Talk about something that you borrowed from your friend

You should say:

1. What was it
2. When did you borrow
3. Whom you borrowed it from
4. What you did with it
5. Why you borrowed it

Sample:

• I think that sharing things with others is a good habit, in everyday life a lot of people borrow and lend things to each other.
• Some people might feel uncomfortable about borrowing and lending things but it is a practice that has existed for such a long time.
• Today, I would like to talk about a book that I borrowed from my best friend
• It was during last summer when my final exams were going on.
• I remember the weather was extremely hot during these days
• I studied at the library which was close to my home and I found a good environment to study there.
• One day I forgot my economics book while studying at the library and I was not able to find it after that.
• I became anxious and started panicking as my economics exam was two days after that and I badly needed that book for the preparation.
• I called my best friend who was an year elder to me and had given the same exam last year.
• Luckily she still had the same book with her and she said that I can borrow the book from her.
• I immediately rushed to her place and got a sigh of relief when she gave me the book.
• She also said that she can help me prepare for the exam, it was really a nice gesture from her
• So I studied really hard for the next two days and I felt confident about the exam despite of losing some precious preparation time.
• Fortunately my exam went really well and I returned the book to her on the next day with a note of thanks.
• After few months when my result was declared, I was surprised to see that I scored the highest marks in economics.
• I felt so happy and grateful for my best friend.
• I bought chocolates for her to express my gratitude.
• Without her help this score would not have been possible for me.
• So this was a time when I borrowed a book from someone.

Part 3 – Follow Up Questions

1. Why do some people borrow things instead of buying them?

Some people borrow things because they may not be able to afford buying those things, or perhaps they would not need to use those things more than once. So, instead of buying some people prefer borrowing such things.

2. What would you do if people don’t return the money the borrowed from you?

I would request them/remind them to return the money they owe to me, maybe once or twice. If they still do not return the money, I would not ask them again. I believe that it is the individual’s responsibility to return what they have borrowed.

3. Why are people embarrassed when they borrow money from others?

People are embarrassed to borrow money because it develops a feeling of inferiority and people feel ashamed that they are not able to manage their finances well.

4. Do you often borrow things in your daily life?

Yes, unfortunately I am very forgetful with stationery items like pencils, erasers, pens etf. I have to often borrow them from my peers and friends at school and school. Many of my friends and peers borrow them from me as well.

5. What things you usually borrow from your neighbours?

I remember few years back I used to borrow things like sugar, salt, basically cooking items. But now we have shops very close to our home so it is very convenient to buy them.I don’t believe there is anything wrong with borrowing them in the case of emergency.

6. How you like when some people borrow money from others?

This is something that I am completely against. I believe borrowing money impacts relationships like nothing else and if there is ever a delay in returning money it sours relationships even more.

7. What kind of problems are associated with borrowing things?

I don’t believe that there is anything wrong with borrowing things except money. Borrowing money affects relationships especially if there are large sums involved. The lender may feel worries if the money would be returned or not and the borrower feels like he owes something.

8. What is your opinion about the phenomenon of borrowing in society?

Again, I think it is acceptable unless it is about borrowing money. We are social animals. Borrowing and lending is the manifestation of this social dependence. In case of money I believe , a person can take a loan from a bank instead of asking a friend or a relative.

Other Cue Card : Describe something you borrowed from your friend or family

You should say:

• what you borrowed
• when you borrowed it
• whom you borrowed it from

and explain why you borrowed it.

Model Answer 1:

I have always remained a very vocal “opponent” of borrowing anything from anybody either because it would put a question mark on my “financial ability” or present me as a “miserly” person to others. But, necessity knows no bounds, and I also needed to borrow something, a scientific calculator that is, from one of my distant relatives.

It was about 10 years ago, when I was still a high school student, and I was eagerly waiting to get over with my final term examination. Everything was going well as I was finishing taking one test after another until the day to appear for the “Trigonometry” test had arrived. As usual, I was ready to get out of my house and hit the road in order to take part in the “Trigonometry” test. But, unfortunately, just when I was checking my calculator for the last time to make sure if it was in good working condition, I found out to my extreme “horror” that it wasn’t working at all! I checked the battery (which I had put only the previous month) and everything else by pushing all the “buttons” one after another, but it just wouldn’t switch on. So, I immediately decided to run to a nearby local store in order to buy the same kind of calculator, but all I could expect there was some “huge disappointment” as it didn’t have any scientific calculator to sell.

At this point, I felt very “helpless”. But, just when I was about to give up my hope to get a calculator, I thought of asking one distant math teacher relative of mine to rescue me. And, what a rescue it really was!

Anyway, I needed to borrow the calculator because travelling to different stores one after another, without actually knowing which store was selling that type of calculator, would surely make me late for my test. I had to borrow the scientific tool also because, without it, I couldn’t really do much in my “Trigonometry” test as far as the issue of getting a good grade was concerned.

Model Answer 2:

I would like to thank you for the opportunity you have given me to talk about something I once borrowed from a friend or a relative. To be honest, I can recall many such events when I had to turn to a friend or family member for something I required. However, for this cue card topic, I will talk about an event when I borrowed two thousand dollars from my father. 

Just after finishing college, I, along with two of my friends, planned to start a small business. It was 2016 and I was convinced to be a partner of the proposed business and that’s why borrowed the money from my father. Besides my university, I got serious about our new venture and I had been able to return the money within a year that I took from my father as a loan. When I returned the money to my father, he seemed surprised and I explained how our interior design venture is flourishing day by day. He told me that he was quite astonished that our little enterprise eventually saw the light of success. 

I thanked him for the money and explained how we worked together to make it a success. I also showed my gratitude and mentioned that without his money, I could not have been a part of this business. 

In numerous times, I borrowed books, laptops, music player, money, CDs and so on from my friends and relatives but the two thousand dollars that I took from my father was something quite different and I am lucky that I decided to borrow it from my father for a good reason which is eventually paying off.  

Sample Answer 3: 

Once I had to borrow a history textbook from one of my friends and I would like to talk about this event. I am an undergraduate student and I took the History of Ancient Civilizations course in my fourth semester. I needed the book as I lost mine and needed to get some information to complete an important assignment. 

I borrowed the book “History and Our Footsteps” from Hien Long. He is a good friend of mine and lives near my residence. He is a helpful person and lent me the book though he needed it for the same purpose. I was happy to have the book and Long also was delighted that he could help me. 

I needed the book urgently to get some information to prepare an assignment that I was due to submit in a week. Unfortunately, I lost my book and did not know how it was lost! If I failed to submit the assignment, it might have been difficult for me to pass the course. As I remember, it was a comparatively easier assignment and took only a few hours for me to complete but I could not have done it without having the textbook as a reference. 

I knew that I would require the book to complete the assignment but I could not buy it right then. So, I sought help from Long as he lived nearby. I asked him to lend me the book and I promised to return it the next day. He was supportive enough and came to my home with the book and then I completed the assignment. I thanked him heartily for his genuine help.

Idea Generating:

Cue Card Topic: Talk about something that you borrowed from your friend

1. Before going to the office last Monday, I needed to have some change to pay the bus fare. But I could not manage it and lent some coins from my mom. In fact, it is hard to get a change of a large banknote in New Delhi and my mother was happy to offer her help.

2. I was supposed to go to a birthday party in my town last November but I could not find my necktie. So borrowed that from my dad. It was not unusual for me to borrow something from my dad but when I borrowed the necktie from him, I realised how important it is for me to be more careful about my wardrobe. 

3. Usually, I do not borrow things from others but I had to break the rule last month. During a tutorial exam at my university, I had to borrow a pen. Actually, my pen ran out of ink and I did not have a spare one to complete the exam. I was relieved when Martha lent me one of her pens.

4. Smokers have rules worldwide. They do not hesitate to exchange cigarettes. I borrowed a cigarette from a friend cum colleague several times. I am an IT professional in Cordova, Spain and actually forgot to buy my cigarette pack that day.

5. My phone drained all the charges a few days ago and only then I remembered about an important phone call that I was supposed to make! So, I borrowed my dad’s phone. Putting my phone in charge, I lent the phone and had met the emergency.   

6. I love to play badminton and this is a popular sport in Japan. I had to borrow a badminton bat from a friend of mine as I broke mine the day before. It was a sad event for me because that was my favourite sporting tool. But when my friends lent his bat, I was a bit relieved.

7. Nicholas lent me his paint sprayer because I needed that to paint my kitchen. I have recently rented a small apartment in Leeds and it is located on the 8th floor of a residential complex. So when I wanted to decorate the house, I needed the paint sprayer to renovate the kitchen. Nicholas saved me from buying an expensive sprayer on that day.

8. Last semester, I had to attend a formal presentation at my college and to do so, I borrowed a formal suit from Robin, my best friend. In fact, we all were told to wear formal attires on that day and mine was left at home in New York. So, I needed to borrow one for the presentation.