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Describing People
Talking about personality and appearance.

1. Warm up
Describe the people in the picture.

1. Are they tall or short? 3. Who are they?

2. What color hair do they have? 4. What are they wearing?

pexels.com

2. Vocabulary
A. Read the personality adjectives below. Which are positive (+), negative (-), or both (+/-)?

1. selfish 6. honest 11. determined

2. forgetful 7. hard-working 12. shy

3. helpful 8. humble 13. confident

4. talkative 9. stingy 14. reliable

5. serious 10. easy-going 15. stubborn

B. Choose three adjectives from Part 2A to describe the people below.

1. A good teacher is , , and .

2. Doctors are , , and .

3. A CEO is , , and .

4. I am , , and .

C. Look at the photographs and answers the questions.

Who ...
1. has a tattoo? 5. is wearing formal clothes? 9. has blue eyes?

2. has curly hair? 6. is wearing a tie? 10. is a little chubby?

3. is cute? 7. is bald? 11. has brown hair?

4. has a pony tail? 8. in his late 70s? 12. is wearing a bracelet?

Toni Becky Deb Albert

Thomas

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 3. Describing People
A. Complete the table with the describing words and phrases from the box.

…… slim …… curly hair …… beautiful, green eyes

…… wearing headphones …… good-looking …… a tattoo
…… a ponytail …… brown hair …… medium length hair
…… in his teens …… in his late seventies …… bald

HE/SHE IS ... HE/SHE HAS ...

B. Read the text below. Which person from Part 2C does it describe?

She is in her early twenties I think. She is not wearing makeup or jewelery at the moment but she is wearing glasses.
She has long, curly hair and she has big, beautiful eyes. She is wearing a dark winter jacket and a backpack. She is
holding a book but she isn’t reading it. She is looking at the camera. I think she is waiting for a bus.

4. Writing
A. Write a description of another student in your class. Keep it a secret for now.

Think about the following things:

1. His/her personality.

2. Hair length and color.

3. Age.

4. Clothes.

5. What he/she is doing right now.

B. Share your description with the class. Can other students guess who you described?

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 Describing People
Level: Elementary: A2 Updated: Aug 17, 2020
Target: Grammar: Using ‘to be’ and ‘to have’ to describe people
Vocabulary: Adjectives used to describe character/personality and appearance.
Teaching time: 60 minutes.
Objective: Students practice describing people using common adjectives for character, personality, and appearance. In
American English is it usual to use the structure “He/She has (long hair)”, however in British English the most
common structure is “He/She has got (long hair)” which is usually contracted to “He/She’s got (long hair)”. This
handout uses American English.

1. WARM UP 7. Thomas/Albert is/are bald.

Warm up questions help set the mood for the topic. Have students 8. Albert in his late 70s.
ask their partner the warm up questions. If students struggle to 9. Thomas has blue eyes.
engage with their partners, ask questions to encourage conversation. 10. Albert/Thomas is/are a little chubby.
Allow a few minutes for students to complete the questions and
continue the conversation if something is interesting. There is no 11. Toni/Becky has/have brown hair.
need to correct mistakes at this point. 12. Becky is wearing a bracelet.

2. VOCABULARY 3. DESCRIBING PEOPLE

A. Read the adjectives in the box with students. Have them repeat A. Explain that we use the verb ‘to be’ and ‘to have’ when describing
after you to practice pronunciation and syllable stress. Then, people’s personality and appearance. In pairs, have students
in pairs have students decide together which are positive, read through the describing words and phrases in the box.
negative, or might be both. Write + or - or +/- in the space Answer any questions that arise. Students should write the
provided. Check answers with the class. phrases in the correct column in the table. Check answers with
1. - selfish the class and discuss any differences.
2. - forgetful ƒƒ He/She is ...
3. + helpful slim
wearing headphones
4. +/- talkative
in his teens
5. +/- serious good-looking
6. + honest in his late seventies
bald
7. + hard-working
8. + humble ƒƒ He/She have ...
9. - stingy a ponytail
curly hair
10. + easy-going brown hair
11.
+/-
determined beautiful, green eyes
a tattoo
12. - shy
medium length hair
13. + confident
B. Individually or in pairs, have students read the description
14. + reliable
and decide which person from Part 2C it describes. The text
15. - stubborn describes Toni.
B. Have students use the adjectives from Part 2A to fill in the
4. WRITING
blanks to describe people 1-4. Answers may vary. Have
students share their descriptions with a partner or the class and A. If time permits, have students write a description of someone in
discuss anything interesting. the classroom. Ask that they keep the person a secret and not to
include a name, instead use he or she. Students should consider
C. In pairs, have students look at the photographs then alternate a-e when writing their descriptions. This would make a good
asking questions 1-12. For example, Student A says “Who has a homework activity if you have run out of time.
tattoo?”, Student B replies “Deb has a tattoo.” Listen to students
as they work through the activity and answer any questions that B. If appropriate, have students present their descriptions to the
arise. Answers may vary but some suggestions are listed below. class. Other students should listen carefully and then decide
who was described.
1. Deb has a tattoo.
2. Toni has curly hair.
3. Toni/Becky/Thomas/Albert is/are cute.
4. Becky has a pony tail.
5. Albert is wearing formal clothes.
6. Albert is wearing a tie.

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