Simplified Communication Handout 2

The Higher Professional Institute for Languages, Translation, and Interpretation (ISPLT).
2022/23
Simplified Communication S2
Dr. Mariem Khouah
Simplified Communication Handout 2

Using Adjectives in Description
What are adjectives?

Adjectives are words that describe or modify a person/thing/place/concept (i.e. a noun or a
noun phrase) in a sentence. Adjectives are placed before the noun or noun phrase that they
modify. If two adjectives describe a noun, use and to link the adjectives. If there are more than
two adjectives, use commas at first, then use and before the last adjective (it is rare to have
more than three adjectives in a row):
Examples:
He owns a yellow car.
Black and white televisions are very rare.
The company seeks intelligent, motivated, and energetic people.
Adjectives are also used on their own, or with fixed expressions such as how _______ or
it/this/that is ________:
Examples: Excellent! This is great!
You work in advertising? How interesting!
When indefinite pronouns (i.e. something, someone, anybody) are modified by an adjective,
the adjective comes after the pronoun:
Examples: We watched something fascinating on the news tonight. In Washington DC you
always see something new.
When an adjective owes its origins to a proper noun, it is capitalized:

Examples: French fries, the English Parliament, a Victorian house, etc.
The Higher Professional Institute for Languages, Translation, and Interpretation (ISPLT). 2022/23
Dr. Mariem Khouah
Adjective Order
When using a number of adjectives to describe a noun or pronoun, you should put them in
order. For example:
a handsome young man

a big black car
that horrible big dog
This is the order that you should follow for adjectives:
1. Opinion: Ugly, beautiful, quiet, right, delicious, wonderful, terrible

2. Size: Short, big, small, huge, tiny, miniscule, large
3. Shape: Round, square, triangular, circular, octagonal
4. Condition or state: Wet, rich, intelligent, surprised, hungry, empty
5. Age: Old, young, ancient, antique, teenage
6. Color: Yellow, reddish, mauve, beige, blue-green, off-white
7. Pattern: Striped, polka dotted, checked, plaid
8. Origin/Nationality: Southern, French, Korean, Saudi, African, Asian
9. Material: Cloth, metal, paper, aluminum
10. Purpose: Shopping, drinking, dining
Comparative Adjectives
Comparative adjectives compare two nouns.

Examples:
Bill is taller than Joe.
Her family is richer than him.
Dr. Mariem Khouah
Superlative Adjectives
Superlative adjectives are used when comparing three or more nouns.

Examples:
Between all of my classes, 5th period is the loudest.
These shoes are the most comfortable.
Dr. Mariem Khouah
Some adjectives, expressions, and idioms for describing people

Appearance
be the spitting image of someone / be the spit = be identical to someone
“You’re the spitting image of your mother!”
“He’s the spit of his father!”
like peas in a pod = be very similar

“The two sisters are like peas in a pod.”
like chalk and cheese / bear no resemblance to = not be similar at all

“The twins are like chalk and cheese!”
“He bears no resemblance to his father at all.”
Age
getting on a bit / knocking on a bit = getting old
“My parents are knocking on a bit now, but they’re still healthy and active.”
on the wrong side of … = be older than (a certain age).

“He’s on the wrong side of 40.”
(You can also be on the right side of a certain age, which means you’re younger than that
age.)
Dr. Mariem Khouah
be pushing … = be almost (a certain age)

“I know she looks like a teenager, but she’s pushing 30 you know!”
not look your age = appear younger than you are

“She really doesn’t look her age.”
(We also say “act your age” to mean that you behave in a way that is not right for your age:
“Act your age! You’re at secondary school now – not at infants’ school.”
not look a day over … = look young for your age

“She looks so good for her age. She doesn’t look a day over 60!”
Beauty
a head-turner = so beautiful / handsome that people turn their heads to look at you
“Both their daughters are head-turners.”
eye-catching = so beautiful / handsome that people notice you immediately

“The woman who works in the shop is so eye-catching.”
easy on the eye = nice to look at (this is a little old-fashioned)

“He’s very easy on the eye, isn’t he.”
drop-dead gorgeous = very beautiful / handsome

“Her new boyfriend is drop-dead gorgeous.”
tall, dark and handsome = a stereotypical description of a handsome man

“So the fortune-teller told me I’d meet a tall, dark and handsome stranger.”
the picture of … (health / loveliness) = look exactly like someone who is healthy / lovely,
etc “You’re the picture of loveliness this morning!”
not much to look at = not very attractive

“Her new boyfriend isn’t much to look at, but he’s a seriously nice guy.”
not a pretty sight = unattractive

“I’m not a pretty sight in the morning.”
look like the back end of a bus = very ugly

“Frankly, I look like the back end of a bus before I put my makeup on!”
Body size
a beanpole = very thin (bean poles are poles put in the ground for beans to grow up)
“He was like a beanpole all the way through school.”
as thin as a rake = be very thin

“She’s lost a lot of weight and now she’s as thin as a rake.”
to balloon = become fat quickly

Dr. Mariem Khouah
“Since she moved to the city, she’s ballooned in weight. She says it’s because she always
takes public transport and never walks anywhere.”
a bit on the large side = be a bit overweight

“He’s been a bit on the large side ever since he stopped smoking.”
Clothes And Style

have good dress sense / have a sense of style = to know what clothes to wear
“His wife has very good dress sense. She always looks great.”
be a slave to fashion = follow fashion and buy a lot of clothes

“My children have become slaves to fashion since they started secondary school.”
be dressed to kill = wear clothes to impress people

“You’re dressed to kill today. Have you got an important meeting?”
A Descriptive Text
My grandmother is the eldest member of my family and takes care of my entire family. She is
one of the reasons behind all the success I have achieved in my life. I have learnt how to pay
respect to my elders and do great in my life from her. She is the prettiest lady who takes care
of the entire family selflessly. I feel I am the luckiest person to have my grandmother with me.
I have seen her since my childhood, and she carries the same smile on her face. She is a tall,
slender woman with long, curly, white hair. Her hands and face are full of wrinkles.
Her eyebrows are slightly raised, and her face is deeply lined down her cheeks and
around hermouth. She wears a heart-shaped brooch with a red stone. She is 70 years old now,
but she takes the burden of the whole family and still remembers all the stories which she had
learnt in her childhood. She narrates the same stories to me every night, which have happy
endings with strong morals. Because of her, I have understood the reality of life, and now I
Dr. Mariem Khouah
know how to lead a successful life ahead and overcome all the hurdles.
Activity: Write a description of a friend or a family member.

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The Higher Professional Institute for Languages, Translation, and Interpretation (ISPLT).

Simplified Communication Handout 2

What are adjectives?

When an adjective owes its origins to a proper noun, it is capitalized:

a handsome young man

This is the order that you should follow for adjectives:

1. Opinion: Ugly, beautiful, quiet, right, delicious, wonderful, terrible

Comparative adjectives compare two nouns.

Superlative adjectives are used when comparing three or more nouns.

Some adjectives, expressions, and idioms for describing people

like peas in a pod = be very similar

like chalk and cheese / bear no resemblance to = not be similar at all

on the wrong side of … = be older than (a certain age).

be pushing … = be almost (a certain age)

not look your age = appear younger than you are

not look a day over … = look young for your age

eye-catching = so beautiful / handsome that people notice you immediately

easy on the eye = nice to look at (this is a little old-fashioned)

drop-dead gorgeous = very beautiful / handsome

tall, dark and handsome = a stereotypical description of a handsome man

not much to look at = not very attractive

not a pretty sight = unattractive

look like the back end of a bus = very ugly

as thin as a rake = be very thin

to balloon = become fat quickly

a bit on the large side = be a bit overweight

Clothes And Style

be a slave to fashion = follow fashion and buy a lot of clothes

be dressed to kill = wear clothes to impress people

Activity: Write a description of a friend or a family member.

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