Personal Characteristics

During the IELTS Speaking exam you may be asked to talk about someone’s personality or
character. Below you will find IELTS-Style questions:

- How would you describe yourself?

- How would your friends describe you?
- How would you describe a family member / a close friend / someone you work with/
your teacher etc)?

Positive characteristics:

* Well, in terms of character everyone says I take after my father. I’m quite broad-minded,
easy-going, confident and optimistic.
* My friends would probably say I’m very considerate, reliable and straightforward.
* I’d say my brother is a very cheerful and warm person. He is always smiling and in a good
mood. He has a good sense of humor and is certainly the life and soul of the party

Glossary:
❖ To take after sb → To look or behave like sb (often another member of the family)
❖ Broad-minded → prepared to accept other views or behaviors
❖ Easy-going (adj) → relaxed and not easily worried about anything
❖ Confident (adj) → certain (adj), sure (adj)
❖ Optimistic (adj) → believing positively (adj) / optimist (n) : positive thinker (n)
❖ Considerate (adj) → someone who always thinks about other people and their needs
❖ Reliable (adj) → a person you can depend on him/her to keep his/her promises and
be there when you need him/her
❖ Straightforward (adj) → honest, easy to understand and easy to spend time with,
they say what they think but not in a rude way
❖ Cheerful (adj) → happy (adj)
❖ Warm (adj) → someone who shows positive feelings to others and makes other
people feel good
❖ To have a good sense of humor → to be good at making other people laugh, To be
funny / the ability to understand what is funny
❖ To be the life and soul of the party → a fun person, someone who is the center of
activity
Negative characteristics:
❖ Narrow-minded (adj) → # broad-minded (adj)
❖ Pessimistic (adj)
❖ Inconsiderate (adj)
❖ Unreliable (adj)
❖ Dishonest (adj) → untruthful (adj)
❖ Insincere (adj) → dishonest
❖ Moody (adj) → temperamental (adj)
❖ grumpy (adj) → in a bad mood
❖ humorless (adj) → too serious and not able to laugh at things that other people think
are funny
❖ Selfish (adj) → self-centered (adj)
❖ Self-centered (adj) → thinks only of him/herself