DESCRIBING

PEOPLE’S APPEARANCE

1 HOW OLD IS HE / SHE?

 In his (late) teens, in his twenties, in his mid-20s, in his
early 40s, about 30.
 Quite young, middle-aged, quite old, elderly.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE HIS/HER GENERAL

2
BUILD?
 Short, shortish, (very, fairly) tall, tallish, (of) medium
height, average height, below average.
 Thin, slim, tough, (of) medium build, well-built (M), broad-
shouldered (M).
 (Rather) fat, plump, overweight.

3 TELL ME ABOUT HIS/HER HAIR.

Brown, light brown, dark brown, red, reddish, auburn, fair,
 blonde, grey, white, dyed, a brunette (F), a blonde (F), a
redhead (F), mousey, dark, black.
Long, short, shoulder-length, straight, wavy, curly, neat,

untidy.
In plaits, in a bun, in a pigtail, in a ponytail, with a parting,

with a fringe.
Brushed forward/back, bald (M), balding (M), receding (M),

spiky.

4 How would you describe his/her complexion?

 Pale, fair, dark, sunburned / (sun)tanned, oriental, brown,
olive-skinned, black.
 5And his/her eyes?
 Big brown eyes, small blue eyes.
 Eyes with long / thick eyelashes, with thin / bushy eyebrows.
 Cold, kind, friendly, bright.

6 Other distinguishing features?

Round, square, thin, long, oval, heart-shaped (F)
 FACE
high forehead.
 CHEEKS Plump, thin, high cheekbones.
 MOUTH Wide, small, thin lips, full lips.
 NOSE Straight, snub, pointed, long, turned-up, flat.
 CHIN Cleft, pointed, double.
With a beard, a moustache, with side-burns,
 MALE
unshaven, clean-shaven.
A scar, a mole, a beauty-spot (F), with freckles,
 GENERAL dimples, spots, glasses, (well) made-up (F),
smooth skin

ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

QUALITY + SIZE + SHAPE + COLOUR + NOUN

EYES
beautiful big round blue eyes
QUALITY + LENGTH + TEXTURE + COLOUR + STYLE + NOUN
HAIR
lovely short thick blonde wavy hair

EXTRA VOCABULARY – Adjectives for describing appearance:

http://www.espressoenglish.net/37-english-words-for-describing-a-
persons-appearance/

LISTENING TASK - Appearance:

http://www.elllo.org/english/Mixer076/T095-Appearance.htm