Title: Describing Physical Appearance

Describing Physical Appearance (Adults)

How to describe people:

1
When describing people which of the following characteristics do you usually
include? Tick Yes or No.
a) Age: baby, toddler, child, teenager, young adult, middle-aged, elderly

Yes | No

b) Build: thin, slim, petite, well-built, muscular, plump, overweight, obese

Yes | No

c) Height: tall, medium/ average height, short,

d) Race: Black, Asian, Mediterranean, Hispanic, Arab, White

Yes | No

e) Sex: female, male, woman, man, girl, boy

Yes | No

f) Eye colour: black, brown, blue, grey, green, hazel

Yes | No

g) Hair colour: red, ginger, black, dark brown, light brown, mousy, blonde, white, grey,
blue rinse, highlights, pepper and salt
Yes | No
h) Hair type: long, short, shoulder length, straight, curly, wavy, frizzy, receding, bald
Yes | No
i)

Hair style: parting, fringe, plait, spikey, bobbed, pony tail, shaved

j)

Facial hair: full beard, goatee, moustache, thick eyebrows, plucked eyebrows, clean
shaven, stubble, unshaven
Yes | No

Yes | No

k) General Appearance: smart, well dressed, fashionably dressed, scruffy, badly dressed,
conservatively dressed, dressed up to the nines, unkempt
Yes | No
2
Choose three of these famous people from real life and fiction and describe their
physical appearance. Can you guess who your friends are describing?
Harry Potter

Che Guevara

Indira Ghandi

Margaret
Thatcher

Marilyn Monroe

Jennifer Lopez

Nelson Mandela

Mao Tse Tung

Santa Claus

Aladdin

Elvis Presley

William
Shakespeare

Mohamed Ali

Charlie Chaplin

Brad Pitt

Tarzan

Cleopatra

Eddie Murphy

Diego Maradona Goldilocks

Vanessa Mae

Lenin

Luciano
Pavarotti

Queen Elizabeth
II

Britney Spears

3
Game Who am I? TEN QUESTIONS Use the list above, or make up your own
list. In groups one student chooses to be a celebrity. Other students ask questions about
the physical appearance of the celebrity. Can they guess who you are with only ten
questions?
(For more on vocabulary for describing Physical Appearance see Longman Active Study
Dictionary pp272, 273)
Source: www.longman.com
Pearson

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