Class 1: Describing people
Keywords: The verb ‘be’, linking verbs, descriptions, complements, present simple
Background
There are many situations in which you need to do the following:
1)
2)
3)
4)
State facts about yourself
Describe yourself to other people or describe other people
Ask questions about personal information
Answer questions about personal information
Discussion: In what situations do you need to do any of these things?
Write down the situations that you have experienced:
1
2
3
4
5
If you meet someone for the first time, or you are interviewing someone, you might ask
the following questions:
What is your name?
What do you do?
Where do you come from?
How old are you?
What is your nationality?
These are called ‘WH’ questions. In each question, the tone goes down towards the end of the
question.
e.g. How old are you?
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PRACTICE
Listen to me say the question and then say it yourself:
When answering such questions, you can answer by saying ‘I am…..’
What is your name?
I am Steve Cannell. (My name is Steve Cannell.)
What do you d o?
I am a teacher.
What is your nationality?
I am English / I am from England. (I come from England).
How tall are you?
I am 1 metre 75 centimetres tall
How old are you?
I am 52 years old.
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PRACTICE
‘I am’ can be contracted. That means it can be shortened by joining ‘I’ and ‘am’ together to
make ‘I’m…:
I’m Steve. I’m a teacher. I’m from England. I’m 1metre75 centimetres tall. I’m 52 years old.
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How about you?
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Nationality
Country (noun)
England/UK
France
America
Germany
Japan
Vietnam
Cambodia
Thailand
Lao
Myanmar
Cameroon
Korea
Indonesia
The Philippines
Malaysia
Bhutan
India
Singapore
Russia
Sweden
Taiwan
Nationality (adjective)
English
French
American
German
Japanese
Vietnamese
Cambodian
Thai
Laotian
Burmese
Cameroonian
Korean
Indonesian
Pilipino
Malaysian
Bhutanese
Indian
Singaporean
Russian
Swedish
Taiwanese
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PRACTICE
Speaking Practice
Choose a country and then take turns asking your partner the following question:
Question: What is a boy/girl from _____________ called?
Answer: He / She is ________________
Work with your partner or friend and ask and then answer the following questions:
When you have finished, change roles and answer your partner’s questions.
What is your name?
‘I’m ……………’ (or ‘My name is…’)
What do you do?
‘I’m a…………………’
Where do you come from?
‘I’m from……………..’ (or ‘I come from…..’)
How old are you?
‘I’m……………..’
How tall are you?
‘I’m……………..’
What is your nationality?
‘I’m……………..’
PRACTICE
PRACTICE
Grammar Note:
The verb ‘be’ in the sentences we have been using is known as a LINKING VERB.
It is called a linking verb because it links the subject of the sentence, for example ‘I’, with
a description of the subject (a complement), for example ‘English’.
Subject
Linking Verb
Description (a complement)
I
am
English
I
am
a teacher
I
am
52 years old
We use the present simple tense because these facts are true at the present time.
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Third person verbs
When you describe another person using the present tense, you use ‘third person’ verbs.
The first person is you, the speaker (I am…).
The second person is the person you are talking to. (You are… Are you…?)
The third person is a person or thing that you are talking about
(He is… She is… It is… Is he…? Is she…? Is it…?)
For example:
My partner is called Somchai, and he is a boy. He is 18 years old.
He is Thai, and he is from Buriram. He is a good student. He is…….
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Write some sentences below about the girl in the
picture:
She’s …………………………………………….
She’s…………………………………………….
She’s …………………………………………….
She’s …………………………………………….
She’s …………………………………………….
She’s …………………………………………….
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Here are some descriptions that might help you
Thai
a boy
happy
1 m. 55 cm. tall
tired
handsome
Cambodian
a girl
lazy
slim
bored
chubby
Chinese
a teenager
gay
beautiful
excited
sad
a superstar
a student
18 years old
average height
hard-working
clever
Asking questions
When asking questions you have to reverse the subject and the verb:
Subject
Verb
Description
I
am
Japanese
Verb
Are
Subject
Description
you
Japanese?
= a statement
= a question
Taiwanese
a sportsman
a bad student
from Thailand
a good student
stupid
Write down 5 questions using descriptions (a complement) of your choice and then ask your
partner the questions.
1 Are you………………………………?
2 Are you……………………………....?
3 Are you.……………………………...?
4 Are you………………………………?
5 Are you………………………………?
These questions give a yes or no answer, so the tone goes up e.g. Are you happy?
Your partner will either say: ‘Yes. I am.’ or ‘No. I’m not.’
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When you have asked the questions and decided what information you are going to
include, you are now ready to describe your partner.
Task: Describe your partner or another student in the class.
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Describing things
We also use the third person to describe singular things:
For example: a house, a car, a pet, or a product
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My house is: modern / old / traditional / large / small / beautiful
My car is: fast / slow / old / new / Japanese / a Toyota / in the car park
My cat is: female / young / playful / always hungry / black and white
My telephone is: a Samsung / a tablet / expensive / very modern / very useful
We also use the pronoun ‘ít’ to represent something
For example: “My car is Japanese. It is a Toyota Vios.”
Try to describe something of your choice using the verb ‘be’ using ‘it’ where necessary:
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Describing groups of people
We are students at DPUIC
They are military cadets.
You are students in my class.
(In this case ‘you’ is plural)
Exercise: Use the verb ‘be’ (present tense) in each gap to match the subject
1: Ploy.............. a student, and she.........18 years old..
2: Somchai...........Thai.
3: Ploy and Somchai................ students.
4: Ploy..............a girl, but Somchai ..............a boy.
5: My car ................ a Toyota.
6: My house.................in Bangkok
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7: My brother and sister................English.
8: My dog.................very fat.
9: My dog and my cat ...................... friends.
10: We ........................ at Dhurakij Pundit University now.
11: They ......................... in the library.
12: You ...................... a good girl, and he.............a good boy..
13: The government.................elected by the people.
14: The shop near my house.................very convenient.
15: The shops near my house....................very small.
16: The sea water ..................... very cold.
17: The food..........................delicious.
18: The animals ...................... hungry.
19: He....................handsome.
20: She ...................... very intelligent.
21: My sister..............quite selfish.
22: Your mother ................ very nice, but you............very talkative.
23: His mother and father.................government officials.
24: Air pollution ................ bad for your health.
25: Cycling .................. good for your health.
26: My house and garden.................very large.
Adjective list from the most frequently-used 2000 words in English
Homework Task: Highlight the words you know: Google the words you don’t know and create a
list/file of new words. Try to use any new words when speaking and writing.
academic
able
active
actual
additional
afraid
alternative
alone
ancient
annual
apparent
appropriate
attractive
available
average
aware
bad
basic
beautiful
bloody
black
big
blue
brief
bright
broad
busy
capable
careful
central
certain
cheap
chief
civil
clean
clear
close
cold
commercial
common
complete
complex
concerned
conservative
considerable
constant
corporate
correct
criminal
critical
cultural
current
dangerous
dark
dead
deep
democratic
detailed
different
difficult
direct
domestic
double
dry
due
early
eastern
easy
economic
educational
effective
either
elderly
empty
entire
environmental
equal
essential
excellent
existing
expensive
external
extra
fair
familiar
famous
far
fast
female
final
financial
fine
first
following
foreign
formal
free
fresh
front
full
funny
future
general
good
great
green
grey
growing
happy
heavy
historical
hot
huge
human
immediate
important
impossible
increased
independent
individual
industrial
initial
interested
interesting
international
internal
liberal
joint
large
leading
legal
local
lovely
low
limited
main
major
male
married
medical
mental
military
modern
narrow
national
natural
necessary
new
nice
normal
northern
nuclear
obvious
odd
old
ordinary
original
overall
particular
perfect
permanent
personal
physical
political
poor
popular
positive
possible
powerful
practical
pretty
previous
previously
primary
prime
private
professional
proper
quick
quiet
rare
ready
real
reasonable
recent
red
regional
regular
relative
relevant
religious
responsible
rich
right
royal
rural
safe
scientific
secondary
senior
separate
serious
severe
sexual
short
significant
similar
simple
single
slow
small
social
soft
sorry
southern
special
specific
standard
strong
strange
substantial
successful
sufficient
suitable
sure
tall
technical
terrible
tiny
thin
top
total
traditional
true
typical
united
unable
upper
urban
useful
usual
various
vast
very
vital
young
warm
weak
western
white
wide
wild
wonderful
working
wrong
If you want to hear these words spoken by a native speaker, open
the link below and cut and paste the word into the box.
Click here to visit the website
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