CELPIP Speaking Task 6 · Dealing with a Difficult Situation · question 8 of 10
A Sofa Delivered in the Wrong Colour
A CELPIP Speaking Task 6 practice question (Dealing with a Difficult Situation), with a model answer below. No sign-up needed. Read the task, take 60 seconds to prepare, then speak for 60 seconds, out loud, as you would on the test.
The task
You ordered a new grey sofa from a furniture store in Kelowna. It was delivered yesterday, but it is dark green. The store manager has offered you a $300 discount if you keep it. An exchange would take six weeks, and you would have no sofa until then. Your partner dislikes the colour and wants to exchange it.
- Choose ONE option.
- EITHER Talk to the store manager. Explain why you want an exchange and not the discount.
- OR Talk to your partner. Explain why you want to keep the green sofa.
Original CELPIP-style practice question, not an official CELPIP test item. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by Paragon Testing Enterprises. The CLB level of each sample answer was reviewed by a TESOL-certified instructor. It is not an official CELPIP score.
- Preparation
- 60 seconds
- Speaking time
- 60 seconds
- Question
- 8 of 10
How to structure it
- To the manager: describe the mistake and your decision before the details. To your partner: show you understand they dislike the colour.
- Give one clear reason: the sofa has to fit the room, or six weeks with no sofa is too long.
- Ask for something specific: a loaner sofa or a confirmed date from the store, or a trial period your partner can agree to.
Model answer · CLB 7
101 words · no sign-upOkay, I know you hate the green. Me too, honestly, I don't like the green. It's not the colour we ordered. But I want to keep it. Why? Because six weeks with no sofa, it's too long, really too long. Where we will sit in the evening, on the floor? And the store gives us three hundred dollars back, is a lot of money. With the money we can buy new cushions, grey cushions, to match. Maybe then it looks not so bad. So, um, can we try for a few weeks, and if you still hate it, we talk again?
Why this answer works
- Option chosen: talking to your partner. Content/Coherence: the position and two reasons are clear, and a question ("Why?") introduces them; the trial at the end has no date.
- Vocabulary: everyday vocabulary only ("a lot of money", "not so bad").
- Listenability: a filler ("um"), questions without inversion ("Where we will sit in the evening") and a missing subject ("is a lot of money"); still easy to follow.
- Task Fulfillment: explains the choice and invites agreement; the plan is loose.
Model answer · CLB 9
111 words · no sign-upHi, I'm calling about the sofa that was delivered yesterday. I ordered it in grey, and it arrived dark green. I appreciate the offer of three hundred dollars off, but I've decided I'd rather exchange it. The whole living room was planned around a grey sofa, so even with a discount, we'd be unhappy with it every day. The green doesn't go with the curtains or the carpet. I understand the new one will take six weeks. We've already waited three weeks for this one. Since the mistake was on the store's side, could you lend us a floor model until then? And could you confirm the exchange date by email?
Why this answer works
- Option chosen: talking to the store manager. Content/Coherence: acknowledges the offer, states the decision explicitly and gives one strong reason.
- Vocabulary: "on the store's side" and "floor model" are accurate and natural.
- Listenability: the order is easy to follow: the mistake ("I ordered it in grey, and it arrived dark green"), the decision, then two requests phrased as questions.
- Task Fulfillment: polite and specific, with a compromise request and a written confirmation.
Model answer · CLB 11
116 words · no sign-upI know the green isn't what either of us wanted, and I'm not going to pretend I love it. It's a lot darker than I expected. But I'd like us to keep it. Six weeks with nothing in the living room means no evenings on the couch for most of December, and your parents are staying with us at Christmas. If we take the three hundred dollars, we can spend part of it on a grey throw and a rug that you pick, so the room looks closer to what we planned. Let's give it until the end of January. If you still can't stand it then, I'll call the store myself, and I won't argue.
Why this answer works
- Option chosen: talking to your partner. Content/Coherence: admits the partner is right about the colour, then reframes the discount as a way to fix the look ("a grey throw and a rug that you pick") and sets a trial period.
- Vocabulary: "pretend I love it", "a grey throw" and "can't stand it" are natural and precise.
- Listenability: time markers ("most of December", "at Christmas", "until the end of January") give the listener a clear timeline.
- Task Fulfillment: a firm choice with a fair exit: if the trial fails, "I'll call the store myself, and I won't argue."
Level reviewed by a TESOL-certified instructor. Not an official CELPIP score.
The most common mistake
Arguing about who made the mistake at the store; the listener needs your decision and a solution, not a complaint about the delivery.
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