GESE Grade 5 Means of transport: questions and sample answers

What the examiner wants at Grade 5

Grade 5 is CEFR B1 and has two phases of up to 5 minutes each: a talk on a topic you prepare, and a conversation on two subject areas that the examiner chooses from a list of six. This page is about the conversation phase. You must be ready for all six subjects, because you will not know which two you get.

The examiner wants reasons ("because"), preferences ("I prefer", "I'd rather"), the future with "will", the present perfect ("I have never...", "I have lived here for..."), and amounts ("a lot of", "not many"). You also have to ask the examiner at least one question about the subject.

These are the six conversation subjects in Trinity's Grade 5 specification. Source: Trinity specifications.

10 example questions on means of transport

An examiner could ask questions like these. They are our own practice questions. Answer each one out loud.

1. How do you usually get to work or college?
2. Which is better, the bus or the train? Why?
3. Have you ever travelled by plane?
4. How long does your journey take?
5. What would you rather do: walk or cycle?
6. Will transport in your city be better in the future?
7. What is the worst journey you have ever had?
8. How much does a bus ticket cost near you?
9. Do many people in your country have a car?
10. Have you ever missed a train or a bus?

3 short sample answers

These answers are written at the level of the grade. Do not learn them by heart. Use them to see the size and shape of a good answer, then say your own.

How do you usually get to work or college?
“I usually take the bus because it is cheap. The journey takes about forty minutes. I'd rather cycle, but the roads are busy.”

Have you ever travelled by plane?
“Yes, I have. I flew to the UK last year. It was my first time, and I was a bit afraid at the start.”

Will transport in your city be better in the future?
“I think it will be better. They are building a new tram line, and it will make the centre much quicker to reach.”

Useful words

• journey
• timetable
• ticket
• delay
• platform
• passenger
• rush hour
• public transport
• cycle
• commute
• expensive
• crowded

Say each word aloud three times. Then use two or three of them in one sentence about your own life.

Common mistakes

• Saying "I go by the bus". Say "I go by bus" or "I take the bus".
• Forgetting "for" with time: "for forty minutes".
• Using "will" for plans you have already made. Say "I'm going to" for plans.

Ask the examiner a question

Trinity says you must ask the examiner at least one question at Grade 5. Ask it when the talk feels easy and listen to the answer. A question for this subject: “How do you travel to work?”

Practise this subject

Reading is not enough. Say your answers out loud, then listen to yourself.

• Practise the Grade 5 conversation with the AI examiner. It asks questions out loud and you answer out loud.
• Trinity GESE Grade 5 (B1): test format
• All Grade 5 subjects
• All six Grade 5 conversation subjects
• Grade 5 topic form examples
• Free level check (no sign-up)

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