Describing people - adjectives
- A1
1 x 60-minute class
In this lesson, we’ll learn simple adjectives to describe people.
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Introduction
Exercise 1
Match phrases to pictures
- selfish
- brave
- patient
- impatient
- silly
- kind
- shy
- serious
- mean
- sad
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Practise
Donkey, Kang, Roo, Christopher Robin, Piglet, Pooh, Tiger, Gopher, Owl, Rabbit
https://cairowestonline.com/winnie-the-poohs-hidden-meanings/
Exercise 2
Who is: selfish, brave, patient, impatient, silly, kind, shy, serious, mean, sad? Why?
- Donkey is … because …
- Kang is … because …
- Roo is … because …
- …
Exercise 3
What would each character do in this situation?
- Someone finds a big pot of honey. Who shares the honey? Who is selfish and eats it all?
- There’s a loud noise in the forest. Who is brave and checks it? Who is shy and afraid?
- Rabbit wants to clean the house. Everyone else is playing. Who is serious and helps him? Who is silly and keeps playing?
- Piglet made a drawing. Who is kind and says nice things? Who is mean and who says something sad?
- The dinner isn’t ready yet. Who is patient and waits? Who is impatient?
- It’s time to read a book. Who is serious and reads it? Who is silly and plays?
Exercise 4
Match each group of words to the correct rule.
- If the word has one syllable, add -er / the …-est
- If the word has two or more syllables, use more / the most
- Irregular – the word changes completely
a) interesting → more interesting → the most interesting 🤔
b) bad → worse → the worst 👿
c) big → bigger → the biggest 🏘️
Comparing adjectives
One-syllable words
old → older → the oldest
long → longer → the longest
nice → nicer → the nicest (if the word ends with ‘e’, add ‘r’ and ‘st’)
big → bigger → the biggest (if the word ends with vowel + consonant, double the consonant)
happy → happier → the happiest (if the word ends with consonant + ‘y’, change it to ‘i’)
Two-syllable words +
interesting → more interesting → the most interesting
intelligent → more intelligent → the most intelligent
Irregular
good → better → the best
bad → worse → the worst
far → further → the furthest
Read the theory and fill in the gaps:
selfish → … → …
brave → … → …
patient → … → …
impatient → … → …
kind → … → …
shy → … → …
serious → … → …
mean → … → …
sad → … → …
silly → … → …
Exception:
silly - sillier - the silliest
Merriam-Webster says that both spellings are correct:
shy – shyer – the shyest
shy – shier – the shiest
The first one is more common, especially in British English.
Exercise 5
Look at this picture again and answer the questions.
Donkey, Kang, Roo, Christopher Robin, Piglet, Pooh, Tiger, Gopher, Owl, Rabbit
https://cairowestonline.com/winnie-the-poohs-hidden-meanings/
- Who is braver, Pooh or Tigger?
- Who is shyer, Piglet or Roo?
- Who is kinder, Pooh or Kanga?
- Who is sillier, Tigger or Pooh?
- Who is more patient, Kanga or Owl?
- Who is more serious, Rabbit or Owl?
- Who is meaner, Rabbit or Tigger?
- Who is sadder, Eeyore or Piglet?
- Who is more selfish, Rabbit or Pooh?
- Who is more impatient, Tigger or Rabbit?
- Who is the bravest character here?
- Who is the shyest character in the group?
- Who is the kindest friend in the picture?
- Who is the silliest one here?
- Who is the most patient character?
- Who is the most serious one here?
- Who is the meanest character?
- Who looks the saddest in this picture?
- Who is the most selfish character?
- Who is the most impatient one?
Exercise 6
Look at the pictures and answer the questions:
-Is the cat shy?
-Is the dog kind?
-Are the puppies sad?
-Is the big dog serious?
-Is the big dog mean?
-Is the cat silly?
-Is the big dog patient?
the dog > the cat the dog = big = the other dog
The dog is bigger than the cat. The dog is as big as the other dog.
Now, replace symbols with words and answer the questions.
- Is Piglet = brave = Roo?
- Is Tigger impatient > Gopher?
- Is Pooh = kind = Kanga?
- Is Owl serious > Christopher Robin?
- Is Gopher = mean = Rabbit?
- Is Piglet shy > Roo?
- Is Donkey serious > Owl?
- Is Kanga patient > Pooh?
- Is Roo = shy = Piglet?
- Is Rabbit = patient = Owl?
- Is Rabbit mean > Gopher?
- Is Owl = impatient = Tigger?
- Is Tigger = silly = Roo?
- Is Christopher Robin = shy = Piglet?
- Is Pooh kind > Rabbit?
- Is Gopher silly > Tigger?
- Is Piglet = brave = Roo?
- Is Roo brave > Piglet?
- Is Christopher Robin kind > the others?
- Is Donkey = serious = Rabbit?
Clip analysis
Connect the correct words to pictures.
moose, bee, she seems tired, goose
Exercise 7
Watch the video clip and fill in the gaps with the words in brackets. Use the comparative form.
(start watching at 1:58)
"If ever there's a tomorrow when we're not together, there's something you must remember."
"And what might that be, Christopher Robin?"
"You're ... (brave) than you believe, and ... (strong) than you seem, and ... (smart) than you think!"
"Oh, that's easy. We're … (brave) than a bee, and uh … (long) than a tree, and … (tall) than a goose... or ah, was that a moose?"
"No, silly old bear."
Answer the questions:
- Why does Christopher say that Winnie the Pooh is silly?
- Do you think that Christopher's advice is good?
- What does it mean to be smarter than we think?