Compound Personality Adjectives – Teacher’s notes
Lead in
You can use the quizlet set to introduce the concept of compound adjectives. Pick out a few students and ask
them the following questions, ask them the question with the compound adjective first and elicit the meaning.
Are you blonde-haired? Are you a person with blonde hair?
Are you blue-eyed? Are you a person with blue eyes?
Are you hard-working? Are you a person who works hard?
Are you a 16-year-old girl? Are you a girl who’s 16 years old?
Are you self-centred? Are you a person who only cares about themselves?
Peer Teaching
Now tell students they are going to teach each other some more compound adjectives. Give out the hand-out,
put students in pairs and assign them A or B. A’s are not allowed to look at B’s questions. A should first ask B
the first question on the list, they must start with the question with a compound adjective, then ask the
question with the definition. For example:
A: Are you tight-fisted?
B: Am I what????
A: Are you a person who doesn’t like to spend or give money?
B: No. I’m very generous.
A: So you’re not tight-fisted then.
Students take it in turns to ask a question and teach the compound adjective. When they have finished they
should test their partner to see what they remember.
Test a few students in open class to see how well they’ve been taught.
Student A
Read the questions and answer them yes, no or sometimes (Y/N/S)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Are you tight-fisted? Are you a person who doesn’t like to spend or give money?
Are you thin-skinned? Are you a person who is sensitive to criticism or insults?
Are you easy-going? Are you a relaxed and tolerant person?
Are you quick-witted? Are you a person who thinks and responds quickly?
Are you big-headed? Are you a person who thinks they are better than other people?
Are you self-assured? Are you confident in your own abilities and character? Are you a person who
doesn’t worry about what other people think of you?
Now ask them to your partner and see what you have in common.
Student B
Read the questions and answer them yes, no or sometimes (Y/N/S)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Are you thick-skinned? Are you a person who isn’t affected by criticism or insults?
Are you laid-back? Are you a person who is relaxed and casual about everything?
Are you absent-minded? Do you often lose or forget things?
Are you bad-tempered? Do you tend to get angry often?
Are you level-headed? Are you a responsible person who doesn’t get anxious in stressful situations?
Are you self-conscious? Are you nervous or embarrassed about what other people think of you?
Now ask them to your partner and see what you have in common.
Matching Exercises
Students complete the matching exercises in pairs.
Definition match
1. C
2. G
3. I (i)
4. H
5. D
6. J
7. K
8. L
9. B
10. E
11. F
12. A
Positive/negative
Positive:
Level-headed
Thick-skinned
Quick-witted
Easy-going
Self-assured
Negative:
Self-conscious
Bad-tempered
Thin-skinned
Absent-minded
Big-headed
Laid-back (could be
both)
Tight-fisted
Picture match
a. Tight-fisted
b. Thin-skinned
c. Absent-minded
d. Self-conscious
e. Laid-back
f. Bad-tempered
g. Big-headed
h. Self-assured
Sentence match
1. Self-conscious
2. Bad-tempered
3. Level-headed
4. Thin-skinned
5. Absent-minded
6. Thick-skinned
7. Big-headed
8. Laid-back
9. Quick-witted
10. Tight-fisted
11. Easy-going
12. Self-assured
Discussion
Students complete the discussion in pairs giving reasons for their answers: “A good teacher should be easygoing so that the students don’t have to do so much homework” encourage them to agree and disagree using
the language in the boxes.
Which compound adjectives would you use to describe the people listed below? Discuss in pairs.
A good friend
A bad friend
A good teacher
A bad teacher
Agree
Absolutely.
I couldn’t agree more.
You took the words right
out of my mouth.
Uh-huh.
Yep, I’m with you on
that.
Totally.
You’re absolutely right.
You can say that again!
A good boss
A bad boss
Disagree
Hhhmm, I’m not so
sure.
I take your point but…
I see what you mean
but…
I agree with you up to a
point but…
You must be joking.
Are you kidding?
Good parents
Bad parents
A policeman
A footballer
Ask for opinion
What do you think about
….?
Where do you stand on…?
What do you reckon to…?
Express opinion
For me personally,
As far as I’m
concerned,
In my opinion,
I reckon that…
I’d say that…