Describing a Person
BasicAppearance + personality + hobbies.
- Describe a person in three steps: appearance → personality → hobbies.
- is + adjective (is tall); has + noun (has long hair).
- Personality words: kind, funny, friendly, helpful, clever.
文體小知識：Look, personality, hobbies.
§Text Passage
1This is my grandmother, and she is the kindest person in my family. She is seventy years old, but she is still very healthy. She says growing old is not scary at all. She lives with us and takes care of us every day.
2She is short and a little fat, with white hair and a warm smile. My uncle is tall, but Grandma is short. She always wears a purple cardigan and comfortable shoes. When she laughs, her eyes shine like stars.
3Grandma is kind to everyone, and she never gets angry. She is also very funny, and her stories make us laugh. All our neighbours say she is friendly and helpful. She is hardworking too; she cleans the whole flat every week. She keeps our home tidy and cosy.
4Every morning, she does tai chi in the park with her friends. When I am sad, she always listens and cheers me up. She teaches me to stay young at heart. I want to be as kind as her when I grow up. She is my hero. I love her very much.
§Sentence-by-sentence translation Sentence-by-sentence translation
This is my grandmother, and she is the kindest person in my family.
這位是我奶奶，她是家裡最善良的人。
She is seventy years old, but she is still very healthy.
她七十歲，但是依然好健康。
She says growing old is not scary at all.
她說變老一點都不可怕。
She lives with us and takes care of us every day.
她同我們一起住，每天照顧我們。
She is short and a little fat, with white hair and a warm smile.
她長得矮矮的、有點胖，有一頭白髮同溫暖的笑容。
My uncle is tall, but Grandma is short.
我叔叔好高，但奶奶就好矮。
She always wears a purple cardigan and comfortable shoes.
她常常穿紫色冷衫同舒服的鞋。
When she laughs, her eyes shine like stars.
她笑起來，眼睛好像星星那麼閃。
Grandma is kind to everyone, and she never gets angry.
奶奶對人人都很好，從來不發脾氣。
She is also very funny, and her stories make us laugh.
她還好搞笑，她的故事常常逗笑我們。
All our neighbours say she is friendly and helpful.
所有鄰居都說她友善又樂於助人。
She is hardworking too; she cleans the whole flat every week.
她還好勤力，每個星期都會打掃整間屋。
She keeps our home tidy and cosy.
她令我們家又整齊又溫馨。
Every morning, she does tai chi in the park with her friends.
每日早上，她會和朋友在公園打太極。
When I am sad, she always listens and cheers me up.
我不開心的時候，她總會聽我說話、哄我開心。
She teaches me to stay young at heart.
她教我保持心境年輕。
I want to be as kind as her when I grow up.
我長大後也想像她一樣善良。
She is my hero.
她是我心目中的英雄。
I love her very much.
我好愛她。
1Summary 重點摘要
Appearance + personality + hobbies.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
High.
Low.
Not old.
Elderly.
Nice.
Humorous.
Diligent.
Kind to people.
3Step by step Steps
- LookUseful appearance words are tall, short, slim and hair descriptions such as long black hair and curly hair. Example: She is tall and slim. Note that hair descriptions can combine length, colour and style, as in long straight hair. Adjectives go after is, while feature nouns go after has. Choose two or three of the most striking features; there is no need to describe everything from head to toe.
- PersonalityCommon personality adjectives are kind, funny, friendly, hardworking and helpful. Example: He is kind and helpful. Personality adjectives go with the verb be. Join two of them with and. The verb be does not change with he or she, so the structure stays simple. Choose positive words when writing about friends or family; avoiding negative adjectives is part of good manners in person description.
- HobbyThe pattern for hobbies is likes plus the -ing form of the verb, as in She likes reading and He likes playing football. The verb after likes must take ing; never say likes read. With a third person singular subject, like takes s. You can add a time or a frequency after the phrase, as in She likes reading before bed. Love can replace like for a stronger feeling, as in He loves swimming in summer.
- StructureThe fixed structure for introducing a person is: begin with This is plus the name, then use He is or She is for appearance and personality, and finally He likes or She likes for the hobby. Example: This is my brother. He is tall. He likes cycling. The three patterns each have their own job, usually in the order of appearance, personality and then hobby. Keep he or she consistent with the person's gender throughout. With this frame, three or four sentences complete a person description.
- is or hasKeep the two verbs apart: is is followed by an adjective, as in She is tall, while has is followed by a feature noun, as in She has long black hair. Qualities like height and build take is, while visible objects like hair and glasses take has, as in He has glasses. Never say She has tall or She is long hair; the two patterns cannot swap. Decide by asking whether the next word is an adjective or a noun, and then choose is or has.
- Back personality with examplesEach personality adjective works best with a concrete example, which makes the person vivid. Example: She is kind — she takes care of us every day. The example uses the simple present to describe regular behaviour. One personality word plus one example is the safest pairing. Examples can come from daily observation, such as helping classmates with homework or looking after younger sisters and brothers. Adjectives without examples leave the writing empty, so this is the key skill of person description.
5Worked example Example
Question: How do we write a short paragraph introducing our best friend?
- Step 1: Open by naming the person, using My best friend is plus the name — My best friend is Jane.
- Step 2: Describe the appearance, with is plus adjectives and has plus feature nouns — She is tall and has long black hair.
- Step 3: Describe the personality and add an example to make the person vivid — She is funny and kind.
- Step 4: Write the hobby with likes plus the -ing form, and add what you do together — She likes reading. We always sit together.
- Step 5: End with a feeling that shows you treasure the friendship — I am happy to have a friend like her.
- Answer: Sample answer: My best friend is Jane. She is tall and has long black hair. She is funny and kind — she always makes me laugh. She likes reading, and we sit together every day. I am happy to have a friend like her.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1What to say?
Q2Appearance?
Q3Personality?
Q4Hobbies?
Q5Start?
Q6Good adjectives?
8Recap Recap
- Describe a person in three steps: appearance → personality → hobbies.
- is + adjective (is tall); has + noun (has long hair).
- Personality words: kind, funny, friendly, helpful, clever.
- One example makes each personality word convincing.
- Keep pronouns and verbs consistent: She likes...