UNIT

1: TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF

1. TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF

1.1. Vocabulary
1.1.1. Adjectives of personality
1.1.2. Talking about abilities
1.2. GRAMMAR
1.2.1. Present perfect
1.2.2. Used to
1.3. WRITING
1.3.1. A resume
1.4. PRONUNTIATION
1.4.1. British and American English
1.5. TEAMWORK

Evaluation criteria:
-The student can talk about himself/herself.
-The student can ask about other people’s abilities.
-The student can use verb tenses.
-The student knows how to write a resume.
-The student shows willingness to speak English.
-The student shows interest in class and takes part in the team work.

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1.1 VOCABULARY
1.1.1 ADJECTIVES OF PERSONALITY

Can you think of the last time you told someone how you really felt at that moment? What
kinds of words did you use to express your feelings?

What’s great about descriptive words is that you can use them to describe your own
unique feelings, and there are so many different ones to choose from depending on the
topic or situation.

Two types of adjectives that help us do this are positive adjectives and negative adjectives.
Let’s dive in to see how these types of words can help you better express yourself both in
conversation and in your writing.

Every describing word has meaning. Some evoke “good” feelings, while others evoke
“bad” feelings. By using positive adjectives and negative adjectives, you express your
thoughts and help someone understand how you feel. These words can also potentially
affect those you’re speaking about and speaking with. That’s why it’s always important to
choose your words carefully.

Let’s look at an example:

• He’s very competitive.

This sentence probably forms a good mental image in your mind. Being competitive means
someone is focused, engaged, and self-determined. You can understand that the person
has a desire to be successful, without endangering anyone.

Next, consider this sentence:

• He’s very combative.

Combative shares a similar meaning to the word competitive, yet the “bad” traits outweigh
the good. The mental image you get from this sentence is perhaps someone who wants to
fight and argue. The person is not only competitive, but they are also hostile and
aggressive. Competitive is a positive adjective while combative is a negative adjective.

As you can tell, describing words matter. That’s why it’s important to know different words
that describe both the good and the bad things in life.

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+ POSITIVE ADJECTIVES

1. adaptable

capable of fitting a particular situation or use

When Connie's parents divorced, she proved herself to be adaptable. It wasn't easy, but she
learned how to cope with this big change.

People who are adaptable can overcome change easily.

2. adventurous

willing to undertake new and daring enterprises

People who are adventurous seek out the fun in life. They love to try something new--
sometimes an act that others would find scary. Adventurous people love to travel and try
new foods at a restaurant.

3. affectionate

having or displaying warmth or fondness

If you like to snuggle up next to someone, then you are affectionate.

4. ambitious

having a strong desire for success or achievement

Ambitious people try to get ahead in life--they look for opportunities to better their life. For
the most part, this has a positive feeling, but in some people, ambition is too strong and
they hurt people along the way to get what they want.

5. considerate

showing concern for the rights and feelings of others

A considerate person looks out for other people. They often allow someone else to have
the last piece of pie or they hold the door open for another person.

6. courageous

able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching

A courageous person is brave. They are the type of person to run into a burning building.
They are also likely to get involved to stop a bullying situation.

7. frank

characterized by directness in manner or speech

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Someone who is frank "tells it like it is." It might not be pretty, but they will tell you
straight.

8. generous

willing to give and share unstintingly

A generous person shares what they have willingly. It might be a cupcake or their time--
either way, they're happy to share.

9. impartial

free from undue bias or preconceived opinions

Impartial people are fair. They are able to remain neutral before forming an opinion.
Lawyers like to have impartial people on juries so that they can fairly weight the evidence.

10. intuitive

obtained through instinctive knowledge

An intuitive person operates by instinct. They sort of have a special feel for a situation. The
best basketball players are intuitive when it comes to finding the open teammate.

A lot of teaching is intuitive--the best teachers just know how to present things so that kids
understand. (Related words: intuition and intuitively).

11. inventive

marked by independence and creativity in thought or action

Since the band's drummer did not show up for the concert, they got inventive--they asked
members of the audience to come up and clap and play tambourines.

Inventive people are able to find creative, ingenious solutions to problems. They might be
able to repair a car with a paper clip.

12. passionate

having or expressing strong emotions

Passionate people have a real love for something in their life. They embrace this or many
activities with a strong feeling. What are you passionate about?

13. persistent

stubbornly unyielding

Persistent people never give up. Even when the odds are stacked against them, the work
tirelessly until the goal is achieved.
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 14. practical

guided by experience and observation rather than theory

People who are practical look at things is a reasonable, level-headed way. They are likely to
take a coat with them in case it is cold--they know they can take it off if it is too hot--
they're just practical.

15. reliable

worthy of trust

Someone who is reliable is trust worthy and dependable. You can "count on" a reliable
person.

16. resourceful

adroit or imaginative

A resourceful person uses creativity and the things around them to tackle a problem. They
see solutions (sometimes obvious ones) that others don't see.

17. sensible

able to feel or perceive

A sensible person is a clear thinking, reasonable person.

18. sincere

open and genuine; not deceitful

A sincere person is honest in their feelings toward others. (Antonym: insincerely).

19. sympathetic

expressing compassion or friendly fellow feelings

You are sympathetic when you feel sorry for someone else. You send a sympathy card
when a friend loses a loved one because you want her to know that you feel sorry for her
loss.

Their loss upsets you because you are sympathetic.

20. witty

demonstrating striking cleverness and humor

Someone who is witty combines humor with intelligence. A witty observation is funny but
also sophisticated. You need to be smart to understand a witty person's jokes.
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NEGATIVE ADJECTIVES

1. arrogant

having or showing feelings of unwarranted importance

Arrogant people are "full of themselves." They think they are the best and they
constantly remind people of how "great" they are.

2. cynical

believing the worst of human nature and motives

A cynical person tends to be suspicious of other people's motives and behaviors.

Any good act shown to them is often believed to be done for a different reason. For
example, if someone does a favor for a cynical person, the cynic is likely to think,
"She is only being nice to me, because she wants something from me."

3. domineering

tending to rule in a cruel manner

A domineering person is bossy. They try to dominate every situation and

relationship.

4. indolent

disinclined to work or exertion

Indolent people are lazy. Their laziness is so extreme that they basically refuse to
work even when asked and pleaded with.

5. intolerant

unwilling to tolerate difference of opinion

An intolerant person does not like the opinions an beliefs of other people.
Intolerant people are often bigoted and prejudiced.

6. irresponsible

showing lack of care for consequences

Irresponsible people are not responsible or trustworthy. They often break things
that belong to other people and care very little about the situation. They are late to
things and offer no apologies for it.

obsessive
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 a person who has compulsive preoccupations

Obsessive people have unnaturally high feelings toward certain things. An obsessive
boyfriend might stalk his girlfriend and check her text messages on her phone to
make sure that she is not cheating on him. Obsession is liking and needing
something times 10!

7. procrastinator

someone who postpones work

A procrastinator is someone who puts off tasks. They feel that they will do it later--
most often, it never gets done.

8. vulgar

conspicuously and tastelessly indecent

A vulgar person is disgusting. They might use bad language or say things that are
outrageously inappropriate.

9. shiftless

lacking ambition or initiative

A shiftless person has no ambition. They are lazy and look for handouts rather than
work for what they have.

1.1.2 TALKING ABOUT ABILITIES

Describe Your Skills

You can use “good at” or “bad at” to talk about your abilities and skills – what you can do.

For example, to talk about school subjects:

“He’s good at French.”

“He’s bad at Physics.”

Because “at” is a preposition, you need to follow it with a noun or a gerund (an “ing”
form):

I’m bad at Maths.

He’s good at English.
You’re good at spelling.

You can also use “any” in negatives and questions:

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“I’m not any good at …”

Are you any good at …?

You can also use “no good at”:

“I’m no good at …”

You can use other adjectives in this way:

great at
brilliant at
fantastic at
terrible at
really bad at
hopeless at
useless at

EXERCISE 1.1

Write a presentation about you, describing your personality and your abilities with the
learnt vocabulary.

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