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GENERAL ENGLISH · VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

EXAGGERATION
AND
UNDERSTATEMENT

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1 Understating

In pairs, read the conversations below.

Chat A Anne: Have you seen Greg lately?

Carlos: Yes, I have. He’s very fat. What happened to him? He used to be a fitness freak.
Anne: I know. He must have changed his lifestyle when he got married. Have you met his wife?
Carlos: Yes, I have. She’s very old.
Anne: Yes. And she has a horrible personality. I really don’t know what he sees in her.
Carlos: I couldn’t agree more. Well, you know what they say – love is blind.

Chat B Anne: Have you seen Greg lately?

Carlos: Yes, I have. He’s a bit on the large side. What happened to him? He used to be a fitness
freak.
Anne: I know. He must have changed his lifestyle when he got married. Have you met his wife?
Carlos: Yes, I have. She’s kind of old, don’t you think?
Anne: Yes. And she isn’t the nicest person in the world. I really don’t know what he sees in her.
Carlos: I couldn’t agree more. Well, you know what they say – love is blind.

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UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

EXAGGERATION AND UNDERSTATEMENT

Chat C Anne: What do you think of this restaurant?

Carlos: It’s awful. The service is terrible.
Anne: But the food is delicious.
Carlos: No, it’s very bad. The Waldorf Restaurant was much better.
Anne: But the Waldorf is expensive.
Carlos: Well, you get what you pay for.

Chat D Anne: What do you think of this restaurant?

Carlos: Well, it certainly isn’t the best restaurant in town. The service is a little on the slow side.
Anne: But the food is delicious.
Carlos: I wouldn’t say it’s delicious. The Waldorf Restaurant was much better.
Anne: But the Waldorf is a bit overpriced.
Carlos: Well, you get what you pay for.

Which conversations sound more tactful? Which sound a bit rude?

Now study the understatements below and match them to the sentences on the right.

1. He spends a bit too much time in front of the a. He can’t stop being rude and offensive.
mirror for my liking.
2. He’s not the smartest guy around. b. He is very stupid.

3. His writing leaves a bit to be desired. c. He is very vain.

4. He was a little angry to say the least. d. He’s really tight-fisted.

5. It wasn’t his best performance. e. He was completely drunk.

6. He had one too many drinks. f. He was furious.

7. He’s a bit on the cheap side. g. His acting was terrible.

8. He’s kind of vulgar, don’t you think? h. His books are awful.

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EXAGGERATION AND UNDERSTATEMENT

2 Practice

Work in pairs. Make the conversations below more tactful using the word prompts and expressions
from Ex 1. Read them aloud.

Chat A A: London is a very expensive city. [CHEAPEST/WORLD]

B: I know. And it rains all the time. [WET/SIDE]

Chat B A: Robert was very drunk last night. [TOO MANY]

B: I know. And I can’t believe he insulted his boss in front of everyone! He’s stupid.
[INTELLIGENT/AROUND]

Chat C A: Maria can’t drive at all. [DRIVING SKILLS/DESIRED]

B: I agree. I would never get in a car with her at the wheel. She can’t drive straight.
[UNCOORDINATED/LEAST]

Chat D A: Sarah’s new boyfriend is very short and fat, don’t you think? [KIND/STOCKY]
B: Yes, I agree. [WOULDN’T/TALL AND SLIM]

Chat E A: The actors were terrible. [POOR/LEAST]

B: Yes. Their performances were so exaggerated. [MELODRAMATIC/LIKING]

Chat F A: John looks half asleep today. [TIRED/SIDE]

B: What do you expect? He’s been going out almost every evening. [ONE TOO MANY/LATE NIGHTS]

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EXAGGERATION AND UNDERSTATEMENT

3 Exaggerating

We often exaggerate when telling a story or describing an event in order to sound more interesting.
Match the adjectives on the left with the extreme phrases on the right.

1. hungry a. absolutely agonizing

2. angry b. absolutely appalling

3. tired c. absolutely astonishing

4. dirty d. absolutely enormous

5. beautiful e. absolutely exhausted

6. large f. absolutely filthy

7. scary g. absolutely furious

8. painful h. absolutely gorgeous

9. ugly i. absolutely hideous

10. surprising j. absolutely hilarious

11. bad k. absolutely starving

12. funny l. absolutely terrifying

Choose six adjectives on the left and think of a situation that you can describe with each word. Tell
your partner using an extreme adjective, for example:

"My boss asked me to work overtime last Monday. By the end of the day, I was absolutely exhausted."

4 Speaking

Work with a partner and do the tasks below.

1. Think of an experience that you had in the past. It could be a trip to another country, a bad day at
work, etc. Tell your partner about it, exaggerating where possible.
2. Write down the titles of four films/movies that both of you have seen, but they cannot be your
favourite ones. Student A, choose one and ask questions, for example ‘What did you think of the
acting?’, ‘Did you like the plot?’, ‘What did you think of the script?’, etc. Student B, try to give some
negative opinions using understatement. Choose another title and change roles.

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TEACHER MATERIALS · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

EXAGGERATION AND UNDERSTATEMENT

Key
1. Understating

The aim of this exercise is to demonstrate how English speakers understate to be tactful and more polite. Conversations
B and D are more tactful. Draw attention to the expressions in bold used to make understatements. Write them
on the board and elicit further examples.
1. c 2. b 3. h 4. f 5. g 6. e 7. d 8. a

2. Practice

Students rewrite the conversations and then read them in pairs. Select one pair to read out each conversation to
the class.
Possible answers:
A: London isn’t the cheapest city in the world.
B: I know. And it’s a bit on the wet side.
A: Robert had one too many drinks last night.
B: I know. And I can’t believe he insulted his boss in front of everyone! He isn’t the most intelligent guy around.
A: Maria’s driving skills leave a bit to be desired.
B: I agree. I would never get in a car with her at the wheel. She’s a bit uncoordinated to say the least.
A: Sarah’s new boyfriend is kind of stocky, don’t you think?
B: Yes, I wouldn’t say he’s tall and slim.
A: The actors were poor to say the least.
B: Yes. Their performances were a little too melodramatic for my liking.
A: John looks a bit on the tired side today.
B: What do you expect? He’s had one too many late nights.

3. Exaggerating

1. k 2. g 3. e 4. f 5. h 6. d
7. l 8. a 9. i 10. c 11. b 12. j

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