English Learning for Beginners: Describing People

Dialogue

Current Situation

Describing people is a fundamental skill in English, helping you talk about friends, family, or even strangers you see every day. For beginners, focusing on basic physical characteristics like height and hair color is a great start. In everyday conversations, we often use simple adjectives to paint a quick picture for others, as Alice and Bob do in their chat. It’s common to use expressions like “He is tall” or “She has red hair” to give a general idea of someone’s appearance.

Key Phrases

• tall: describes someone with a greater than average height. Example: My brother is very tall.
• short: describes someone with a smaller than average height. Example: The little girl is short.
• red hair: hair color, often bright or reddish-orange. Example: He has bright red hair.
• blonde hair: light yellow or golden-colored hair. Example: She has beautiful blonde hair.
• brown hair: hair color, ranging from light to dark brown. Example: My friend has brown hair and green eyes.
• dark hair: hair that is black or dark brown. Example: The woman has dark hair.
• long hair: hair that extends far down (e.g., past shoulders). Example: My sister has very long hair.
• short hair: hair that does not extend far down (e.g., above ears). Example: He decided to get short hair for summer.
• messy hair: hair that is untidy or not neatly styled. Example: Mark often has messy hair in the morning.
• What does X look like?: A question to ask for someone’s physical description. Example: What does your brother look like?

Grammar Points

• Verb “to be” (is/are) for height and general description: We use “is” or “are” when talking about someone’s height or overall appearance.
  Examples:
  • He is tall.
  • She is short.
  • They are a fun pair.
• Verb “to have” (has/have) for hair and other features: We use “has” (for he/she/it) or “have” (for I/you/we/they) when talking about someone’s hair color, length, or other features like eyes, glasses, or a mustache.
  Examples:
  • He has red hair.
  • She has long, dark brown hair.
  • I have brown hair.
• Adjectives before nouns: In English, descriptive words (adjectives) usually come before the noun they describe.
  Examples:
  • a tall man (not “a man tall”)
  • red hair (not “hair red”)
  • a funny little mustache
• Basic question word “What”: We use “What” to ask for information, like a description.
  Example: What does he look like? (Asking for a description of his appearance)

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Fill in the blanks with “is” or “has”.

1. He _____ tall.
2. She _____ long hair.
3. My friend _____ short and _____ blonde hair.
4. The man _____ dark hair.
5. What _____ your sister look like? (Hint: this one is special!)

Exercise 2: Describe the person based on the text.

1. Imagine a woman. She is not tall, she has long, black hair.
2. Imagine a man. He is very tall, and he has short, brown hair.

Answers