Eight People, Eight Traits
Each person is doing something. The action is the word.
Click to zoom
Each panel shows what the person does, not how their face looks. That action is what you say after the adjective.
Words for someone's character that say more than nice, and how to back each one up with an example.
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Eleven words for a person. Be honest — the ones you would say, not the ones you know.
The pattern that raises a Speaking answer — and why the example matters more than the word.
Most people tick the first three — nice, kind, good. That is not a problem with your memory. Those are simply the words that arrive first.
In a two-minute Part 2 answer, three describing words run out after about twenty seconds. The eight words below are the ones this sprint teaches, and you have met all of them before.
Each person is doing something. The action is the word.
Each panel shows what the person does, not how their face looks. That action is what you say after the adjective.
Each word with the behaviour behind it, a sentence you can borrow, and its opposite.
Easy to talk to, warm with people they have just met.
She is very friendly — she introduced me to everyone on my first day.
Gives things away — money, time, food — without being asked.
He is generous — he always pays for coffee before I reach my wallet.
Puts in effort and keeps going. One word, no hyphen.
My sister is hardworking — she studies after her shift ends at ten.
Waits calmly and does not get annoyed. Not the same as kind.
He is patient — he explained it three times without sighing once.
Does what they said they would do. The most useful word here.
She is reliable — in three years she has never once been late.
Usually in a good mood, whatever is happening.
My neighbour is cheerful — he says good morning even in the rain.
Talks a lot. Not the same as friendly — and not always a compliment.
He is talkative — a five-minute phone call with him takes an hour.
Relaxed, does not mind much. Hyphenated. Not the same as lazy.
She is easy-going — she was happy with whatever we chose to watch.
Borrow the sentence shapes, not the sentences. Swap in your own person and your own example.
Eight things a person did. Which word describes each one?
Terms
Definitions
Three examples. Decide which word the behaviour actually supports.
Chain 1
The behaviour: he waited forty minutes in the rain and did not complain once.
Candidates: patient / generous
The word it supports:
Because:
Chain 2
The behaviour: she talks to everyone at a party, including people she has just met.
Candidates: friendly / reliable
The word it supports:
Because:
Chain 3
The behaviour: he said he would come at six, and he came at six.
Candidates: cheerful / reliable
The word it supports:
Because:
A Speaking Part 2 answer with the describing words removed.
I would like to talk about my old colleague Marta.
The first thing anyone notices is that she is extremely — on my first day she walked me round the whole building and introduced me to about twenty people. She is also very : she brings food in for everyone on Fridays and will not let anyone pay her back.
She is the most person I know. She starts at seven and I have often found her still there at seven in the evening. And she is completely — if she says a report will be ready on Tuesday, it is ready on Tuesday.
She is very with new staff. I watched her explain the same system four times to someone who kept forgetting, and she never once sounded annoyed.
She is quite , so meetings with her run long, but nobody minds because she is so — she is in a good mood even on the worst days. She is also completely about plans changing, which in our office happens constantly.