Five Top Tips For Describing Nouns.
When we are learning a language, we learn about nouns and adjectives before anything else. Usually, we learn to name and describe ourselves, our family and pets because we are very familiar with these things.
In this blog, we are going to share some tips for using the right adjectives, so that you have more to say the next time you speak in English. Adjectives are great for giving extra information about people, animals and things!
1. Size and Colour
Pets are great for practising your English because most people have a pet or had one in the past. Let’s describe this dog. You can say ‘I have a dog’ but isn't it more interesting to add some adjectives? This is how -
I have a big dog, his name is Bernard and he is black, white and brown.
We now know three things about this pet, which is much better than only knowing it's a dog!
What else could you add to give more information about this dog? You could describe the colour of his eyes or the size of his ears.
2. Age
Next, you could say something about Bernard’s age. Is he young or old? How old is he? If Bernard is very young, then he is a puppy (a baby dog). But if he is more than one year old, he is an adult dog. So, you could use the adjectives young or old and also give some information about his age.
“My dog is young, he’s just two years old.”
3. Character
Firstly, let’s think of some adjectives to describe character. Happy, funny, clever are words we can use to describe people or pets.
If you look at the picture of Bernard, what adjectives describe him? Maybe you can say "He’s a happy dog, and clever too."
4. Abilities
What are abilities? These are things we can do. For example, a rabbit can jump and a horse can run. A good idea for describing people, pets or other animals is to use adjectives of ability.
We can do this in two ways. Firstly, by using the word ‘can’ as we have already. What do you think Bernard can do? He is a young dog, so he can run fast. Which word is an adjective, run or fast? That’s right, to run is a verb and fast is an adjective.
When you use a verb and adjective together, it makes the sentence more interesting. Can a rabbit jump high? Yes, it can (sometimes). Can a horse run fast? Yes, it can!
The second way you can use adjectives of ability is shorter – “Bernard is fast.” This means he is a fast dog. What is the opposite? “Bernard is slow”. Why? "Bernard is slow because he is lazy".
5. Silly Sentences
This is an activity and a tip! We want to show you a fun way to practice putting adjectives and nouns in the correct order. Take a look. Choose an adjective from the first column then make a silly sentence using a noun and a verb or action. Example: The funny frog sits on a little chair!
We hope you enjoy this activity as much as we do! As part of our English Voice course, we are giving our readers a FREE taster lesson on the topic of Animals and Adjectives. In this A1 taster, you will watch vocabulary and grammar videos, complete some quizzes, and earn a badge!
All you have to do is create an account with IQ Global and we will let you know when the free lesson is ready. So if you are learning English for the first time, we can help you. Coming soon!
We hope you have enjoyed this blog. As always, you will progress more by reading, listening and practising your English so make sure you check out IQ Global for free resources and our YouTube channel. See you next time!