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General English · Speaking · A2

Describing people and personality

Describe someone's character with a simple supporting example.

Lesson 2 · About 18 minutes

Learn: your objectives

  • Use respectful personality descriptions.
  • Support an adjective with an example.

Warm-up

Think about these questions. Say a short answer aloud.

  • Who is easy to talk to?
  • What does a helpful person do?

Useful language

Character and evidence

She's quite …

Describe a quality without making it sound absolute.

She's quite patient with new students.

For example, she …

Show the behaviour behind your description.

For example, she explains things again when I need help.

He can be … sometimes.

Describe an occasional quality, not a permanent label.

He can be quiet sometimes, especially in a big group.

Notice: model speaking

Read aloud. Notice how the speakers use the phrases and respond to each other.

Ben: What's your new classmate like?

Lola: She's friendly and quite patient.

Ben: What makes you say that?

Lola: Yesterday I didn't understand a task. She explained it slowly and helped me try again.

Ben: She sounds helpful.

Lola: She is. She's a little quiet in large groups, though.

Speaking strategy

Use ‘adjective + example’. Describe what you have noticed rather than guessing someone's private thoughts.

Pronunciation & fluency focus

Stress the key quality and its example: ‘She's PATIENT. She explains things AGAIN.’ Leave a small pause between the two ideas.

Teaching guidance, not an analysis of your voice.

Use: controlled practice

Choose a useful response for each situation. Check when all questions are answered. These are phrase exercises, not a speaking assessment.

1. ‘What's your neighbour like?’ asks mainly about …
2. Which detail supports ‘He's reliable’?
3. Describe a friend who is quiet only in large groups.
4. Choose a respectful description of a new colleague.
5. Your friend says ‘My cousin is generous.’ Ask for an example.

Build your answer

Write a few keywords. Then look away and speak. Notes stay on this page only.

Speak: your challenge

Describe a person for 45 seconds. Give two qualities and support one with an example. You can invent a person instead of sharing private details.

Choose everyday qualities such as friendly, patient, reliable or quiet.

Speak aloud. This page does not record, listen to or assess your speech. There is no automatic speaking score.

Self-check

Open to everyone. Answers, notes and checklists are not saved to an account. These original lessons use level labels to organize learning; completion is not official CEFR certification or proof of a level.