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Lectura Unidad 6

This document provides information about describing physical traits and characteristics to identify people. It includes sections on giving physical descriptions using adjectives and questions, family vocabulary, possessive adjectives and nouns, and describing height, age, build, hair, skin, eyes and other features. Descriptions of specific family members are also included, as well as opinions on cosmetic surgery.

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Ana Samaniego
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
67 views16 pages

Lectura Unidad 6

This document provides information about describing physical traits and characteristics to identify people. It includes sections on giving physical descriptions using adjectives and questions, family vocabulary, possessive adjectives and nouns, and describing height, age, build, hair, skin, eyes and other features. Descriptions of specific family members are also included, as well as opinions on cosmetic surgery.

Uploaded by

Ana Samaniego
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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This unit will help you identify and describe people’s physical traits and

characteristics that make them different. You will be able to talk about the
uniqueness of your features and your family members’ features using adjectives
and possessive nouns.

Unit 6. About people 6.2. My family


6.1. Giving and asking important 6.2.1. Family vocabulary
information about people 6.2.2. Possessive adjectives
6.1.1. Physical descriptions: 6.2.3. Possessive nouns
Appearances
6.1.2. Questions to ask for
appearance
There are many people that choose to have cosmetic surgery to improve their
appearance. Many of them have good reasons for seeking this type of surgery.
Some others only want to look like someone else.

I’m 378
years old.
I’m very old.

I’m tall and


handsome.
I don't look
like the rest
of my
family.

I have long,
straight, black
and white hair.
I’m a
beautiful
child.

What is your opinion on this matter?


Do you think cosmetic surgery is a good thing?
Why do you think people have cosmetic surgery?
Are you happy with your physical appearance? Why? Why Not?
Would you ever consider cosmetic surgery? Why? Why Not?
Describing people is an essential part of learning English. Always be polite when
describing a person.
When we describe people we use some expressions with the verb be and others
with the verb have.

With the verb be


Examples:
Age: I am young.
Hair: My hair is medium length, straight and blonde.
Body build: She is thin.
Personality: You are nice.

With the verb have


Examples:
Hair: I have long, wavy and black hair.
Face: He has a mustache.

Who is in this picture?


Can you describe what this person looks like?
These words and phrases are used to describe physical appearance.

Height Tall Average/Medium height Short

I am short. My brother is tall.


Age Child Teenager Young Middle-aged Old

She is a teenager. She is middle-aged. They are old.


Build Thin Slim Average/Medium-built Well-built/muscular Plump Bonny Fat

She is thin. Carl is well-built. My sister is fat/overweight.


Hair Length: Long Short Medium length
Style: Curly wavy Straight
Color: Blonde/fair hair Brunette/brown hair Black hair Red hair
She has long, straight and blonde hair. She has medium length, curly and red
hair.
Her hair is long, straight and blonde. Her hair is medium length, curly and
red.

Skin White/light skin/fair skin/pale skin Tanned skin Black/dark


skin

She is white. She has very pale skin. She is black. He has dark skin.
Eyes Blues eyes Green eyes Brown eyes Dark eyes

I have blue eyes. I have brown eyes.


My eyes are blue. My eyes are brown.
Other Mustache Beard Wrinkle(s) Scar(s)
features

He has a mustache and a beard. I have wrinkles.

Here are some of the expressions used to ask and answer questions to describe
people.

Be + adjective
Form:
Subject + be + adjective (Word that describe features, example: tall,
muscular)

Examples:
My husband is bald.
He is very muscular.

“How + adjective” questions with be


Form:
How + adjective + be + subject?
Examples:
How tall is he?
Possible answer: He is average height.

Yes-No questions with have


Form:
Do / Does + subject + have + described feature (an important part or characteristic)?
Example:
Does she have curly hair?
Possible answer: No, she has straight hair.

“What + look like” is used to ask about someone’s physical appearance.


Form:
What + do / does + subject + look like?
Examples:
What does she look like?
Possible answer: She’s tall and thin.

“Look alike” is also used to ask if two people are similar in appearance.
Form:
Do + subject #1 + and + subject #2 + look alike?
Examples:
Do Anna and Rita look alike?
Possible answer: Yes. They’re identical twins.

Note:
People often confuse these two questions:
What is your brother like? = What kind of person is he? Personality
Possible answer: He is nice/smart/serious/friendly/confident/shy...
What does he look like? = Can you describe his physical appearance?
Possible answer: He is tall and slim.

This is my family
Bother

Mother Father

Sister

Me

This is my family
You will find this family vocabulary useful when talking about your family
members.

Twins Parents and Grandfather and


baby/daughter gandson

Grandmother and Son and father Mother and daughter


granddaughter

Sister and nice Nephews and brother Aunt(s), uncle and


cousin(s)
Possessive adjectives are words used to indicate who or what owns something.
Therefore, they are used to show possession or ownership of something. They
indicate who or what owns the noun.
Adjectives are not plural in English, so possessive adjectives have only one form.
Never pluralize them and never use them alone. They require a noun.

Those are my / your / his / her / our / their keys.

Look at the following sentences with possessive adjectives.


Notes:
Do not include an “s” to the adjective when the noun is plural.
Example:

 Our aunts are pretty. (Correct)


 Ours aunts are pretty. (Incorrect)

Nonetheless, the verb that is used after the noun needs to be in agreement with the
noun. This means that, if the noun is singular then the verb should be used in its
singular form.
Examples:

 My uncle is short. (Singular)


My uncles are short. (Plural)
 Our child is not smart. (Singular)
Our children are not smart. (Plural)

Note:
Its (NO apostrophe) = possessive adjective

It’s (WITH apostrophe) = it (subject pronoun) + is (verb Be)

Examples:

 It’s a cute dog. Correct


 Its name is Oddy. Correct

 It’s name is Oddy. Incorrect

Possessive nouns are used to show ownership. By adding an apostrophe (') or ('s)
to the end of a noun we can indicate relation of ownership or associations. A
possessive noun is a noun that shows who or what has something.

Examples:

Jenifer owns a necklace.

This is Jenifer’s necklace. = This is the necklace of Jenifer.

Diana has blue eyes.


Diana’s eyes are blue. = The eyes of Diana are blue.
Possessive forms
Possessive fwith singular nouns
Add an apostrophe + s to most singular nouns and to plural nouns that do not end
in s. (´s)
Examples:
Singular nouns: My mother’s advice is priceless. My father’s
father is my grandfather.
Irregular plurals - not ending in s: women’s dresses, sheep’s
meadow, children’s toys
Possessive with plural nouns
Add only an apostrophe to plural nouns that already end in s. (´)
There is no need to add an extra “s” to plural nouns that already end with the letter
“s”. Just place the apostrophe at the end.
Examples:
My sisters’ husbands are handsome.
The citizens’ rights are inseparable from citizens’ obligations.
Possession when two nouns are joined together
When two nouns share ownership, indicate possession only once. Add the
apostrophe + s to the second noun only.
Example:
Ron and Rose’s house is huge. (There is only one house)
Possession when two nouns are joined, and ownership is separate
When two nouns indicate ownership, but the ownership is separate, each noun gets
the apostrophe + s. The example below may help you understand this tricky rule.
Example:
Manuel’s and Vicky´s rooms were painted yellow and blue.
(Each owns his or her own room. They are different rooms).

Note:
For people's names that end in "s" you can write (') at the end, or add ('s).
For example:
Carlos' job is in marketing.
Or
Carlos's job is in marketing.
Basic

 Barrett, G. (2016). Perfect English grammar: the indispensable guide to


excellent writing and speaking. Berkeley, CA: Zephyros Press.

 Altenberg, E. and Vago, R. (2010). English grammar. Understanding the


basics. Cambridge University. Press.

 Kirn, E. and Jack, D. (2008). Interactions 1. A Communicative Grammar.


4th Edition. Maidenhead, England, U.K.: McGraw-Hill.

 Fuchs, M., Bonner, M. & Westheimer, M. (2012) Focus on Grammar. 4th


Edition.Pearson Education ELT.

 Scrivener, J. (2010). Teaching English Grammar: What to Teach and how to


Teach it. Oxford: Macmillan Education.
 McCarthy, M. &McCarten, J. (2014). Touchstone 1. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

Complementary

 Richards, J & Hull, J. (2012). Interchange 1. Cambridge: Cambridge


University Press.

 Learn English | British Council. (2017). English Grammar. [online] Available


at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar [Accessed 24
May 2017].

 Linguapress.com. (2017). English Grammar. [online] Available at:


http://linguapress.com/grammar/index.htm [Accessed 24 May 2017].

 Images source: https://pixabay.com/ CC Public Domain.

 Videos source: https://videos.pexels.com/. CC Public Domain.

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