First Impressions (B2)

Describing people and expressing your opinion diplomatically

21 March 2022

EXERCISE 1: How would you describe the men in the pictures? What is your
first impression of them?

When we describe people, we can use adjectives to describe them, or nouns to characterise
them.

For example:

He’s cowardly vs he’s a coward.

Note that we can add certain suffixes onto nouns to make their adjective form, for
example:

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- ish -al -ed -ing -ent -ity -ful

EXERCISE 2: What is your impression of each of the following people? How can
you be diplomatic about someone you don’t like or disagree with?

1. Oprah Winfrey
2. Bill Gates
3. Elon Musk
4. Donald Trump

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5. Michelle Obama

Here are some adjectives that describe people in a positive way:

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Can you spot any suffixes we add to nouns to make adjectives that weren’t mentioned in
exercise 1? What about converting verbs to adjectives? Are there any verb suffixes that
make adjectives in the two pictures above?

What are the best qualities in:

a.) a boss
b.) a customer
c.) a colleague
d.) a subordinate

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