Speaking: Vocabulary for Speaking A2 - Lesson 4
Describing People (Simple Appearance & Personality)
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to use basic adjectives to describe a person's physical appearance and their personality.
Describing a Friend
When we talk about people, we often describe two things: their appearance1 (what they look like) and their personality2 (what they are like). Let's look at a description of a best friend.
"My best friend's name is Vanna. He's quite tall3 and he has short, black hair5. He's very friendly8 and funny10, so he has a lot of friends. He's also very smart12 and hard-working13; he is the best student in our class. Everyone likes him because he is a very kind9 person."
Key Vocabulary: Describing People
Describing Appearance (រូបរាង)
- Appearance | រូបរាង | How a person looks on the outside. ↩
- tall | ខ្ពស់ | Higher than average height. ↩
- short | ទាប | Lower than average height.
- long hair | សក់វែង
- short hair | សក់ខ្លី ↩
- young | ក្មេង
- old | ចាស់
Describing Personality (បុគ្គលិកលក្ខណៈ)
- Personality | បុគ្គលិកលក្ខណៈ | A person's character; what they are like on the inside. ↩
- friendly | រស់រាយរាក់ទាក់ | Someone who is nice and easy to talk to. ↩
- kind | ចិត្តល្អ | Someone who is caring and helps other people. ↩
- funny | កំប្លែង | Someone who makes you laugh. ↩
- shy | អៀនអន់ | Someone who is quiet and not confident around new people.
- smart | ឆ្លាត | Intelligent; someone who learns and understands things quickly. ↩
- hard-working | ឧស្សាហ៍ព្យាយាម | Someone who puts a lot of effort into their work or studies. ↩
Pronunciation Focus: Linking with "is" and "has"
To sound more fluent, we use contractions and link words together.
- "He is tall" becomes "He's tall." The /z/ sound from "is" links to the next word.
- "She is friendly" becomes "She's friendly."
- "He has short hair" often contracts to "He's short hair."
Listen to how "He's a very kind person" sounds like one smooth phrase: "Hee-zuh-very-kine-person."
Grammar: Using "is" vs. "has"
This is a very important grammar rule for describing people.
Use is / are + ADJECTIVE
We use the verb 'to be' to describe qualities or characteristics.
- He is tall. (NOT He has tall.)
- They are friendly.
- She is smart.
Use has / have + NOUN PHRASE
We use the verb 'to have' to describe things a person possesses, like body parts.
- She has long hair. (NOT She is long hair.)
- I have brown eyes.
- He has a new shirt.
Practice Describing People
Activity 1: "is" or "has"?
Complete the sentences with the correct verb: "is" or "has".
- My teacher ______ very kind. (Answer: is)
- He ______ short black hair. (Answer: has)
- She ______ very hard-working. (Answer: is)
- That man ______ a new moto. (Answer: has)
Activity 2: Guess Who?
Work with a partner or in a small group. Secretly choose one person in the classroom. Give your group three descriptive sentences about that person (e.g., "This person is short. She has long hair. She is very friendly."). Your group must guess who you are describing.
Your Vocabulary Mission
This week in Siem Reap, your mission is to describe someone you know.
Choose a member of your family or a close friend. Write three sentences to describe them. Use at least one adjective for appearance and one for personality. Make sure you use "is" and "has" correctly! Practice saying your description.
Example: "My sister is young. She has long hair. She is very smart."