Hello lovely, I'm Maria.
And my name is Rory and we are the hosts of the IELTS Speaking for Success podcast.
The podcast that aims to help you improve your speaking skills, as well as your listening skills, along the way.
We started this podcast to give you a look at how a native super English speaker would answer some of the most common IELTS speaking questions, using gorgeous grammar and high-level vocabulary for a high score.
Ben, nine score.
Rory, where are you?
Well, was that a Band 9 answer?
No.
I'm all over the place.
Oh, well, that's a shame.
I have a present for you, though.
Oh, give it to me.
Here you are.
Thank you so much.
That's so sweet of you, Rory.
That's okay.
Shall we talk about giving gifts today?
Absolutely.
In IELTS Speaking Part 1, they can ask you questions about presents and gifts.
Rory, do you enjoy giving gifts?
I like making people happy, but I'm not sure those two things are synonymous.
Sometimes you can just do a nice thing for someone or pay a compliment and that's enough.
It doesn't have to be a physical thing.
Although I suppose a compliment or an action could also be a kind of gift.
Do you prefer to give or receive gifts?
Doesn't everyone prefer getting gifts?
My philosophical approach to this kind of thing aside, it's nice to be given gifts, not just because it's nice to have things.
Usually some things are useless, for example.
But it shows the person is thinking of you and cares about you, which is really cool, I think.
How often do you buy gifts for other people?
Probably not as often as I should.
Like usually, every birthday for the people close to me, which is fairly regularly if we think about, like my family, for example.
But I probably should buy gifts more often for them.
If I know that they'll love it, then yes.
I remember one time I bought my friend a book I overheard him talking about.
He lost his original copy, so I paid for a replacement.
And then he did the same for me a year later, and that was quite cool.
But normally I usually just ask people directly, what would you like?
What do you usually give other people as gifts?
It's usually something useful.
So if we talk about my family, for example, my dad gets stuff for gardening.
Actually, I just bought him a pair of secateurs.
And my brother gets... protein powder or the like.
And I think the only thing outside of that is my mom gets her favorite perfume, which isn't useful, but it is nice and it does make her happy.
So in that sense, it's quite useful.
Do you give expensive gifts?
Well, I always think the Coco Chanel perfume that my mum gets is quite expensive.
Apart from that, I don't think so.
I think I...
I think I paid for plane tickets for someone once.
That was quite expensive.
But this is not something that I do very often.
Do you take a gift when you visit someone in their home?
Usually I'll bring a bottle of wine, although recently a box of Pringles is becoming my bog-standard party gift to bring.
I should probably shell out more actually for gifts I bring to parties.
What kind of gifts do you like to receive?
Oh, books.
All the literature in the world would be a great start.
Just because I love reading.
Other than that, clothes are always appreciated.
I think, in my opinion, you can never have enough long-sleeved shirts and skinny jeans.
What gifts did you get when you were a child?
Well, I used to get more books and fewer clothes for sure, although that equation seems to have reversed over time.
And obviously, when I was younger, I'd get like random toys.
I had a lot of figurines of plastic dinosaurs and warships, for example.
When did you last receive a gift?
I honestly can't remember.
I think...
I think it must have been my birthday.
And then there was a plethora of things.
Although, frankly, I think the best gift was having all of my friends around me.
I've not seen my family in months.
So it was nice to have that kind of emotional support there.
So like I say, a gift doesn't have to be physical.
It can be something.
What's the word?
Metaphysical.
What kinds of gifts are popular in your country?
Well, alcohol seems to be the done thing these days.
Although I suppose, with the rise of things like Amazon, people have a lot of gifts that are tailor made for them now.
But most of the gifts that I see people giving are alcohol based.
What's the best present you have ever received?
Oh, someone special once surprised me when I got off my plane.
I wasn't expecting them to meet me.
That was really nice.
Sorry again, for me, physical things don't mean nearly as much as things like that.
I think that's quite special.
Have you ever received a gift which you didn't like?
Well okay, I'll start.
I'll preface this by saying I really hope this isn't taken the wrong way, because I do appreciate it.
But I got a really nice bottle of whiskey from my new workplace on my birthday a month ago.
But the problem with it was that I don't actually drink whiskey.
I prefer to drink bourbon.
So that wasn't something that I particularly liked.
But I should say that I really appreciated it because it was extremely nice and expensive and they bought it for me and they were thinking of me.
So I did like it and maybe one day I'll work up the courage to drink it.
Rory, why do people buy gifts?
It's like, I suppose, a visual and physical representation of how much they value the person.
It's like a nice way of saying, I care about you, have a thing to help you do things.
That's a major oversimplification, but that is what it means, I think.
Rory, thank you so much for your lovely answers.
That's okay.
I hope they were a gift.
So Rory, what's this IOD Speaking for Success premium thingy?
Don't you know, Maria?
It's a subscription for our premium podcast that you can't find anywhere else.
It's not on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, CastBox or any other apps.
Oh, yes, that's true.
Our premium service is an extended, more in-depth version of our original podcast where Rory and I go over the latest questions and vocabulary for all three parts of the speaking test, giving you model answers and vocabulary to use in your own exam.
You know what?
Why don't we just let everyone try it for themselves?
If you like, you can sign up for a seven-day free trial on our website, and everybody who signs up for the seven-day trial gets a chance to win a three-month subscription to the whole premium podcast.
Click the link in the description or go to successwithiotscom slash premium to sign up for the trial.
Cool.
Now, let's move on to the episode.
You're right.
So, let's go over the gifts vocabulary.
Rory, so what's going on with this gifts, presents, giving or gifts and presents?
Are they the same thing?
Basically, yes.
So usually a gift or a present are physical things that you give people, and you give presents if you are the person buying them and you, if they are the person the gift is for, then you receive the present, although obviously i think that things that aren't physical are also gifts as well, which i think they are, and i think that a lot of people would agree.
So we can say to give a gift or to get a gift when you receive a gift.
So receive a gift, get a gift.
You can present a gift as well, which is extremely interesting in terms of the language used, because obviously the word present can mean to give someone something.
Yeah, so can I say that I presented you a new computer?
You could.
I should say though, present is like a very formal way of giving someone something.
It's like something official.
Yeah, usually we say, like, I gave you flowers.
Yeah.
Or I gave you bananas.
You hate.
But also, like, we can say to gift as a verb or gifting.
Yes, you can gift someone something.
So it could also be a verb.
Yeah, or like gift gifting.
No, not gift gifting.
What?
Gift giving.
Gift giving is a nice activity.
If you're the one being gifted, yeah.
Yeah, or gift giving is popular in my culture, for example.
You can also call yourself a gift giver.
I'm a gift giver.
If you give gifts to other people.
We can also say that we exchange gifts.
People exchange gifts.
At Christmas or on their birthdays?
Usually, yes.
Well, if you have a shared birthday.
You exchange gifts at Christmas because everybody gets a present, but you give people gifts on the birthday because only one people gets a present.
Yeah, it's interesting like we give presents on people's birthday and uh, do i say like i, i got a new computer on my birthday or for my birthday, Both is okay.
Or I got a new computer as a gift on my birthday.
Oh, that's very long, but yes.
Yeah, it is long.
Yeah, then we can say like we keep our gifts, we throw them away or we give it away if we don't like what we got.
Yes, although I'm definitely keeping that bottle of whiskey.
Good, good for you.
And you've used some adjectives to describe gifts, like physical gifts, right?
But as you said, gifts may not be physical.
So we can, for example, say immaterial gifts, right?
Yeah, I used the word metaphysical, but I realized that immaterial might actually have been a better word there.
But the whole point is that it's not something physical.
It's something that is more than this immaterial.
Material gifts is like physical gifts right, but we can also speak about digital gifts or monetary gifts, absolutely so.
Monetary gifts are well, money you give people, and digital gifts would be something like oh, you could go to a website like Steedman, buy a video game for someone and then they get sent an access code for it.
I think that's how it works.
Yeah, you can give subscriptions to people also, like gift certificates or vouchers vouchers for swimming pool, I don't know.
Oh, you could also get vouchers for a cookery class, for example.
That would be nice.
We can also say that gifts could be useless, useful gifts.
And Rory, you said a nice one.
It's nice to be giving gifts, not receiving.
Um, yes, but that's just because sometimes I can be a bit materialistic.
Yeah, you can say, I'm not materialistic, I prefer immaterial gifts.
Pay a compliment.
So when we give a gift, we pay a compliment, right?
You could pay a compliment.
But paying someone a compliment doesn't have to be just because it's their birthday or you want to give them something.
It could just be they did or wear something nice.
And when you have no idea what gift to give, you can ask people directly. about what they want.
Yes.
That's the method that works best for me.
I love asking people like, tell me what you want and I'll do it for you.
A lot of people, even if it's not with giving gifts, it's like everywhere.
People just expect you to understand and know exactly what they mean.
But this doesn't work for me.
I prefer to ask directly me what you want, and then we'll see, and then you don't have to look for gifts like choose, select or you can say, pick a gift shop for gifts, which takes a lot of time well, can take a lot of time.
You can make a gift, Make a gift.
Oh, wow, with your hands.
Handmade gift.
I mean, I wouldn't do that because I'm terrible at handicraft, but other people could do that.
That would be a valuable gift.
Rory, what did you buy for your dad?
Oh, secateurs.
If I grossly oversimplify, secateurs are like big scissors for the garden.
That's...
Not really like.
That's a terrible way to describe them, but that's how I describe them because I'm not a very good gardener.
I'm not a very avid gardener.
My dad will be able to describe it better.
Rory doesn't have green fingers.
No, I have clean fingers.
It's a joke.
It's a joke.
Rory, when you go to a party, you usually have a bog standard gift.
Bog standard?
Yeah, bog standard is like a way of saying just a basic gift that you bring.
It's like your gift that you go to for every occasion.
Yeah, we need another example with this bog standard.
I guess alcohol is the bog standard gift that people give for different birthdays in Scotland.
You've used another one.
Alcohol seems to be the done thing these days.
The done?
Like, we are done?
So the done thing is just the generally accepted thing.
So it could be talking about buying gifts, or it could be talking about how people behave in the world.
You've used some nice phrase about equation.
The equation is reversed.
Oh, yeah.
This is so benign.
So the equation is just...
Well, it's just a way of describing the situation, I suppose.
So when I was younger, I got more books and fewer clothes.
But now the reverse is true.
So it's like the equation's been reversed.
Yeah, this is really cool.
And about your birthday, you said there were a plethora of things.
A plethora of things.
Yes, a plethora is like a large amount of something.
So I had a large amount of gifts, for example.
I imagine that that is grammatically incorrect because it's an amount and not a number, but I use it interchangeably and it's a nice word to use.
So come at me, bro.
It is a super word to use.
So, it's like, it was my birthday party and I got a plethora of presents.
Yes.
Yeah, we can also say prezi.
Prezi.
Oh, I have a prezi for you.
I was surprised by the number of Prezis that I got for my birthday, to be honest with you.
I was not expecting anybody to buy me anything.
I'm always just happy with... What did you get, Rory?
What did you get?
Tell us.
Well, my parents got me.
Well, my parents just sent me money, of course, because we live in different countries and it's impossible to send anything here.
But I got some really nice things.
Like, my friend bought me... I got a coffee cup.
How best to describe it?
It's like a...
It's like a coffee holder, I guess.
And you can put your coffee in that and travel around with it, which for me is extremely useful because I need my coffee.
And I got a couple of...
Face masks as well.
And oh, I got some eye covers for sleeping, but they're scented.
That was an amazing gift.
I think my favourite one was probably...
Aside from the fact that all my friends were there, my favorite one was definitely my clothes.
My friend bought me some nice shirts from H&M, which, oh, they're great.
I really, like, I'm really lucky I've got some cool friends.
They're so nice.
This is so sweet.
What did I get you from Petticoats?
You got me nothing.
No, ever.
I got you a spoon, a little spoon.
You got me a tiny spoon that's shaped like a bear paw, and I'm going to add that to one of my tattoos.
So thank you very much for that.
Are you joking?
I'm not joking.
When I go back to Scotland, I'm getting that added.
I have three more tattoos to get, and that is one of them.
Yeah, but it's a special spoon and you have to put it in your wallet, so it just grabs all the money into your wallet.
Exactly.
Although in this case I don't have a wallet, but I have a sentimental attachment to that, so I'm getting it tattooed on me.
That's awesome.
Oh, I'm about to cry.
Oh, this is so sweet, so touching.
We can also have tailor-made gifts.
Yes, so tailor-made gifts are things that people have specially designed for them or specially made for one person.
Yeah, like tailor-made shirts.
Yes, if you're very rich, then you can have your shirts tailor-made.
Yeah, when we talk about gifts, we can also mention like I enjoy wrapping gifts.
To wrap a present.
I thought you meant wrapping, like in music there, but yes.
Wrapping, yeah, wrap.
Some people like wrapping presents.
I don't because I'm lazy.
Rory, but don't you think that this gift-giving got out of control, especially during Christmas?
It's crazy.
Well, for me, no, because I just pick one thing for each person, so it's okay.
I think...
I don't know.
My understanding is that Russian people are extremely generous around Christmas time and buy a lot of gifts, which I think is quite unnecessary for me.
People can buy gifts for each other, but I don't need a lot of presents.
I just need one or two and my friends around me and that's all.
So this is why it kind of weirds me out a bit.
Rory needs attention and love I don't need attention I just need my friends that's all thank you very much for listening remember give presents not presents bye bye bye bye Rory, do you enjoy giving gifts?
I like making people happy, but I'm not sure those two things are synonymous.
Sometimes you can just do a nice thing for someone or pay a compliment and that's enough.
It doesn't have to be a physical thing.
Although I suppose a compliment or an action could also be a kind of gift.
Do you prefer to give or receive gifts?
Doesn't everyone prefer getting gifts?
My philosophical approach to this kind of thing aside, it's nice to be given gifts, not just because it's nice to have things.
Usually some things are useless, for example, but it shows the person is thinking of you and cares about you, which is really cool, I think.
How often do you buy gifts for other people?
Probably not as often as I should.
Like usually, every birthday for the people close to me, which is fairly regularly if we think about, like my family, for example.
But I probably should buy gifts more often for them.
Do you enjoy looking for gifts for people?
If I know that they'll love it, then yes.
I remember one time I bought my friend a book I overheard him talking about.
He lost his original copy, so I paid for a replacement.
And then he did the same for me a year later and that was quite cool.
But normally I usually just ask people directly, what would you like?
What do you usually give other people as gifts?
It's usually something useful.
So if we talk about my family, for example, my dad gets stuff for gardening.
Actually, I just bought him a pair of secateurs.
And my brother gets Do you give expensive gifts?
Well, I always think the Coco Chanel perfume that my mum gets is quite expensive.
Apart from that, I don't think so.
I think I...
I think I paid for plane tickets for someone once that was quite expensive, but this is not something that I do very often.
Do you take a gift when you visit someone in their home?
Usually I'll bring a bottle of wine, although recently a box of Pringles is becoming my bog-standard party gift to bring.
I should probably shell out more actually for gifts I bring to parties.
What kind of gifts do you like to receive?
Oh, books.
All the literature in the world would be a great start.
Just because I love reading.
Other than that, clothes are always appreciated.
I think, in my opinion, you can never have enough long sleeved shirts and skinny jeans.
What gifts did you get when you were a child?
Well, I used to get more books and fewer clothes for sure, although that equation seems to have reversed over time.
And obviously, when I was younger, I'd get like random toys.
I had a lot of figurines of plastic dinosaurs and warships, for example.
When did you last receive a gift?
I honestly can't remember.
I think...
I think it must have been my birthday.
And then there was a plethora of things.
Although, frankly, I think the best gift was having all of my friends around me.
I've not seen my family in months.
So it was nice to have that kind of emotional support there.
So like I say, a gift doesn't have to be physical.
It can be something.
What's the word?
Metaphysical.
What kinds of gifts are popular in your country?
Well, alcohol seems to be the done thing these days.
Although I suppose, with the rise of things like Amazon, people have a lot of gifts that are tailor made for them now.
But most of the gifts that I see people giving are alcohol based.
What's the best present you have ever received?
Oh, someone special once surprised me when I got off my plane.
I wasn't expecting them to meet me.
That was really nice.
Sorry, again, for me, physical things don't mean nearly as much as things like that.
I think that's quite special.
Have you ever received a gift which you didn't like?
Well okay, I'll start.
I'll preface this by saying I really hope this isn't taken the wrong way, because I do appreciate it.
But I got a really nice bottle of whiskey from my new workplace on my birthday a month ago. but the problem with it was that I don't actually drink whiskey I prefer to drink bourbon so that wasn't something that I particularly liked but I should say that I really appreciated it because it was extremely nice and expensive and they bought it for me and they were thinking of me so I did like it and maybe one day I'll work up the courage to drink it Rory, why do people buy gifts?
It's like, I suppose, a visual and physical representation of how much they value the person.
It's like a nice way of saying, I care about you, have a thing to help you do things.
That's a major oversimplification, but that is what it means, I think.
