Joy English · Level A2 · Descriptionsjoy-english.com
Describing a person
Name:Date:
Describe someone you know: what they look like, what they are like and why they are important to you.
My neighbour, Mrs Okafor
Mrs Okafor is my neighbour and I've known her since I was a child. She is about seventy, quite short and slim, with short grey hair and bright brown eyes. She usually wears colourful dresses and big round glasses.
She is very kind and patient, and she has a great sense of humour. She is also very hard-working: she gets up early every day to look after her garden. When I was younger, she taught me how to grow tomatoes.
I really like her because she always has time to talk.
Appearance or personality?
Choose the best answer.
- A: What is your sister like? B: ___
- A: What does Ravi look like? B: ___
- She has ___ hair.
- My uncle always gives presents to everyone. He's very ___.
- Aiko doesn't talk much when she meets new people. She's a bit ___.
- He usually ___ glasses and a blue jacket.
- My grandmother is ___ her eighties.
Complete the description
Type the missing word. Use the word in brackets when there is one.
- My best friend Tomás is tall and slim, ___ short dark hair.
- He ___ a small beard and brown eyes.
- He is very funny. ___ example, he can tell a joke about anything.
- A: What ___ he like? B: He's kind and patient.
- A: What does she look ___? B: She's quite short, with red hair.
- I like him ___ he always listens to me.
- She usually ___ (wear) jeans and trainers.
Writing task
Write a description of a person you know well, for example a friend, a teacher or a family member. Say who the person is and how you know them. Describe their appearance and their personality, give an example, and say why they are important to you.
80–120 words
Check your writing
- I said who the person is and how I know them.
- I described their appearance (height, hair, eyes or clothes).
- I described their personality with at least two adjectives.
- I gave an example with For example ...
- I said why I like them, using because.
- I used separate paragraphs for appearance and personality.
Answer key
Appearance or personality?
- a) She's very friendly and funny.What is she like? asks about personality, so the answer uses words like friendly and funny.
- b) He's tall and slim, with a beard.What does he look like? asks about appearance: height, body, hair and face.
- c) long straight blackThe usual order is length, then style, then colour: long straight black hair.
- b) generousA generous person likes giving things to other people.
- a) shyA shy person feels nervous with people they don't know.
- b) wearsWe wear clothes and glasses: he wears glasses.
- c) inWe say in her eighties, which means between 80 and 89 years old.
Complete the description
- withWe use with to add details about appearance: tall, with short hair.
- has / has got / 's gotUse has (or has got) for hair, eyes and beards: he has a beard.
- forFor example introduces an example that shows the person's personality.
- is / 'sWhat is he like? asks about personality.
- likeWhat does she look like? asks about appearance.
- because / asBecause gives the reason why you like him. As is also possible here.
- wearsWith she, add -s to the verb in the present simple: she wears.
Model answer
My cousin Ines is one of my best friends. She is twenty-two and she lives in the same town as me, so we see each other almost every weekend.
Ines is quite tall, with long curly brown hair and dark eyes. She usually wears jeans and a big yellow jumper.
She is very clever and organised, and she is also really generous. For example, last year she lent me her laptop for a whole month when mine broke.
I love spending time with her because she always makes me laugh.