PRE-INTERMEDIATE & INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
Describing people. Look at your group mate/ friend:
HEIGHT/WEIGHT
Is
he/she
obese
fat
slightly
overweight
well-built
heavily
built
of
average build
slightly
built
slim
thin/skinny/bony
muscular
?
Is
he/she
pretty
attractive
lovely
and charming
handsome
nice
and friendly
?
Is
she
curvy
(flat/small-breasted, large-breasted)
?
Does
he/she have
thin
waist
big
hips
nice
shapely legs
firm
belly muscles
lovely
figure ?
Is
he/she
tall
of
average/medium height
short/tiny
?
F
Does
he/she have
round/
oval/ square/ plain/ wide/ heart shaped face
bushy/
thick/ thin eyebrows
round/
almond/ narrow/ close-set eyes
broad/
flat/ sharp/ button/ fake nose
full/
thin/ well-defined lips
broad/
charming smile
healthy/
damaged teeth/ (teeth) braces
wrinkles/
freckles/ pimples/ smooth skin
moustache/
beard/ long sideburns ?
ACE/HAIR
Is
he/she
long-sighted/
short-sighted
?
glasses/
contact lenses
smart
clothes
elegant
clothes
casual
clothes
shabby
clothes
jewellery
?
Is
he
bald
?
Does
he/she have
thick/
rich/ strong/ healthy/ shiny hair
damaged/
thin/ receding hair
split
ends
straight/
wavy/ curly hair
spiky
hair
fringe
colored/
dyed hair
bleached
hair/
highlights
pigtails/
ponytail/ braids/ bun/ dreads
pull
your hair back/ put your hair up (with
a clip or an elastic band)
long/
short/ shoulder-length ?
Is he/she wearing
Describing people`s appearance
General descriptions
positive: beautiful is generally used to describe women; handsome is used to describe men; good-looking and attractive are used for both. Pretty is another positive word to describe a woman (often a girl), meaning `attractive and nice to look at`.
negative: ugly is a very negative word; plain is negative but more polite.
neutral: I`m not ugly or beautiful, I`m just ordinary-looking.
Height and build
How many metres?
Mary Pimm is a very tall woman.
[NOT
Mary Pimm is a very
Tom Jakes is quite short.
[NOT
Tom Jakes is quite
If you aren’t tall or short, you are medium height. To ask if someone is tall or short, we say: How tall is Mary? She is 1.60 metres tall. |
|
How many kilos?
Dolly Ryan is really slim.
I was very thin when I was in hospital. (more negative word)
A rather fat man opened the door. (quite negative)
The doctor said I`m overweight. (=more kilos than is good for me)
How much do you weigh? I weigh 62 kilos. |
|
|
Another
word for slim
is thin,
but with a more negative meaning, e.g. John is lovely and slim, but
his brother is very thin. It is not polite to say someone is fat;
overweight
is a bit less rude.
Special features
|
The man on the left has very pale skin (a light skin). He also has broad shoulders, with a scar on his forehead. The other man has dark skin. He also has a beard and moustache. |
More words to describe physical appearance
Asking questions about a person`s appearance
Q: What does she look like? |
A: She`s tallish, with short fair hair. |
Q: How tall is she? |
A: About 1 metre 65. |
Q: How much does she weigh? |
A: I don`t know – roughly 50 kilos, I guess.
|
We can use about and roughly to mean `more or less` when talking about height (= how tall someone is), weight (= how heavy is someone) or age. The suffix `-ish` can be used at the end of some adjectives to mean `quite` and at the end of some numbers to mean `more or less`.
She`s got longish hair. |
He`s twentyish. |
She`s roughly 40. |
Describing people`s character
positive |
negative |
warm and friendly kind (= cares about others) nice, pleasant generous (= happy to give/share) optimistic (= thinks positively) easy-going (= relaxed, calm) sensitive (= thinks about people`s feelings) honest (= always tells the truth) good fun (= enjoyable to be with) broad-minded cheerful (= happy, smiling) strong |
cold and unfriendly unkind horrible, unpleasant mean (= never gives to others) pessimistic (= thinks negatively) tense (= nervous, worries a lot, not calm) insensitive dishonest boring narrow-minded (= unable to accept new ideas) miserable (= always seems unhappy) weak |
Jane is very tense at the moment because of her exams, but she`s usually quite relaxed and easy-going about most things.
I think the weather influences me a lot: when it`s sunny I feel more cheerful and optimistic: but when it`s cold and raining I get very miserable.
He seemed a bit unfriendly at first, but now I`ve got to know him I realize he`s very warm and kind.
The shop assistant told me that the dress I tried on looked better on people younger than me. I thought that was insensitive of her, but at least she was being honest, I suppose.
What`s he/she like?
He`s very self-confident (= feels he can do things, and is relaxed in social situations)
When you first meet her she seems shy. (= finds it difficult to talk to people and make conversation)
She doesn`t show her feelings. (= you don’t know what she is thinking or feeling)
He`s got a great sense of humor. (= laughs a lot and sees the funny side of life)
Describing character in work situations
positive |
negative |
hard-working
punctual (= always on time)
reliable
clever
flexible
ambitious
has lots of common sense (= thinks in a practical way, doesn’t do stupid things)
emotional |
lazy (= never does any work) not very punctual, always late
unreliable (= you cannot trust/depend on someone like this)
stupid
inflexible (= a fixed way of thinking and unable to change)
not ambitious (= no desire to be successful/get a better job)
has no common sense
reserved (= do not show their feelings) |
Some important qualities are expressed through nouns.
One of her great qualities is that she uses her initiative. (= she can think for herself and take the necessary action; she does not need to wait for orders all the time)
That boy has got no common sense (= he does stupid things and doesn’t think what he is doing). His sister, on the other hand, is very sensible. (= has lots of common sense)
First impression
We use impression to talk about the effects that a person has on another person.
She made a very good impression at her interview. (= had a positive effect in the interviewer)
My first impression of him was a bit negative.
She comes across as (= appears to be) quite serious.
Useful Vocabulary
a sweet-tooth – сладкоежка
a cry-baby – плакса
a yes-man – подпевала
a know-all – всезнайка
a chatter-box/ big mouth – болтун
a loud-mouth – горлопан
a lazy-bones – лентяй
a Nosey Parker – любопытная Варвара (= Peeping Tom)
a butter-fingers – растяпа, размазня
a homebody – домосед
a busy-body – докучливый, назойливый человек
a kill-joy – брюзга
a trouble-maker – склочник, смутьян
life & soul of the party – душа компании / общества
a good mixed – общительный человек
a wet blanket – кисляй
a day dreamer – мечтатель, фантазер
a dare-devil – отчаянный, бесшабашный
a rolling stone – не сидящий на одном месте
a golden boy – юноша с будущим
a pain in the neck – ужасная зануда
a lone wolf – единоличник
double-faced – двуличный
a tomboy – девчонка-сорванец
a name-dropper – хвастающий своими связями
a slow coach – копуша
a clock-watcher – нерадивый работник
a tear-away – сорвиголова, агрессивный человек
a gate-crasher – незванный гость
an early-bird – ранняя пташка
a wise old bird – тертый калач
a fence-sitter – выжидающий, в нейтральной позиции
Jack of all trades – мастер на все руки
Doubting Thomas – Фома Неверующий
sleepy head – соня
a social-climber – карьерист
a fat head –болван, тупица
all talk & no action – человек не дела
a cold fish – безразличный
a fat cat – важный, имеющий хорошую должность
a paper tiger – бумажный тигр (опасный внешне)
a shrinking violet – трус, паникер
a fair-weather friend – друг до первой беды
a dark horse – человек-загадка
a wolf in sheep’s clothing – волк в овечьей шкуре
lion-hearted – бесстрашный
chicken-hearted – трус
pig-headed – упрямый
bottled-up – скрытный
black-hearted – злобный
low-spirited – унылый, подавленный
to have a finger in every pie – вмешиваться
to keep smb. under one’s thumb – командовать
to keep one’s hands in pockets – бездельничать
to have cold feet – струсить
to lead a cat & dog life – жить как кошка с собакой
to keep one’s head – сохранять спокойствие
to turn a blind eye – не замечать
to give smb. the cold shoulder – неприветливо отнестись
to wear one’s heart upon one’s sleeve – душа нараспашку
to twist smb. round one’s little finger – одурачить
wet behind the ears – неопытный и наивный
nuts – глупый, тупой, чокнутый
a stuffed shirt – самодовольный, напыщенный
a coach potato – проводит много времени, лежа у TV
tight-fisted – прижимистый
an armchair critic – критик-догматик, доктринёр
an egghead – интеллектуал, очень умный
a quick-study – быстро схватывающий
a (real) go-getter – очень способный
an eager beaver – готовый добровольно выполнить любую работу
PRACTICE
PRE-INTERMEDIATE & INTERMEDIATE LEVEL