Describe a person who is good at making things by hand

Band 6

I would like to talk about my neighbour, Seu Antonio, who is very good at making things from wood. He is a retired carpenter and he liveError de concordancia sujeto-verbo: debería ser “lives” next door to my family in Curitiba, in Brazil. I know him sinceError de tiempo verbal: debería ser “have known him since” I was a small child, because I use toError de forma: debería ser “used to” sit outside his workshop and watch him work. He makes wooden chairs, small toys for the children in our street, and once he made a bookshelf for my mother, which we still have in our living room. He learned the work from his father when he was a teenager, and last Christmas he made a small wooden train for my little brother, who still sleeps with it. What I remember is the smell of the wood and the sound of his tools, and sometimes he let me hold the sandpaper, and he was, erVacilación natural, muletilla leve, always very careful with every piece. He don’t useError de auxiliar: debería ser “doesn’t use” machines for the small parts, and he sands each toy until it is very smoothVocabulario básico; limita el Lexical Resource. I admire this skill for some reasons. First, it needs a lot of patience, and I am not a patient person, so I think it is very difficultVocabulario básico; limita el Lexical Resource. Second, the things he makes isError de concordancia sujeto-verbo: debería ser “are” strong and they last for many years, not like cheap things from a big shop. You knowMuletilla usada como marcador de vacilación, he also teaches the children to make a small boat, and I think this is a good way to keep the old skill alive. Maybe one day I will learn it from him too.

Band 7

I’d like to talk about my neighbour, Seu Antonio, who’s extremely good at making things from wood. He’s a retired carpenter and he lives next door to my family in Curitiba, in Brazil. I’ve known him since I was a small child, because I used to sit outside his workshop and watch him work“Used to” para un hábito pasado repetido, usado con precisión. He makes wooden chairs, small toys for the children in our street, and once he built a bookshelf for my mother, which we still have in our living room. He learned the work from his father when he was a teenager, and last Christmas he made a small wooden train for my little brother, who still sleeps with it. What I remember most is the smell of the wood and the sound of his tools, and sometimes he let me hold the sandpaper, and he was always meticulous about every pieceAdjetivo preciso con una preposición natural. He doesn’t use machines for the small parts, and he sands each toy until it’s smooth like silkError en la comparación: debería ser “smooth as silk”. I admire this skill for a few reasons. Firstly, it takes enormous patience, which I am lackingFormulación poco natural: “I lack” o “I don’t have” es más idiomático. Secondly, what he makes is built to lastExpresión fija natural, unlike the cheap things you find in a big shop. What’s moreLa frase de enlace añade un punto con naturalidad, he teaches the local children to make a small boat, and I think that’s a good way of keeping the old skill alive. I’m hoping to learn it from him one day.

Band 8

I’d like to talk about my neighbour, Seu Antonio, who’s remarkably good at making things from wood. He’s a retired carpenter and lives next door to my family in Curitiba, in Brazil. I’ve known him since I was small, because I used to sit outside his workshop for hours, watching him work. He makes wooden chairs and small toys for the children in our street, and he once built a bookshelf for my mother that still stands in our living room. He learned the work from his father when he was a teenager, and last Christmas he made a small wooden train for my little brother, who still sleeps with it. What I remember most is the smell of fresh wood and the sound of his tools, and sometimes he let me hold the sandpaper, and he was always meticulous about every pieceAdjetivo preciso con una preposición natural. He doesn’t use machines for the delicate parts, and he sands each toy until it’s smooth as silkSímil natural, usado con precisión. I admire the skill for several reasons. Firstly, it demands a kind of patience that I have yet to developEstructura natural para algo que aún no se ha logrado. Secondly, what he makes is built to lastExpresión fija natural, whereas the things you buy in a big shop tend to wear out. Above all, he doesn’t keep the knowledge to himselfNegación con pronombre reflexivo, usada con naturalidad: he teaches local children to make a small boat, which strikes me as the best way of keeping an old craft alive. I’m hoping to learn it from him one day.