Here you can find the list of adjectives that describe character and personality
Look at the following words which are used to describe a person’s character. Make two columns of positive and negative ones of them:
cock-sure honest aggressive two-faced sensitive
foolish stupid open trustworthy industrious
strong charming vigorous dull thoughtful
reliable boring helpful quick-tempered conceited
talkative nervous competitive careful considerate
petty kind polite bossy patient
strong-willed sensible responsible cold lively
candid mean selfish independent nasty
relaxed enthusiastic arrogant silly ruthless
fussy spiteful
Which words from the previous exercise make their opposites by adding a prefix?
Example: responsible – irresponsible
Which words from the previous exercise make their opposites by changing their suffixes?
Example: careful – careless
Join the words in the left column with their equivalents in the right one:
amusing cruel
foolish kind
considerate loving
thrifty vigorous
petty trustful
observant entertaining
carefree silly
gullible attentive
energetic light-hearted
brutal economical
affectionate shallow
Join the words in the 1st column with their opposites in the 2nd one:
narrow-minded
amusing
lazy
enthusiastic
generous
dull
trustworthy
sensible
nasty
tense
intelligent
|
mean
stupid
unreliable
pleasant
boring
industrious
bright
foolish
indifferent
broad-minded
relaxed
|
Spelling game
Characterize a person in one word. Try to complete the adjectives below. Each one has a dot for every missed letter.
- He’ll tell you directly that you’re getting old. c.n.id
- She has practically no secrets. o..n
- He always gets what he wants. s.r.n.-wi.led
- He hates to lose. c.mp…t..e
- She neither has deep knowledge nor is interested in anything serious. sh..l.w
- He is like a mule. o.s.in.t.
- He won’t let anything stand on his way. r..hl..s
- ‘I can do it without any effort’. b..stf.l
- She does what she is told. ob.d…t
- He likes to do exciting or dangerous things, and is not afraid of taking risks. ad..nt.r…s
- She is often anxious about her cat’s bad mood. f.s.y
- She never wastes money. ec.n…c.l
- ‘Have I been the best at my English exam?’ It was just luck. m.d..t
Write a description of a person using 5 words from A above. Here are examples:
- Mandy is a nice person to have around. She is charming, considerate and tolerant to people. She is lively and easy-going, that’s why we always get on very well with her.
- This night Mandy is having a party. I always go to her place with great pleasure. But this night her fianc? Roger is invited. Frankly speaking, I can’t stand him. He is so pompous and cock-sure. And it seems to me that he’s rude, selfish and stupid.
Describe your character in 3 adjectives.
Which of the following traits of character do you like in people? Place them in order:
modesty
frankness
honesty
tenderness
imagination
sensibility
|
generosity
obedience
tolerance
mercy
courage
|
patience
kindness
ambition
sensitivity
creativity
|
Which of the following traits of character do you dislike in people? Place them in order:
shyness
laziness
meanness
greediness
pomposity
|
arrogance
hypocrisy
aggressiveness
dishonesty
irresponsibility
|
pettiness
possessiveness
snobbishness
stubbornness
|
What traits of character are characteristic of these people:
- a teacher
- a doctor
- a nurse
- an actor
- a politician
- a successful businessman
- a mother
Discuss the following problems:
- What can you say about the national character
of the Russians
of the English
of the French
of the Germans
- Write down 3 main characteristics of a typical American.
- Describe a famous person. Let your friends guess who you are speaking about.
- Write a composition ‘An Ideal Wife’ or ‘An Ideal Husband’ (12 sentences).
- Write a composition ‘An Ideal Mother’ (12 sentences).
- Describe how your conception of an ideal mother coincides with your plans, concerning your career.
Reading Practice
D.H. Lawrence
Sons and Lovers
When she was twenty-three years old, she met, at a Christmas party, a young man from the Erewash Valley. Morel was then twenty-seven years old. He was well set-up, erect, and very smart. He had wavy black hair that shone again, and a vigorous black beard that had never been shaved. His cheeks were ruddy, and his red, moist mouth was noticeable because he laughed so often and so heartily. He had that rare thing, a rich, ringing laugh. Gertrude Coppard had watched him, fascinated. He was so full of color and animation, his voice ran so easily into comic grotesque, he was so ready and so pleasant with everybody. Her own father had a rich fund of humor, but it was satiric. This man’s was different: soft, non-intellectual, warm, a kind of gamboling.
She herself was opposite. She had a curious, receptive mind, which found much pleasure and amusement in leading folk on to talk. She loved ideas, and she was considered very intellectual. What she liked most of all was an argument on religion or philosophy or politics with some educated man. This she did not often enjoy. So she always had people tell her about themselves, finding her pleasure so.
In her person she was rather small and delicate, with large brow, and dropping brunches of brown silk curls. Her blue eyes were very straight, honest and searching. She had the beautiful hands of the Coppards. Her dress was always subdued. She wore dark blue silk, with a peculiar silver chain of silver scallops. This, and a heavy brooch of twisted gold, was her only ornament. She was still perfectly intact, deeply religious, and full of beautiful candor.
Vocabulary Practice
Ex. 1. Choose the right word from the list below and put it into the necessary form:
a) energetic, vigorous, racy, active, lively, animated, vigorously
1. He was an able and _____ politician. 2. When she spoke to close people her language was _____. 3. A meek-looking little fox-terrier sprang over to poodle and _____ attacked a collie. (Jerome K. Jerome) 4. He is almost 90, but is still rather _____. 5. She’d always been a bright and _____ child. 6. Your dog needs at least 20 minutes of _____ exercise every day. 7. She sits at her dressing table and _____ brushes her hair. (D.Lodge) 8. An _____ discussion ensued from his remark.
b) ruddy, pink, red, rubicund, to flush, high(ly), flushed, rosy
1. His face was _____ and blotchy, with a network of little purple veins on the cheeks. 2. Tom was hot and _____. 3. Jimmie Langton, a fact, bald-headed, _____ man of forty five, who looked like one of Ruben’s prosperous burghers, has a passion for the theater. (Maugham) 4. His tone was so contemptuous that she _____ with anger. 5. Now his chestnut hair was very grey and he wore it much shorter, his face had broadened and was a good deal lined; his skin no longer had the soft bloom of a peach and his color was _____. (Maugham). 6. The third was perhaps seventeen, tall -and fair-haired, with _____ and white cheeks just touched by the sun. (Galsworthy) 7. He was a stout, _____-faced man. 8. Her face was big and broad and _____ colored. 9. She found his face strictly British with _____ cheeks and freckles. 10. His face, not a particularly handsome one, was _____ and weather-beaten. 11. She looked healthy with those _____ cheeks of hers.
c. heartily, cordially, sincerely, warmly
1. He laughed and _____ embraced his brother. 2. _____ I’ll see you again. 3. Mary greeted them _____. 4. You are _____ invited to our wedding on May, 30. 5. He smiled stiffly in answer to Julia’s warm ready smile and she felt the palm of his hand wet with sweat when she _____ grasped it. (Maugham) 6. She sat at the desk and with her bold, slowing hand wrote: Yours _____ Julia Lambert. (Maugham)