Describing People (5) (ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE (ELEMENTARY))

ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE (ELEMENTARY)

Describing People (5)

A	Height /ha t/ and weight /we t/ Bettina Schwenke is a very tall woman. Tom Jakes is quite short. If you aren’t tall or short, you are of medium height.   Agata Sanchez is really slim. I was very thin when I was in hospital. [slim is more polite than thin] The doctor said I am overweight. [weigh too much] Their cat is very fat. It needs to go on a diet.
B	Face and head Suri has dark skin and dark hair. She has brown eyes. Polly has blonde (or fair) hair and fair skin. She has blue eyes. Ben has a beard and long hair. He has green eyes. Luca has a moustache /mʊˈstɑːʃ/ and short hair. You can also use has got, for example, Suri has got dark hair and dark skin. My mother is a very beautiful woman. [very pretty] My dad’s a very good-looking man. Common mistakes People are tall [NOT People are high]. People have blonde or dark hair [NOT hairs]. My sister is pretty. (usually girls / women only) Bob’s an ugly man. [ugly = the opposite of beautiful or good-looking] I’m not ugly or beautiful, I’m just average-looking!
C	Age My grandmother is 97. She’s very old. My sister is 14. She’s young, but would like to be older. My father is 56. He’s middle-aged, but would like to be younger! This hospital is for elderly people. (more polite than old)
D	Expressions A: How tall is Bettina / Tom? B: She’s 1.85 metres tall. / He’s 1.48 metres tall. A: How heavy are you? / How much do you weigh? B: I weigh 62 kilos / 74 kilos, etc. A: How old is he? B: He’s 84. A: What does Gemma / your sister look like? B: She’s tall and dark. She’s very pretty. Tip Some of the words on this page are a little negative, so be careful how you use them. It’s better not to say to someone: ‘You are fat / thin / ugly / old.’

Exercises

5.1	Complete the sentences. 1. He’s only 1 metre 52. He’s quite. __short___ 2. Very ________ people are often good at basketball. 3. Models are usually ________. 4. Does she have dark skin? No, it’s ________. 5. She’s only seven. She’s very ________. 6. If I eat too much I’ll be ________.
5.2	Complete the questions using the words in brackets (). 1. ___How tall is your brother? ___________ (your brother) He’s about 1 metre 75. 2 Is ______________________? (Elena’s hair)  No, she’s got dark hair. 3 Is ______________________? (Mike’s hair) Yes, it is quite long. 4 Are ______________________? (your parents) Not really, they’re middle-aged. 5 Is ______________________? (his sister) Yes, she’s very pretty. 6 Why ______________________? (Sara, so thin)
5.3	Write sentences about the people in these pictures. 1 Felicity’s _________got blonde hair and fair skin _________________ 2 Jeffhas ________________________ 3 Anika’s got ________________________ 4 Stefan’s hair is ________________________ and he ________________________
5.4	Write questions. 1 your brother, height  How tall is your brother? _______________ 2 your teacher, looks  ____________________________ 3 you, weight ____________________________ 4 your mother, age ____________________________ 5 your sister, height ____________________________ 6 your parents, looks ____________________________
5.5	Now write answers to the questions in 5.4. 1 He’s not very tall. He’s 1 metre 52. Over to you Write down the names of three people you know. Then write about their: • height (tall, short, medium height)    • eyes (colour) • hair (colour, long, short, beard)          • looks (pretty, average-looking, etc.)

ANSWER KEY