CHAPTER II: DESCRIBING

I. DESCRIBING PLACE

DIALOG

A : Where do you come from?

B : I come from Australia.

A : What part of Australia are you from?

B : I come from Canberra.
Canberra is the capital of Australia.
It’s very beautiful city.
There are lots of big parks in the city, and lots of nice gardens.

A : Is Canberra a big city?

B : No, it’s not very big.
Sydney is much bigger.
Sydney has a lot of buildings.
I live in Sydney now. I moved there last year.

A : Are you working in Sydney or are you a student?

B : I’ve been a student for two years.

A : How long have you been a student?

B : I’ve been a student for two years.

“Descriptive writing is an art form. It‟s painting a word picture so that the reader „sees‟ exactly what you
are describing.” -Brenda Covert-

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 DESCRIBING A PLACE
 A description of place can be of a building, a room, a town, an area or a visit.
 We can write about its appearance, things that happen there and why we like or dislike it.
 Structure:
 Paragraph 1 Describe the place. What is it like? Where is the location? etc.
 Paragraph 2 Add extra information. What is the weather like? What is the food like? etc.
 Paragraph 3 End the description. What do you like most or less about the place? etc.
 Use adjectives and prepositions to describe the appearance and atmosphere of the place.

City : active, bustling, noisy, busy, clean, dirty, windy

Traffic : loud, congested, snarled
Buildings : old, shabby, rundown, crumbling, modern, futuristic, sleek, towering, squat
Buildings (walls) : brick, stone, marble, glass, steel, graffiti-covered
Monuments, statues : stone, copper, carved, ancient, moss-covered, faded, green, bronze
Sidewalk : concrete, cement, slick, cracked, tidy, littered, swept
Paint : fresh, weathered, peeling
Signs : neon, weathered, worn, bright, welcoming, flashing
Buses, cars, taxis : belching, crawling, speeding, honking, waiting, screeching
People : hurried, bundled, smiling, frowning, eager, rushed

ACTIVITIES
Vocabulary Exercises
Activity 1
Complete the following chart about country and nationality.
Country Nationality Country Nationality
Australia Australian Italy
Brazilian Japanese
Britain Mexico
Canadian Portuguese
China Spain
German American

Activity 2
Complete the sentence using the correct word.
a. The buses are so ______________ garbage
b. We have a lot of _______ skyscrapers crowded
c. There are lots of ________concerts comfortable
d. The department stores are so ____________ tall
e. There is too much _________ outdoor
f. The rivers are very ___________ polluted
g. The roads are always __________ air
h. There is lot of_____ pollution from the factories. jammed
i. The ___________ is very good. transportation

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Activity 3
Speaking Practice:
Practice your speaking skill with by asking and answering the following questions.
 Where is your hometown?
 What is the population of your hometown?
 What is the population of your country?
 What are some things in your hometown that are part of history?
 What does your hometown produce? What does it grow?
 What is the best season in your hometown?
 What is the best thing about your hometown?
 What is the worst thing about your hometown?
 What's there to do in your hometown?
 What's your hometown like?
 When is the best time to come to your hometown?
 After you graduate do you want to live in your
hometown? Why or why not?
 Do you like your hometown? Why or why not?
 Does your hometown have a college or university?
 Does your hometown have a shopping mall?
 Tell me why I would enjoy visiting your hometown.
 Tell me why I should visit your hometown.

Activity 4
Observe the map and choose the correct preposition.

a. The music store is _______

Santos Dumont Street and Rosa
e Silva Avenue.
b. The hospital is _________ the
pet shop.
c. The toy store is ________ the
music store and the restaurant.
d. The supermarket is ________
the restaurant.

e. The fast food restaurant is _________ Amélia Street.

f. The bookstore is ___________ the supermarket.
g. The bank is on Santos Dumont Street __________ the flower shop.
h. The school is ____________ Amélia Street and Rosa e Silva Avanue.
i. The pet shop is ___________ Amélia Street.
j. The flower shop is ___________Santos Dumont Stree.

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Preposition of Place:
Look at the map and answer the questions using on, on the corner of, next to, between, and
across from. Number one is the example.

1. Where is the Dan’s Coffee House? It is on the 1st avenue, across from the hospital.
2. Where is the library?
3. Where is the sports town?
4. Where is the butcher’s shop?
5. Where is the Kim’s restaurant?
6. Where is the bookstore?
7. Where is the drugstore?

Activity 5
Write an essay about your
hometown.
The following text is the example.

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II. DESCRIBING PEOPLE

DIALOG

DIALOG I

A : There's a new girl in campus, have you seen her yet?

B : I haven't seen her yet.
A : I think that she is very pretty.
B : Tell me how she looks.
A : She's kind of short.
B : What height is she?
A : She's probably about five feet.
B : That's nice, but tell me what she looks like.
A : The first thing I noticed was her beautiful brown
eyes.
B : I think I might've bumped into her before.
A : Are you telling me that you've seen her before?
B : I believe so.

DIALOG II

Mrs. Farias : Tell me about Michael.

Joana : Well, he’s very tall and handsome.
He has big blue eyes and long blond hair.
Mrs. Farias : Oh? How long?
Joana : Down to his shoulders. It’s beautiful, like gold.
Mrs. Farias : What does he do, dear?
Joana : He does many things. He’s very creative. He’s a
great painter, really.
He also gives free English lessons to the people
in his neighborhood.
Mrs. Farias : I see.
Joana : You’re going to like him. Everybody does.
Mrs. Farias : Where does he live?
Joana : He has a small apartment on 88th Street.
Mrs. Farias : A small apartment on 88th Street?
Joana : Oh, don’t worry, Mama. I’m not going to marry
him tomorrow.

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 EXPLANATION
Describing Physical Appearance
What does he/she look like?

Age He/ She is ………………………

 young / middle-aged / elderly / old.
 a baby/ toddler / teenager.
 in his/her 20s / 30s ...
 in his/her early / late 20s.
Height He/ She is ……………………..
 165cm tall.
 of average / medium height.
 tall / very tall / rather tall.
 short.
Build He/ She is ……………………..
 fat / overweight / plump /chubby
 skinny /thin / slim / plump.
 well-built.
 muscular.
Hair/face He/ She has (got) ……………….
 black, straight hair.
 a round / long / square face.
Clothes He/ She ……………….
 wears a hat / earrings.
 is in black.
Distinguishing Features He/ She ……………….
 wears glasses / contacts / braces.
 has (got) a tattoo / a piercing.

Vocabulary
General beautiful, pretty, handsome, sexy, cute, good-looking
Face Shape square, oval, round, triangular
Skin freckled, fair complexion, tanned, wrinkled, silky, baby-soft, glowing, dry,
callused, rough, dark-skinned, olive-skinned
Eyes almond-shaped, squinty
Lips thin/full lips, pursed lips, pouting lips
Hair texture wavy, curly, straight, spiky, buzzed, shaved, neatly-combed, cropped
Lots of hair: thick, bushy, coarse
Little hair: think, scraggly, limp, flat, balding, bald, bald spot, has receding hairline
Hair Styles braids, ponytail, pigtail, bun, twist, flip, layered, chopped, spiked, slicked down
Treated hair: permed, dyed, bleached, highlighted, weaved
Facial hair beard, goatee, mustache, sideburns bearded, unshaven, clean-shaven, trimmed, neatly-
trimmed

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Modifier
Use modifiers with adjectives to express the degree or extent of the quality described by the adjective
they precede.
1) really : Her hair is really long; I love it.
2) very : John is a very happy boy – always smiling.
3) rather : Her eyes are rather small but her face is very pretty altogether.
4) quite : My boss is quite tall.
5) quite a : She is quite a pretty woman in her forties.
6) not very : Mary is not very intelligent, but she works really hard.
7) a little/ a bit : She is a bit shy, don’t you think so?

There are two other words that can be used to modify the quality of the colors.
1) light : She has beautiful light blue eyes.
2) dark : Her hair is dark brown, but not as dark as yours.

Describing Characters
Example:
 My little sister is really sweet.
 My friend Maria is very responsible and polite. My mum loves her.
 Susan is not only intelligent, but also very hard-working.
 Peter is quite shy and quiet, but he’s very friendly.

Vocabulary
ambitious, bossy, capable, caring, cheerful, close-minded, confident, (in) considerate, creative, dull,
easygoing, emotional, empathetic, energetic, friendly, funny, generous, gentle, hard-working,
(dis)honest, humorous, imaginative, independent, intelligent, kind, lazy, loyal, mature, mean, modest,
moody, naïve, narrow-minded, naughty, nice, noisy, open-minded, optimistic, outgoing, organized,
patient, pessimistic, polite, (un)reliable, (ir)responsible, rude selfish, sensible, sensitive, serious, shy,
sincere, smart, sociable, strong-minded, stubborn, stupid, sweet, sympathetic, thrifty, tolerant

Adjective Order
When you use more than one adjective, you have to put them in the right order, according to type.
Opinion An opinion adjective explains what you think about something.
Examples: silly, beautiful, horrible, difficult.
Size A size adjective tells you how big or small something is. Examples: large, tiny.
Age An age adjective tells you how young or old something or someone is.
Examples: young, old
Shape A shape adjective describes the shape. Examples: square, round, flat, rectangular
Color blue, pink, reddish, grey
Origin An origin adjective describes where something comes from.
Examples: French, lunar, American, eastern, Greek
Material A material adjective describes what something is made from.
Examples: wooden, metal, cotton, paper
Purpose A purpose adjective describes what something is used for.
These adjectives often end with "-ing".
Examples: sleeping bag, serving bowl

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Note:
1) If there are more than two adjectives, use commas after each adjective except the last one, no
comma between the last adjective and the noun.
For example: Alice prefers black, Italian, leather furniture.
2) If there are two adjectives, no comma is used. For example: She has got pretty long hair.
3) The rule is to avoid using more than three adjectives in a row. Only include those really relevant
and important.

ACTIVITIES

Activity 1
Can you name the parts of the heads? Can you name the parts of the face?

Can you name the parts of the human body?

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Activity 2
Put the adjectives in the right order.
a. Monster have (green, ugly, large) eyes.
b. He lives in a (green, big, beautiful) house.
c. She is wearing a (small, pretty, white) hat.
d. My boss has a (brown, old, large) desk in his office.
e. John has (short, red, curly) hair.

Activity 3
Speaking Practice

Describe a person you admire.

You should say:

 who the person is

 what he or she is like
 and why you admire him or her.

Here are some ideas. I've underlined the best vocabulary.

 I'm going to talk about my father because he has been a major influence in my life.
 My father was always a good role model for me as I was growing up. He's hard-working,
patient and understanding; he's also got a good sense of humour and seems to get on
well with everybody. Hopefully I've inherited some of these traits.
 I admire my father because I think he brought me and my
brothers/sisters up well; he was quite strict but always fair,
and he has always been someone I can turn to for advice. I
think my father set a good example by working hard and
having a positive outlook on life. I remember that he used to
leave for work early and come home quite late, but he always
made time for me and my brothers/sisters.

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