Describing People

Describing People. English ESL Workheet and picture dictionary. English grammar with exercises. Free eBook and free printable PDF

Describing People

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Describing People

To describe someone’s appearance, you will often use adjectives. An adjective is a kind of word that describes a noun (a person, place or thing).

Here are some words and phrases you can use to describe a person’s appearance.

• To describe someone’s height, you can say they are tall or short. Tall people are higher than short people. To say someone is short and also small, you can say they are petite.
• Someone who weighs more than average can be curvy, well-built, full-bodied or heavy. (Curvy is usually only used to describe women.). This is a casual way of saying they are overweight, and it might seem rude to someone sensitive. The opposite of overweight can be thin, slim or skinny.
• Light, yellowish hair can be described as blonde. But you can also call a person who has that kind of hair a blonde.  A person with dark hair can be called a brunette. Someone with red hair can be called a redhead. 
• Besides what color someone’s hair is, you also can say they are short-haired or long-haired. You can say they have curly, straight or wavy hair. Sometimes hair can also be frizzy, which is when it looks puffy with small, tight curls. If someone has no hair at all on their head, they are bald.
• Men sometimes have hair on their faces. Hair that covers the chin and cheeks is called a beard. When there’s hair only above the lips it’s a moustache.
• How does a person look overall? If you think a woman is attractive, you can say she is beautiful, pretty or maybe even gorgeous (very beautiful). You can call an attractive man handsome. Both men and women can be good-looking. If you’re speaking very casually, good-looking men or women can be hot. To say someone is not very good-looking, you can say they are not much to look at. This is not a nice way to describe someone, but it’s better than ugly.

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Describing People exercises

EXERCISE 1

Complete the sentences by writing the  verb to be  or  have got in the  spaces provided.

e.g. Sarah has got brown hair.

Henry_____ very tall.

My friends and I ________ blue eyes.

I ________ green eyes and I _____ quite tall.

My brother and sister both_______ long blond hair.

My father______ a very large nose.

I_______ very tall.

All my sisters______ dark skinned.

My dog _______ very long legs.

I______ long brown hair and I _____ blue eyes.

You and Mary ______very long legs.

EXERCISE 2

Write a full description of these people.

e.g. David : tall, blond hair, quite fat, blue eyes.

David is tall. He has got blond hair and blue eyes. He is quite fat.

Sarah : Very short, black hair, blue eyes, very long legs.

Lucy : Long brown hair, very long arms, dark skin,50kg.

Bill : Short hair, blue eyes, beard, 22 years old.

Claire : Tall, pale skin, 3 tattoos, big nose,45 kg.

Richard : Handsome, small nose, big blue eyes, pale skin, quite short.

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