【Level 4】【Note】Unit 2

Unit 2 Describing people

Unit overview

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Describing someone you know

【Vocabulary】Physical descriptions of people

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good-looking
a nice smile
blue eyes
long and dirty
successful
handsome

When we describe a person's body, we usually talk about height and weight. Note that it is generally considered rude to call someone fat or overweight. However, overweight is less offensive when describing someone.
e.g.
tall
medium height
short
overweight
fat
thin
When describing height and weight, use the verb be.
e.g.
She is tall and thin.
When we describe a person's face, we usually talk about eye color and any other notable features. For facial descriptions, we usually use the verb have.
e.g.
She has blue eyes.
He has big ears.
He has a nice smile.
When we describe a person's hair, we usually talk about length, type and color. A person with no hair is bald. Here are some useful adjectives:
e.g.
long
medium long
short
curly
straight
blond
bald
We usually use the verb have to describe a person's hair. If a person is bald, however, we use the verb be.
e.g.
She has long, straight, brown hair.
My father is bald.
Another way to describe someone is to talk about age.
e.g.
old
middle-aged
young

Culture note: For some people, the topic of age is very sensitive. Avoid talking to people about their ages until you know them quite well.

【Grammar】Adjective order

When you use more than one adjective in a description, a general rule is to put them in order by size, then age, then color.
e.g.
That is a fat, old, black dog.
Notice the size-age-color order in these examples:
e.g.
He has big, brown eyes.
Her hair is shorter and grayer than before.
He's a thin, middle-aged man.
That tall, young, blond man drives a truck.

【Expressions】Talking about people

Say What does (person) look like? to ask about a person's size, shape, age or overall appearance. Use the verb be to describe overall appearance.
e.g.
A: What does he look like? What does he look like?
B: He is tall and middle-aged. He's very good-looking.
Use questions like What color are his eyes? and How tall is she? to ask for a description of specific parts of a person's body. Use the verb have to refer to body parts.
e.g.
A: What color are his eyes?
B: They're brown.
A: How tall is she?
B: She's very tall.
A: What do the children look like?
B: They have curly, red hair. Jasmine has big, brown eyes, and Jason has blue eyes.
There are many adjectives to give your opinion about someone's appearance. Notice that the verb be is used with these.
e.g.
He's not very good-looking.
She's beautiful!
He's very attractive.
He's handsome.

Language note: Good-looking has the same meaning as attractive. Good-looking and attractive can be used for both men and women. Beautiful is generally used for women, and handsome is generally used for men.

Group the description words according to whether they are used with be or have. Move the text to the correct categories.

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Describing relationships

【Vocabulary】Relationships

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cousin
family and friends
wife
boss
husband
mom
girlfriend

You should already know the basic words for family members. Here are a few more that you will need:
e.g.
wife
husband
granddaughter
grandson
aunt
uncle
niece
nephew
cousin
Use friend to identify someone who you know well and like. Use girlfriend to identify a romantic relationship with a female, and use boyfriend to identify a romantic relationship with a male.
e.g.
Is he your friend?
I'm meeting my girlfriend tonight.
He's my boyfriend.
The word partner can refer to a variety of relationships. You can use it to identify a person you are in a committed relationship with. It can also refer to business partners or other professional relationships.
e.g.
This is my partner, Paul.
James and I are business partners.
You can also use these words to identify job relationships:
e.g.
boss
colleague
Group the words according to their gender. Move the text to the correct categories.
e.g.

【Grammar】Describing relationships

Use expressions like the following to describe what's happening in a relationship. Notice that each expression is followed by a gerund (verb + -ing).

The expression can be positive:
e.g.
We spend time watching movies.
I always have fun talking with him.
The expression can be negative:
e.g.
We have a hard time getting together.
She has trouble making money.
They often waste time fighting.

【Expressions】Talking about a relationship

Use questions like the following to ask people about a relationship. Notice the expression + gerund structures in the replies.
e.g.
A: How are you and your brother doing?
B: We're doing well, thanks. We spend time talking on the phone.
A: What do you and Sylvia do for fun?
B: Let's see … We have a lot of fun playing tennis together.
You can use you two to refer to a close relationship – for example, between a husband and wife or mother and child.
e.g.
A: Are you two having trouble?
B: Yeah, we are. I am having trouble understanding her problems.
A: I'm sorry to hear that.

【Final Task】Describing relationships

You see a colleague talking on his cellphone outside the office. He ends the call, and you begin talking with him. Listen and record the correct response. When you see a blank, give true information about yourself.

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Evaluating employees

【Vocabulary】Describing employees

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performance appraisals
hardworking
does a really good job
worked really well with the team
team player
not efficient enough
organized
lazy
good in meetings
helpful

Use these adjectives and phrases to describe an employee's positive work qualities.
e.g.
hardworking
efficient
creative
helpful
positive
does a good job
works well with the team / team player
getting better
good in meetings
Use these adjectives and phrases to describe an employee's negative work qualities.
e.g.
could do better
late
negative
disorganized
lazy
A more positive way to deal with an employee's weak points is to give constructive criticism, rather than simply make a negative remark.
e.g.
She's so disorganized. > She needs to be more organized.
He's too negative. > He should be more positive.
Group the adjectives according to whether they are positive or negative. Move the text to the correct categories.
e.g.

【Grammar】'Too' and 'enough'

Use too + adjective to say when something is more than necessary, or more than desired.
e.g.
Her project is late because she's too disorganized.
She's too negative. She thinks too much about problems.
Use an adjective + enough to say when something is sufficient or satisfactory.
e.g.
Carson is hardworking and efficient enough to be the new manager.
Use not + adjective + enough to say when something is deficient or unsatisfactory.
e.g.
Sally's not efficient enough.
He's not creative enough to work in marketing.

【Expressions】Opinions with 'I think that'

Say I think that to indicate you are expressing an opinion. Use so do I to agree with an opinion expressed by phrases such as I think that and I like.
e.g.
A: I think that he does a really good job.
B: So do I.
A: I like them both.
B: So do I.
Use neither do I to agree with an opinion expressed by I don't think that, or any other opinion expressed in the negative.
e.g.
A: I don't think she's lazy.
B: Neither do I.

Notice that can be dropped without the meaning of the sentence being affected.

To ask for someone's opinion, you can use what do you think about and do you think.
e.g.
A: What do you think about Denise?
B: She's very efficient.
A: Do you think Paul is too disorganized?
B: No, not really.
Language note: There are two ways to pronounce neither. In the following examples, the first is more common in the US; the second, more common in the UK. But they can be used interchangeably.
e.g.
A: I don't think he's disorganized.
B: Neither do I.
A: I don't think she's very efficient.
B: Neither do I.

Giving a recommendation

【Vocabulary】Adverbs at work

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letter of recommendation.
That soon. I'm going to miss her.
a new company brochure.
Martina works quickly and efficiently.
work well with a team.
She always wrote our marketing copy(营销文案).
learn it pretty quickly.
I had the pleasure to work with Martina for three years, and I highly recommend her.

Adverbs explain how, when or where. They can describe a verb, an adjective or another adverb. Many adverbs end in -ly and are easiest to recognize and form. But many adverbs don't end in -ly, and the best way to identify them is to connect them to the verb, adjective or adverb that they modify.

Use adverbs of manner with a verb to indicate the way something is done.
e.g.
Martina works quickly.
She works well with the team.
I highly recommend Martina.
I'm going to miss her terribly.
Use adverbs of time with a verb to indicate time.
e.g.
Her husband is already in New York.
She's leaving that soon?
Use adverbs of frequency with a verb to indicate the frequency of an action.
e.g.
She was always organized.
Use adverbs of probability with a verb to indicate the likelihood of an action.
e.g.
She can probably learn that in one or two days.
You can use only with a verb to draw attention to information.
e.g.
The project only took her one day.
You can use adverbs to modify adjectives.
e.g.
The brochure was really beautiful.
She's so creative.
Some adverbs modify other adverbs. Notice how pretty and so add extra detail to these sentences.
e.g.
She can learn that pretty quickly.
He writes so well.
You can use the adverb honestly at the front of a sentence to emphasize a point.
e.g.
Honestly, what are we going to do?
Connect the matching texts.

【Grammar】'So' and 'such'

Use so + adjective or so + adverb to emphasize a personal quality.
e.g.
Kyle is so disorganized.
She works so quickly.
Use such + noun to emphasize a personal quality.
e.g.
Debra is such a team player.
She shows such creativity.
Oscar is such a hard worker.
Move the text to the correct gaps.
e.g.

FRED: You're already done with the Franco project?
LOUISE: Fantastic, right? It only took us two weeks.
FRED: You finished that soon ? Wow. You work so well with your team.
LOUISE: Thanks! It's such a hardworking team.
FRED: Yeah. Liza's great. She's such a creative designer.
LOUISE: Yes, and Tom's so efficient . Honestly, Jayden's really helpful, too.

【Expressions】Recommending colleagues

As part of the job interview process, companies may call references and ask for a recommendation.
e.g.
We're interviewing Joe Wilson for a job at our company.
Joe gave us your name as a reference.
In these examples, notice that the questions are answered with specific details.
e.g.
A. Did you work together?
B. Yes. We worked together for two years at Sunset Computers.
A. Do you recommend him?
B. Yes. I highly recommend him. He's very intelligent.
A. What else can you tell me about him?
B. Well, he was very organized. He worked well on a team.