DESCRIBING PEOPLE

The two most common verbs used when describing people are HAVE and BE. The choice depends on whether you are using a noun or an adjective. For example:

• She has brown hair.• She is brown-haired.

THE EYES

Another important characteristic when describing people is height. Remember both British and Americans use feet (ft) and inches (in) to describe height.

1 foot = 30,48 cm

1 inch = 2,54 cm

If my height in meters is 1,79m, dividing 179cm by 30,48cm we have 5,87ft.

.87ft = 26,52cm, dividing 26,52cm by 2,54cm (1 inch) we have 10,44 inches

so my height in feet and inches is 5ft10”.

The word inches is symbolized by inverted commas ( ” )

For a better idea about height measured in inches, check the height of some famous people in the next slide.

Although there may be innumerous terms used to describe the body’s physical appearance, by using six of the most

common among them you will be able to communicate a good enough description.

fat

One last attribute in describing people is skin colour. Though you may not agree with some definitions owing to the fact that they depend on point of view, comparison between people or even culture, the most common words used are FAIR, TANNED and DARK. The word BLACK is considered offensive by some but not by others so, to be on the safe side, people avoid using it.

I ’m a blue-eyed, fair-skinned blonde

girl.

I have blue eyes, fair skin and blond

hair.

I ’m a brown-eyed, tan-skinned

brunette.

I have brown eyes, tanned skin and brown hair.

I ’m a brown-eyed, curly-haired black

woman.

I have brown eyes, curly hair and dark

skin.