9A Behaviour

A Complete the sentences with the words in the box. In pairs, think of some other examples of behaviour which could be
described with these adjectives.

clumsy courageous disloyal foolish hospitable over-sensitive pushy romantic

1 Dan made his girlfriend a heart-shaped cake for Valentine’s Day. He was  .
2 Sonya and Ethan put me up in their home for a week and made me dinner every evening.
They were  .
3 Tom paid £2,000 for a second-hand car, but it’s only worth £1,000. He was  .
4 Kylie promised not to tell anyone my secret, but she told everyone. She was  .
5 Jake went back into the burning building to rescue his dog. He was  .
6 Anya’s parents insisted that she apply to university, even though she didn’t want to. They were  .
7 I made a joke about Harry’s hair and he started to cry. He was  .
8 Susie tripped over the dog and dropped all the plates on the floor. She was  .

B Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first.
1 They forgot their mum’s birthday. They were thoughtless.
It their mum’s birthday.
2 He took his grandmother some flowers. That was considerate.
That his grandmother some flowers.
3 She didn’t confess to her mistake. She was cowardly.
It to her mistake.
4 We might drop out of university. That would be short-sighted.
It out of university.
5 You didn’t believe that the politician was being sincere. You were cynical.
It that the politician was being sincere.
6 I scratched my brother’s car on purpose. That was spiteful.
That my brother’s car on purpose.

C Complete the questions with the adverb of the adjective in brackets. Ask and answer the questions in pairs.
1 When was the last time you laughed  ? (hysterical)
2 Do you tend to turn up or if you’ve arranged to meet a friend? (early/late)
3 Do you normally eat breakfast  ? (leisurely)
4 Do you usually answer questions in class? (eager)
5 Have you ever accused someone of doing something? (wrong)
6 What good TV programmes have you watched  ? (late)
7 Can you name a protagonist in a film who acts  ? (heroic)
8 When was the last time someone spoke to you  ? (angry)
9 Do you know anyone who drives  ? (reckless)
10 Which of your friends can text very  ? (fast)

Solutions 2nd edition  Upper-Intermediate © Oxford University Press • Photocopiable

 9A Behaviour

Aims  To review and practise adjectives and adverbs to

describe behaviour
Time  10 minutes
Materials  1 handout for each student
• Give each student a handout and tell them to complete the
gap-fill in task A. Check answers as a class.
Answer Key
1 romantic 4 disloyal 7 over-sensitive
2 hospitable 5 courageous 8 clumsy
3 foolish 6 pushy
• Divide the class into pairs and tell them to come up with some
additional examples of behaviour which these adjectives could
describe, e.g. romantic: taking someone for a candle-lit dinner,
giving someone red roses, writing someone a poem. Get feedback
on students’ ideas.
• Tell students to complete task B. Check answers as a class,
ensuring that students understand all of the vocabulary.
Answer Key
1 was thoughtless of them to forget
2 was considerate of him to take
3 was cowardly of her not to confess
4 would be short-sighted of us to drop
5 was cynical of you not to believe
6 was spiteful of me to scratch
• Tell students to complete task C. Check answers as a class,
reviewing the rules about forming adverbs from adjectives.
Answer Key
1 hysterically 6 lately
2 early / late 7 heroically
3 in a leisurely way 8 angrily
4 eagerly 9 recklessly
5 wrongly 10 fast
• In pairs, students ask and answer the questions in C. Encourage
them to provide their partner with extra details in each case.
Get some feedback on anything interesting or surprising that
students found out from their partner.

Solutions 2nd edition  Upper-Intermediate © Oxford University Press