Describe an occasion when you waited for someone.
You should say:
- who you waited for
- when and where you waited for this person
- how long you waited for this person
and explain why you waited for this person and how you felt about it.
Model Answer 1
I have waited on many occasions. In fact, I have accepted the act of “waiting” to be a part of our normal life which we just can’t avoid, just as I couldn’t avoid it when I needed my car mechanic to fix my car at my home.
It happened about a few months back when suddenly, one day, my car engine wasn’t starting. The same kind of problem happened with my car in the past, but after trying a few tricks, the problem usually went away. But, on that occasion, doing those things didn’t really help my car start. So, I had no other choices but to call my trusted car mechanic, who has been fixing my car since last 5 years or so, hoping that he would be able to offer me some kind of solution over the phone. But, unfortunately, he told me that he would actually need to come to my home to check my car before he could fix it. He also told me that he would arrive at my place in 30 minutes.
But, my mechanic didn’t show up after 30 minutes, even though, that 30 minutes seemed like 2 hours since I was a bit worried about the condition of my old car. I called the shop of my mechanic, but his assistant told me that he had left the shop about 30 minutes ago. So, I kept waiting again, but the longer I was waiting, the more nervous I was getting about my car because I thought that my car had some major problems. However, my mechanic did finally arrive but not before keeping me waiting for almost two and a half hours.
Anyway, I needed to wait for this person because he needed to pick up his sister from the airport, which he completely forgot about because of his rather busy work schedule. I was a bit frustrated because of the waiting, I did, but I also told myself that we are only humans, and so we could make mistakes without any notice in advance.
Sample Answer 2
I must confess that waiting for someone for a long is something I am never fond of, particularly if this person is supposed to arrive at a time that we both agreed upon. This topic reminds me of a time when I had to wait for my best buddy, John, at a park nearby my home and he showed up at least two hours late than he was supposed to.
It was about a year ago when John invited me to visit his hometown during our semester break. I convinced my parents that I will go to John’s hometown for only a couple of days just to refresh myself and to enjoy the beauty of a suburban area. However, we fixed a date and in the morning John called me that he will pick me from the park and I should reach there within 30 minutes. I left home after 20 minutes and thought John would come any time to pick me up. The horrible waiting experience then started and as I remember I had to wait at least 2 hours till John finally arrived.
I had no idea that John would arrive so late and I could not reach him on his cell phone though I tried several times. At a time I started worrying that John must have been in some kind of problems and I thought to return home. However, something inside me told that John would not abandon the tour without any valid reason and he must have been in some kind of emergency. The waiting time somehow seems longer than usual and waiting for two hours seemed so long to me. I felt anxious for the first 30 minutes and then started worrying about John. At a time I started feeling stupid for leaving before John reached. I even felt angry and thought to cancel the tour. So I would say my experience was not good while I was waiting for him.
However, when John arrived and explained that he had to run to a hospital where his uncle got admitted all of a sudden and could not contact me due to the mobile network, I felt calm and considered the reason a valid one for the delay.
Sample Answer 3
The celebration of an event is a matter of great excitement but waiting is really intolerable amid such occasions. Theory of Relativity starts influencing the time. In fact, it happened with me last Monday on the 16th birthday of my younger sister.
I live with my family in Alberta, Canada. I am a college student while I have two more siblings – David, five years senior to me and a computer programmer at a multinational IT agency located in Alberta, and Susana, the youngest member of the family. Susana just turned 16. To make the birthday remarkable, I arranged for a party in the association of mom and dad. The house was decorated nicely and mom made the finest cake of her life marking the day. But we all lamented for David. But David was unable to join us at the right time for his office engagement.
Susana crossed 15 and stepped into 16 on November 21. It was a great day for her. Considering her age, I planned for an exceptional birthday party at home. My parents invited some of our relatives residing in the same locality while Susana asked some of her friends to attend the party. In fact, without the near and dear ones, it is impossible to have a great birthday party. Unluckily, we missed David so much on this day. He told on the telephone that just before leaving the office, he was shouldered an assignment which may make him late. He suggested continuing the party. But we were worried at home about David if he could join us in time.
The party was set to begin at 7 sharp and the guests started to arrive since 6.30. Susana did not start the party and asked everyone to be patient for a few more minutes. So, we waited for one and a half hours more for David. Moreover, the invited guests lived nearby, and hence they also agreed to wait for him. After all, he is the elder brother of the birthday girl. Finally, David informed me that he was unable to come even by 10 pm. Considering the issue, we had to start the party at 8.30. Everyone present there started missing my elder- David as he was fond of such family events. He actually never missed such events before but now his professional involvement has made the trouble.
Waiting is indeed a hefty task. But sometimes we are to wait for some undeniable reasons. I waited for David as he is my elder brother and a part of my family. Similarly, the other invited guests and especially Susana waited for him as he is a loveable person. He knows very well how to make people smile. His smart answers and ideas amaze us all. But unfortunately, he missed the event. He was sorry about that. On the other sides, we also missed him much. Susana could not enjoy the party to the fullest extent as David was absent there. The absence of David reminded all how dearer he actually is to us all.
Sample Answer 4
People say that patience is a great virtue, so I try to be patient as often as I can, even when I have no reason or incentive to wait. But, for better or worse, waiting for something or someone is a reality of life, and we have to wait, no matter how much we dislike it, just as I didn’t like it when one of my fellow co-workers kept me waiting for a long period of time for no valid reasons.
It was about a few months ago when this happened at my work. Anyway, it was Friday, so I was naturally a bit excited to leave my office as soon as I could and enjoy the weekend. But, suddenly, one of my fellow workers jumped in front of me just an hour before the closing of our office and asked me to loan my motorbike to him. He told me that he needed to go out for some emergency reasons and he would come back just in time before the office had closed. So, I just gave the key of my motorbike to my co-worker in good faith only, of course, to find out that he just couldn’t properly value my good faith.
In fact, instead of showing up after an hour, he actually showed up after several hours. Anyway, I tried to keep my calm when he came back and asked him what really had caused him to delay for such a long time. In response, he said that he had gone to see a friend at the hospital, and he just got stuck there. He also politely apologized for the delay.
Anyway, after waiting for such a long time, I naturally felt a bit frustrated and even annoyed at the irresponsible act of my co-worker, especially, at a time when I was planning to leave my office as soon as possible. However, after knowing that he went to visit his friend at the hospital, I felt like I lost very valuable several hours of my life in a good cause, and that was to help someone out during a crisis time.
More Ideas to talk about this Cue Card/ Candidate Task Card topic:
Topic: Describe an occasion when you waited for someone.
1. Marry told me that she will be back in a few minutes and I waited for her for about one and a half hours. She borrowed my chemistry notes and asked me to wait inside the college compound here in New York City. Though I do not prefer to wait for someone, this time the scenario turned the opposite for me. I waited until she returns. It was a bothersome experience for me. In fact, I started playing games on my mobile but could not focus on that. And you know, time becomes longer in such cases.
2. Waiting is unbearable for me, but recently I had to wait for my younger sister. She wanted that I should take her home from her school in the centre of Ho Chi Minh city. So, I waited for her. Though she told me that she would be at the school gate by the next 10 minutes, I waited there for around 30 minutes for her arrival. And the time was entirely boring for me. Besides, standing with a motorbike before a girls’ school is also indecent.
3. Alex asked me to wait for him near his office. He was set to take the leave for that day within the next five minutes (as he told me over the phone). But he was late. I waited for him for nearly 45 minutes at the same place. And when I phoned him, he did not pick. The waiting hours were tiresome. And when he returned, he said that his boss assigned him a job suddenly and stood before him until the job was done. So, he made the unintentional delay.
4. My dad is a lazy person and he makes delay often. Last Sunday, I had a plan to go shopping with him in the street market here in Singapore. And I told him to be prepared for the shopping day. But as usual, he was late to respond to my phone call. I waited for him in the garage and made phone calls on his mobile repeatedly. It was the 15th time when he picked and replied he was coming. I had to wait for over 30 minutes for him and finally, he arrived. It was a bitter experience for me.
5. Indeed, this is a virtue to become patient and I am so. I waited for a person whom I was scheduled to meet last Monday at the national library here in Moscow. But the man was late to arrive on the spot at the right time. He was one hour late. So, I had to wait for him for the time being. I went to a coffee shop and had two cups of coffees. I was not irritated like the other people because I knew the late was not intentional. I, rather, tried to enjoy the moments.
If you prepare for this cue card you should be able to answer the following cue cards as well:
- Talk about a time when you had to wait for a long.
- Describe an event that made you anxious.
- Describe a time when you waited for a friend.