“There is a bicycle by a building” is safe but imprecise. “A bicycle leans against the brick wall to the right of the entrance” gives three visible spatial relationships without inventing an owner, destination, or cause.
This guide focuses on location and orientation language for the current Duolingo English Test Speak About the Photo task. It does not provide a speech to memorize. It trains you to organize visible evidence through foreground, background, relative position, distance, overlap, and direction.
For the broader boundary between direct description and inference, use DET picture description: visible evidence. Continue through the DET vocabulary practice hub and Exam English hub. The scene briefs below are original practice rather than live or predicted images.
Anchor before you locate
A spatial phrase needs a stable reference point:
- beside the entrance;
- behind the bench;
- between two windows;
- at the far end of the path;
- in front of the counter.
Choose a large, unmistakable anchor such as a building, road, table, doorway, or central person. Then place smaller elements relative to it.
Avoid ambiguous chains:
“A bag is next to it behind that.”
Replace pronouns with clear nouns:
“A canvas bag rests beside the chair, which stands behind the table.”
The second version lets the listener reconstruct the scene.
Left and right require a viewpoint
In an image description, on the left and on the right usually refer to the viewer’s perspective.
“A tall window occupies the left side of the image.”
For a person’s body, specify the person when needed:
“The person holds a cup in their right hand.”
Do not confuse to the right of the door with on the door’s right if the viewpoint could be unclear. A simple viewer-based phrase is usually easiest: “To the right of the doorway, two bicycles are parked.”
Foreground, middle ground, and background
These terms organize depth:
- in the foreground — visually closest part of the scene;
- in the middle ground — central depth between near and far elements;
- in the background — farther area behind the main subjects.
They describe visual position, not importance. The main subject may stand in the middle ground while a railing occupies the foreground.
“A blurred branch crosses the foreground. In the middle ground, two people sit at a picnic table. Low hills appear in the background.”
Do not call a small object “in the background” merely because it is unimportant.
Beside, near, and adjacent to
Beside means at the side of. Near allows a less exact distance. Adjacent to usually means directly next to or sharing a boundary and can sound more formal.
If a planter touches the edge of a bench, beside or adjacent to may fit. If it is several visible steps away, near is safer.
Do not claim next to when another object clearly lies between the two. Precision includes not overstating closeness.
Understanding is only the first step.
Lyra Practice helps you retrieve and use high-value workplace expressions in realistic situations until they feel natural.
Start a practice session →In front of, behind, and overlap
An object may block part of another:
“A stack of books partly obscures the laptop.”
“The cyclist is partially hidden behind a tree trunk.”
In front of describes depth order but not necessarily physical contact. Obscures means blocks from view. Overlaps can describe shapes occupying some of the same visual area without deciding their real-world contact.
If the image is ambiguous, use appearance language:
“The sign appears to overlap the roofline from the camera’s viewpoint.”
Do not infer that two distant objects touch because perspective makes their outlines meet.
Across, along, through, and toward
These prepositions distinguish paths and orientation:
- across the road — from one side toward the other, or on the opposite side depending on construction;
- along the fence — following its length;
- through the doorway — passing within an opening;
- toward the station — oriented or moving in that direction;
- away from the camera — movement or orientation increasing distance from the viewer.
A still image may suggest motion through body position, but avoid certainty when movement is not established. “A person appears to be walking toward the entrance” is safer than inventing a destination and purpose.
Scene 1: market entrance
Visible scene brief:
- A wide market doorway is near the center.
- Three stacked crates stand to the left of the doorway.
- A bicycle leans against the wall to its right.
- A narrow sign hangs above the entrance.
- Two people stand several steps in front of the doorway.
- A striped awning extends over them.
- The image does not establish ownership, employment, names, or motives.
Weak description
“Some workers have arrived at their shop with deliveries, and their bike is outside because they are preparing to open.”
This invents roles, ownership, delivery activity, timing, and purpose.
Evidence-grounded description
“The image shows a market entrance near the center. Three crates are stacked against the wall to the left of the doorway, while a bicycle leans against the wall on the right. A narrow sign hangs directly above the entrance, and a striped awning projects outward over two people. They are standing several steps in front of the doorway. The scene establishes the relative positions of the people, crates, bicycle, and entrance, but it does not show who owns the objects or why the people are there.”
The response moves from anchor to left-right positions, then above-below and front-back relations.
Scene 2: riverside path
Visible scene brief:
- A metal railing runs diagonally from the lower left toward the center.
- A person with a backpack stands beside the railing in the foreground.
- A paved path curves behind the person and continues into the distance.
- Two cyclists are farther along the path.
- A river lies beyond the railing.
- Several buildings appear across the river in the background.
- The cyclists’ exact direction and the people’s identities are unknown.
Model response
“In the foreground, a person wearing a backpack stands beside a metal railing. The railing runs diagonally from the lower-left corner toward the center of the image. Behind the person, a paved path curves into the distance, with two cyclists farther along it. Beyond the railing, a river separates the path from several buildings in the background. The buildings are across the water rather than next to the path. Although the cyclists are positioned along the curve, the still image does not clearly establish which direction they are traveling.”
The last sentence protects a boundary: position along a route does not necessarily reveal motion direction.
Controlled practice 1: choose the precise relation
Scene facts: A lamp stands on a desk. A notebook lies immediately to the lamp’s left. A cup is farther away near the desk’s opposite edge. A chair is behind the desk.
- The notebook is beside / across from the lamp. Beside, because it lies immediately at the lamp’s side.
- The cup is near the opposite edge / beneath the notebook. Near the opposite edge, as stated.
- The chair is behind / through the desk. Behind, expressing depth position.
- Is the cup adjacent to the lamp? No. The facts place it farther away.
Controlled practice 2: repair the anchor
Ambiguous: “It is behind it next to the other one.”
Scene facts: A suitcase stands behind a chair. An umbrella leans beside the suitcase.
Repair: “The suitcase stands behind the chair, and an umbrella leans beside the suitcase.”
The repair repeats nouns where pronouns would have competing referents. It adds no owner or reason.
Controlled practice 3: visible or invented?
Scene facts: A person stands under a shelter. Rain is visible beyond the roof edge. A closed suitcase is at the person’s feet. A bus is in the background, but no route sign can be read.
Classify each sentence.
- “A closed suitcase rests at the person’s feet.” — Visible.
- “The person is waiting for the airport bus.” — Invented. Destination and purpose are not shown.
- “Rain is falling beyond the shelter.” — Visible according to the brief.
- “A bus appears in the background behind the person.” — Visible spatial description.
- “The person has just returned from a business trip.” — Invented. Time, travel history, and purpose are unsupported.
Build a spatial route through the image
Do not list objects randomly. Choose one route:
- near to far: foreground → middle ground → background;
- center outward: central subject → left → right → above/behind;
- path following: entrance → walkway → distant endpoint.
For the riverside scene, near-to-far works naturally. For the market entrance, center-outward keeps every object tied to the doorway.
Transitions should describe actual spatial movement: to the left of, farther behind, beyond, above, along the path. Avoid using moreover simply to add another object; a spatial connector is more informative.
Cautious orientation language
Use a calibrated verb when a still image does not prove motion:
- faces the window — orientation may be visible;
- appears to face the window — orientation is somewhat uncertain;
- is moving toward the window — requires visible evidence of motion;
- is going to open the window — invents a future intention.
Likewise, “a hand extends toward the shelf” describes orientation. “The person wants the top book” assigns a motive.
Common mistakes
- Using left and right without a stable viewpoint.
- Calling every small or distant object part of the background.
- Treating near, beside, and adjacent to as equally precise.
- Confusing visual overlap with physical contact.
- Assigning movement direction from position alone.
- Creating an occupation, relationship, identity, cause, or destination.
- Listing objects without giving the listener a spatial route.
- Repeating “there is” when a locational verb such as stands, rests, hangs, or runs would be more exact.
Final practice scene
Use this original brief:
- A long table occupies the center of a room.
- Two chairs are on the near side and three on the far side.
- A projector hangs from the ceiling above the table.
- A screen is mounted on the wall behind the far-side chairs.
- A closed laptop rests near the table’s left end.
- A cable runs from the laptop toward a socket below the screen but disappears behind one chair.
Describe the scene from center outward. Your answer should include on the near side, on the far side, above, behind, near the left end, toward, below, and partly hidden behind. Do not identify the room as a company office or claim that a presentation is about to begin; the visible arrangement does not establish either fact.
For fresh photo-description practice grounded in visible evidence, try Lyra Practice.
Sources
Related
- DET picture description: visible evidence
- DET Write About the Photo vocabulary
- Convey versus imply or suggest
- Ambiguous versus vague
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