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Lesson 4

Describing People with Adjectives

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Bonjour! Welcome to your fourth lesson.

In our last lesson, we learned how to use possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her) to talk about belongings and relationships. This was an important step.

Today, we will build on that by learning how to describe people. The learning outcome for this lesson is to describe yourself and others using simple adjectives (e.g., happy, tired, French). An adjective is a word that describes a person, place, or thing. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to combine what you already know to form sentences like, "My friend is friendly," or "I am happy."

1. The Basic Structure: Subject + 'to be' + Adjective

The most common way to describe someone is by using the verb 'to be' (am, is, are) followed by an adjective. You already know the verb 'to be' from our first lesson, so this will be a review.

The structure is simple: Subject + 'to be' + Adjective

  • I am happy.
  • You are tired.
  • He is French.
  • She is kind.

Let's review this important grammar rule.

The Verb ‘To Be’ + Adjectives, Basic English Grammar Lesson

The following article, 'The Verb ‘To Be’ + Adjectives', clearly explains this fundamental sentence structure. It's a great review of the verb forms and shows how to use them with describing words.

Please read the sections titled 'The Essential Structure: Subject + ‘To Be’ + Adjective' and 'Forms of ‘To Be’ Based on Subject Pronouns'. Focus on the correct sentence order and matching the verb form (am, is, are) to the subject (I, you, he, she).

As the article explained, it's very important to use the correct form of 'to be' and to place the adjective after the verb.

2. Adjectives for Feelings and Emotions

Now, let's learn some common adjectives to describe how someone feels.

Feelings and Adjectives Worksheet
This image shows common adjectives for feelings, like happy, sad, tired, angry, scared, and surprised, with corresponding pictures.

Look at the image above. These are very useful words for daily conversation.

Here are some examples using the structure we just learned:

  • I am tired today.
  • My sister is happy.
  • Is he sad?
Test your understanding!

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb 'to be' (am, is, or are).

  1. I ______ sleepy.
  2. She ______ excited about her new job.
  3. My friend ______ sick today.
  4. You ______ very energetic!
Show answer
  1. I am sleepy.
  2. She is excited about her new job.
  3. My friend is sick today.
  4. You are very energetic!

3. Describing Personality

When we meet new people, we often want to describe their personality. In English, there is an important difference between asking about someone's appearance and their personality.

  • What does he look like? (This is about physical appearance: tall, short, hair color, etc.)
  • What is he like? (This is about personality/character: friendly, funny, etc.)

Today, we will focus on personality. Let's watch a video to learn some essential adjectives for describing character.

Learn English Podcast: Describing People | Appearance & Personality Conversation #englishpodcast

This video, 'Learn English Podcast: Describing People', explains the difference between the two key questions and introduces many useful adjectives for personality.

Please watch from the beginning (00:24) to 01:30 to understand the two key questions. Then, watch the section on personality from 04:10 to 06:53. Pay attention to words like 'kind', 'friendly', 'funny', 'smart', and 'outgoing'.

The video gave you a great list of positive words. Let's review some of them:

  • Kind / Nice: a person who is good and helpful to others. (Gentil / Sympa)
  • Friendly: a person who is easy to talk to and smiles a lot. (Amical / Chaleureux)
  • Funny: a person who makes you laugh. (Drôle / Amusant)
  • Smart: an intelligent person. (Intelligent)
  • Hardworking: a person who puts a lot of energy into their work. (Travailleur)
  • Outgoing: a person who is energetic and loves to be with other people. (Extraverti)

Now you can combine this with what you learned in the last lesson.

  • My boss is very hardworking.
  • Her friend is outgoing.
  • His teacher is very kind.

4. Describing Nationality

Finally, you can use adjectives to describe where someone is from. For example, "French" is an adjective.

Countries, Nationalities, and Languages Vocabulary Chart
This chart shows a list of countries (like France, Spain, the USA) and the matching nationality adjectives (like French, Spanish, American).

The structure is the same: Subject + 'to be' + Nationality Adjective.

  • I am French.
  • My colleague is Canadian.
  • He is not German; he is Austrian.

To see how this works in conversation, watch this short video clip.

Talking About Countries & Nationalities In English!

This video, 'Talking About Countries & Nationalities In English!', will quickly show you how to use nationality adjectives correctly.

Watch the section from 02:14 to 03:28. The speaker explains the three ways to say where you are from, including the one with the adjective: 'I'm Italian'.

Practice Exercise

Describe the following people using the information provided. Use a full sentence.

Example: (Marie / Canada) → Marie is Canadian.

  1. (I / France) → I ___________________.
  2. (My doctor / smart) → My doctor ___________________.
  3. (Paul / tired) → Paul ___________________.
  4. (His sister / friendly) → His sister ___________________.
Show answer
  1. I am French.
  2. My doctor is smart.
  3. Paul is tired.
  4. His sister is friendly.

Conclusion

Excellent work today! You have learned a fundamental skill for everyday conversation: describing people.

Key Takeaways:

  • The basic structure for describing someone is Subject + 'to be' + Adjective.
  • We learned adjectives for feelings (e.g., happy, tired), personality (e.g., friendly, kind), and nationality (e.g., French, American).
  • Remember the key questions: "What does she look like?" (appearance) and "What is she like?" (personality).

In our next lesson, we will move on to a new topic: using ordinal numbers (first, second, third) and months to say and understand dates. This will help you talk about birthdays, holidays, and appointments.