Functional English

Describing People
Let’s Learn
What is your best friend like? How old is your dad? What color is your
neighbor’s hair? In this lesson, you will practice describing people by
their appearance, clothing, and other character and personality traits.

Warm-Up
BR AINSTORMING

Work with your classmates. Think of

some features you can use to describe people.

• hair color •

• age •

• nationality •

• •

• •

• •

• •

• •

Common Questions
Listen to your teacher ask these common questions.
Practice saying them out loud.

• What does she look like? • What’s he like?

• How old is he? • Is she funny?

• What color hair does he have? • What’s he wearing?

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 Describing People
Functional English

Dialogues
Work with a partner. Practice the dialogues.
Then change the information in bold to other descriptive words.

Dialogue 1 Dialogue 2

Practice describing a person’s general appearance. Now practice describing someone’s personality.

A: You know Amira, don’t you? A: What’s your new teacher like?

B: Hmm. What does she look like? B: He’s great. He’s really funny and outgoing.

A: She’s tall and thin, and she has long, brown hair. A: That’s good to hear. Is he strict?

B: How old is she? B: No. He’s pretty easygoing. He’s Colombian.

A: I’m not sure. She’s in her twenties, I think. A: Do you think you will learn a lot from him?

B: Oh, do you mean Amira from the bookstore? B: Yes, he’s very knowledgeable about grammar.

A: Yes! A: He sounds like an awesome teacher.

B: Yes, I know Amira. She is very pretty.

Dialogue 3
Pretty
Now practice describing a person’s clothing. The word “pretty” can be an
adjective (meaning attractive) or
A: Have you seen a small boy running around? an adverb (meaning somewhat).

B: Hmm. What is he wearing? • She is wearing

a pretty dress.
A: He is wearing black jeans. He also has a Yankees baseball cap on.
• He is pretty easygoing.
B: Oh! I think I see him over there. Is he wearing green rubber boots?

A: Yes!

B: He is splashing in that giant puddle beside a girl in a polka-dot dress.

A: I see him! Thank you!

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 Describing People
Functional English

Practice
A. Complete the Dialogue

Work in pairs. Complete the dialogue, and practice with a partner.

Police: Did you see the thief?

Witness: Yes.

Police: How old was she?

Witness: She was probably in her .

1. (age group)

Police: Okay. What color hair did she have?

Witness: She had hair. It was very .

2. (color) 3. (style)

Police: What was she wearing?

Witness: She was wearing dark jeans and a shirt.

4. (style / color)

Police: Was she light skinned or dark?

Witness: She had light skin.

Police: Can you describe her body type?

Witness: She was and .

5. (general height) 6. (general weight)

Police: Thank you. We will try to find your bike.

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 Describing People
Functional English

Practice cont.
B. Writing Practice

Answer the following questions about a famous person. Write complete

sentences. Then describe this person to a partner. Your partner will try
to guess who your famous person is.

1. What color hair does he/she have?

2. How old is he/she? (approximately)

3. What is his/her nationality?

4. What’s he/she good at?

5. What’s he/she like? (personality)

Listening
Listen to each question. Choose the correct response.

1. a) She’s really tidy. 4. a) He has a blue hat on.

b) No, I don’t. b) Yes, he’s missing.
c) In her eighties. c) She’s five years old.

2. a) She is very strict. 5. a) She’s in her nineties.

b) Yes, he’s new. b) I like her a lot.
c) Around 30 or so. c) She’s very pretty.

3. a) Yes, he does. 6. a) He’s tall, thin, and bald.

b) He’s really funny. b) I really like her.
c) He’s short and cute, and he has long hair. c) She’s average height and has shoulder-length blond hair.

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 Describing People
Functional English

Grammar Review
ADJECTIVES & ADVERBS

A. Reference

Adjectives describe nouns. Adverbs can describe adjectives.

They come before a noun or after the Be verb. They come before an adjective.

• She has long eyelashes. • She has really long eyelashes.

• Her eyelashes are long. • Her eyelashes are really long.

B. Adjective or Adverb?

Are the words in bold adjectives or adverbs?

Circle the adjectives and underline the adverbs.

A: What’s your sister like?

B: She’s funny. She can be really annoying, though.

A: She’s pretty young, right?

B: Yes. She’s only ten years old.

A: Is she blond like you?

B: No, she has brown hair and dark skin like my dad.

A: Is she messy like you?

B: Believe it or not, she’s very tidy!

C. Rewrite the Dialogue

Do you have a sibling? In your notebook, rewrite the dialogue

from Part B so that it is about you and a brother, sister, or friend.
Use different adjectives and adverbs. Practice it with a partner.

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 Describing People
Functional English

Review
Task 1

DESCRIBE A FAMILY MEMBER

Write five sentences describing a person in your family.

Describe this person’s appearance and personality.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Task 2 Task 3

COMPLETE THE DIALOGUE FAMOUS PEOPLE

Now complete a dialogue that takes place at a police station. Use adjectives Your teacher will place a picture
and adverbs. Find a partner and perform the dialogue for your teacher. of a famous person on your back.
Your classmates will also have
A: Did you see the kid that stole your neighbor’s dog? famous people on their backs.

B: Yes. I saw him take the dog.

Ask questions to find out who
A: Can you describe him for me? What was he wearing? you are. After you guess correctly,
help others figure out who they
B: are. Use adjectives and adverbs.
A: Approximately how old was he?

B:

A: What kind of hair did he have?

B:

A: Was he tall or short?

B:

A: Okay, can you tell me anything else about him?

B:

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 Describing People
Functional English

Speaking Assessment Tool

Student / Group:

Date Level Assessed By Task Skill

Describing Someone Speaking, Listening

Achieved Achieved With Help Needs Improvement

Criteria

uses a variety of words

for describing people

forms questions about

basic personal information

understands the difference

between adjectives
and adverbs

understands descriptive
information about people

Notes

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 Describing People
Functional English

Learner Reflection
DESCRIBING PEOPLE

Add check marks () to show what you've learned in this lesson.

Name: Date:

Yes (very well) Yes (with help) Not yet

Can I...

describe someone that I know?

describe someone that I am looking for?

answer questions about people’s

appearance and characteristics?

understand descriptive
information about a person?

understand the difference between adjectives

and adverbs and use them correctly?

My Notes

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