't know how to react in that moment.

Did you talk to your friend about what happened?

Yes, I did talk to him. Initially, I was furious, but I realized that it was an accident. The next day, I apologized for my reaction and told him it was okay. I wanted to maintain our friendship despite the incident.

What did you learn from this experience?

I learned the importance of patience and communication. I realized that accidents happen, and it's essential to forgive friends. It also taught me to be more careful with my belongings and to communicate better when sharing things.

IELTS Cue Cards asked last week

Reported by Leap students who gave IELTS

Describe your favourite food at a traditional festival or a special event in your country

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

Pitampura Test Centre, New Delhi

Answer

I like to taste different types of cuisine. Here I would like to talk about my favorite dish at my traditional festival of Onam which is Sadya. Sadya is popular in my city. We are experimenting these cuisines on Onam festival day. Onam is a famous festival in my city. All family members get together in my home and we make a delicious Sadya. There are many ingredients includes that Sadya. Moreover, we make a big feast that day as well as we create a lot of memories together and we wear that day the traditional dress called Sari and men wear the Dhotis. That festival is really important to us because the whole day we are conducting different kinds of games at our homes and all the family members came together. It's a memorable day in my life. This is the festival. We are making the Sambar and Aviyal. These all the kinds of foods are making with the vegetables.

Talk about a toy you liked in your childhood

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 8

Sector 34 Test Centre, Chandigarh

Answer

The toy which I liked in my childhood was a panda doll, which makes me pleasant and makes me more blush. The pandas are the most beautiful creatures of the world, which looks gigantic and has pooshy cheeks and they are like stars in the clouds and they dream in me. Furthermore, these have been given by my father. My father is a very very beautiful artistic person, who makes me think of that. Every day you will face every difficulties and make you suffer and move forward. Pandas are always seen in Japanese countries. It is my lifelong dream to visit a Japanese country and click a photo with the original pandas, which makes sounds better.

Describe a time you were in a place where you didn't know the local language

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 6.5

Whitefield Test Center, Bengaluru

Answer

As India is a very large country full of diversity, so there are many places which have their own language and speak their native language. The place which I visited and I didn't know about their language was Leladakh, which is about 300 km away from my hometown and it is a very good place as it consists of different kind of trees, animals and have many scenic views and I visited over there last year in summers as it was the best time to visit because it has many, it was cold over there and we had summers in our area so it was the best time to visit over there and I went over there with my whole family.

Describe a time when your friend damaged something you owned

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7

Begumpet Test Centre, Hyderabad

Answer

When I was a kid, I had a little pencil box which had these four buttons which gave the pencil box an operative use. When you press the button, the box would open up. When you press the second button, a little part of it would slide out. Basically it was just a little electronical and a fun thing to have and I owned it when I was in 6th. One day after break, I was standing and talking there with one of my friends and another friend of mine was running through the hallway and accidentally she pushed my shoulder and my pencil box hit the ground and it broke into multiple pieces to the point that it was not functional anymore.

Describe a book you recently read

Reported by

Anonymous student Band 7.5

CBD Belapur Test Centre, Navi Mumbai

Answer

It Ends With Us is a book I read recently. It's by the author Colleen Hoare. It's mainly a story about two teenagers, Atlas and Lily, and how they just handle their life going through high school, adolescence, and just domestic violence at home. Both of them come from very, very different families. However, they have one common determining factor between them, which is domestic violence. The abuse that they've seen their moms go through is just insane, and they connect through that on a different level. They're actually in the same high school, but they never speak to each other until Atlas actually crashes into an empty house next to Lily's villa. When Atlas is homeless and he doesn't have anywhere to go, he just comes and breaks into the house next to Lily's, and Lily helps him with all the daily necessities like clothes and food, medicines and stuff. Furthermore, their friendship blossoms into love, but it doesn't really fructify as Atlas has to leave. This book really gave me a lot of knowledge about domestic abuse and how to deal with it.

Yes, I have accidentally damaged a friend's book once. I felt terrible about it and immediately apologized. I offered to replace it, and my friend was understanding, which made me appreciate our friendship even more.

Show all 41 answers

Cue 1:What was it & when did it happen?

Begin by clearly identifying the item that was damaged and provide context about its significance to you.
Mention the time frame of the incident, including the location and the occasion during which it occurred.

Example

It was a beautiful ceramic vase that my grandmother had gifted me on my birthday. This incident happened about six months ago during a small gathering at my house.

Cue 2:How was it damaged?

Describe the specific actions that led to the damage, ensuring to highlight your friend's involvement.
Explain the circumstances surrounding the incident, including any distractions or accidents that contributed to the damage.

Example

While we were playing a game, my friend accidentally knocked the vase off the table while reaching for a snack. It fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.

Cue 3:How did you react?

Share your immediate emotional response to the incident, whether it was anger, sadness, or understanding.
Discuss how you communicated with your friend about the damage and any steps taken afterward to resolve the situation.

Example

At first, I was really upset because it was a cherished item. However, I quickly realized it was an accident, so I took a deep breath and reassured my friend that it was okay. We cleaned up the mess together, and I appreciated their willingness to help.

Conclusion

Summarize the overall impact of the incident on your friendship and any lessons learned.
Reflect on how such experiences can strengthen relationships through understanding and communication.

Example

In the end, this incident taught me that accidents happen, and it’s important to handle them with grace. Our friendship grew stronger as we learned to communicate better and support each other during mishaps.

Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.