Series ID: EDKS-BASIC-ZH-0013 · Lesson No.013 · 零基础英语第十三课 · Pre-A1 → A1

People and Descriptions | 人物与描述

She is tall. He has short black hair. They are friendly.
她很高。他留着黑色短发。他们很友善。

Describing people is not the same as judging people. Good beginner English helps you identify someone, describe visible features, talk about personality carefully and distinguish one person from another without turning description into insult.

描述一个人，不等于评价一个人的价值。基础英语的目标是：能认人、能说明外貌特征、能谨慎谈性格、能区分人物，同时保持尊重。

This lesson builds four description machines: be + adjective, have/has + noun, wear + clothes, and look + adjective. It also reconnects Lessons 001, 005, 007, 011 and 012.

Chinese Edition Hub · 中文版入口 · ← Lesson No.012 · Simple Negatives

The lesson map | 本课路线

be + adjective: She is tall.
have/has + noun: He has short hair.
wear + clothes: She is wearing a blue jacket.
look + adjective: He looks tired.
age, height and build
hair length, colour and texture
eyes and facial features
personality adjectives
temporary condition vs stable description
who/which person identification
adjective order
comparatives: taller, older, younger
respectful description and privacy
Mandarin adjective sentences vs English be
listening, reading, writing, speaking and retrieval

1. The first description machine: be + adjective | be + 形容词

She is tall.
He is young.
They are friendly.
I am tired.

English normally needs be before many adjectives. Mandarin can say 她很高 without an English-style copular verb in the same position. This difference matters.

2. Do not say “She very tall” | 不要直接搬中文结构

She very tall. ✗
She is very tall. ✓
He very friendly. ✗
He is very friendly. ✓

The adjective does not usually stand alone after the subject in standard English.

3. Very, quite, a little | 程度词

very tall
quite tall
a little tired
very friendly

These change degree. Keep the grammar frame stable: She is very tall.

4. Age language | 年龄

She is twenty years old.
He is thirty.
My daughter is eight years old.
How old is she?

Do not say “She has twenty years” in standard English. English normally uses be for age.

5. Young, middle-aged, older | 年龄描述要谨慎

young
middle-aged
older
elderly — context-sensitive

Age labels can feel sensitive. Use exact age when relevant and known. Avoid unnecessary guesses about someone’s age.

6. Height | 身高

tall
short
average height

She is tall.
He is quite short.
She is about average height.

short can describe height, but it can also describe length. Context matters.

7. Build | 体型

slim
thin
strong
athletic
broad-shouldered

Body-description words can carry social judgments. Beginners should use them only when relevant and avoid using body shape as casual criticism.

8. Respectful body description | 尊重比词汇更重要

A technically correct adjective can still be socially inappropriate. Ask: Does this information help identify the person or complete the task? If not, it may be unnecessary.

词对不对只是第一层。还要问：这个描述有必要吗？会不会冒犯？是否与任务有关？

9. The second description machine: have/has + noun | have/has + 名词

I have black hair.
You have brown eyes.
She has long hair.
He has a beard.

Use have with I/you/we/they and has with he/she/it.

10. Hair length | 头发长度

short hair
long hair
shoulder-length hair

Examples:

She has long hair.
He has short hair.

hair is usually uncountable when referring to the whole mass of hair on the head.

11. Hair colour | 发色

black hair
brown hair
blonde hair
grey hair
red hair

Example: She has long black hair.

12. Hair texture | 发质/形状

straight hair
wavy hair
curly hair

Example: He has short curly hair.

13. Adjective order with hair | 多个形容词的顺序

English commonly places size/length before colour before the noun:

long black hair
short brown hair

Do not overlearn a giant adjective-order chart at this stage. Learn common chunks that sound natural.

14. Eyes | 眼睛

brown eyes
blue eyes
green eyes
dark eyes

She has brown eyes.
He has dark eyes.

Use visible description carefully. Avoid guessing ethnicity or identity from appearance.

15. Glasses | 眼镜

She wears glasses.
He is wearing glasses.

wears glasses can describe a usual habit. is wearing glasses focuses on now.

16. Beard and moustache | 胡须

He has a beard.
He has a moustache.
He has a short beard.

These are useful identifying features when relevant.

17. The third description machine: wear | 穿着

She wears a uniform at work.
He wears glasses.
She is wearing a red shirt today.

wear can describe a usual habit; be wearing can describe what someone has on now. The continuous form is a preview for later grammar.

18. The fourth description machine: look + adjective | 看起来……

You look tired.
She looks happy.
He looks busy.

look + adjective describes appearance or impression, not certainty about a person’s inner state.

19. “Looks tired” is not “is tired” | 看起来不等于事实

She is tired. — stated as fact.
She looks tired. — visual impression.

This distinction matters because descriptions can overclaim.

20. Personality: friendly | 性格：友善

She is friendly.
He is very friendly to new students.

Personality descriptions are broader claims than visible appearance. Use examples and behaviour when possible.

21. Kind, helpful, patient | 善良、乐于助人、有耐心

kind
helpful
patient

My teacher is patient.
Her brother is very helpful.

These words become stronger when supported by behaviour: She is helpful. She explains things slowly.

22. Quiet and talkative | 安静与健谈

quiet
talkative

quiet does not automatically mean shy. talkative does not automatically mean confident. Avoid turning one behaviour into a whole-person diagnosis.

23. Shy, confident, nervous | 害羞、自信、紧张

She is shy in large groups.
He is confident when he speaks English.
I am nervous today.

Context can make a description more accurate and less absolute.

24. Funny and serious | 幽默与认真

She is funny.
He is serious at work.

funny can mean humorous, but sometimes it can also mean strange. Context decides the meaning.

25. Hard-working | 努力

hard-working means someone works with effort.

She is hard-working.
He studies every evening. He is very hard-working.

Use a hyphen in the common adjective form hard-working.

26. Temporary state vs personality | 暂时状态 vs 性格

She is tired today. — temporary state
She is patient. — personality/behavioural tendency
He is quiet this morning. — temporary
He is usually quiet. — habitual tendency

Time words can prevent overgeneralisation.

27. Who is she? | 她是谁？

Identity question:

Who is she?
She’s my sister.

Description question:

What does she look like?
She’s tall and has long black hair.

These questions do different jobs.

28. What is she like? | 她是怎样的人？

What is she like? often asks about personality or general characteristics.

She’s friendly and patient.

What does she look like? asks about appearance. Do not mix them.

29. What does he look like? | 他长什么样？

He’s tall.
He has short black hair.
He wears glasses.

This is a high-value person-identification question.

30. Which person? | 哪一个人？

Which person is your teacher?
The woman in the blue jacket.
The man with glasses.

English often identifies people with in + clothing or with + feature.

31. The woman in blue | 穿蓝色衣服的女士

the woman in blue
the man in the black shirt
the child in the red coat

in + colour/clothing can identify someone efficiently.

32. The man with glasses | 戴眼镜的男士

the man with glasses
the woman with long hair
the boy with the red bag

with attaches an identifying feature.

33. Taller, shorter, older, younger | 比较级

tall → taller
short → shorter
old → older
young → younger

Anna is taller than Mei.
David is older than Leo.

than introduces the comparison target.

34. Comparative descriptions need a reference | 比较必须有参照

She is taller. is possible when the comparison is already known. If not, say She is taller than her sister.

35. Very vs -er | 不要说 more taller

very tall ✓
taller ✓
more taller ✗

For common short adjectives, use the comparative form instead of adding both more and -er.

36. Positive + negative description | 肯定和否定结合

She is tall, but she isn’t very tall.
He has short hair, but he doesn’t wear glasses.
She is quiet, but she isn’t shy.

Lesson 012 negatives make descriptions more precise.

37. Correcting a mistaken identity | 认错人时怎么纠正

A: Is that your brother?
B: No, it isn’t. My brother is the man in the grey shirt.
A: Does he wear glasses?
B: Yes, he does.

Identification uses questions, negatives and description together.

38. Describe without overclaiming | 不要凭外貌推断身份

Do not infer nationality, ethnicity, religion, profession, wealth, health or personality only from appearance. If the task is identification, describe visible features and known facts.

不要因为外貌就猜国籍、族群、宗教、职业、收入、健康或性格。看得见的可以描述；不知道的不要装作知道。

39. Names and respectful address | 姓名与称呼

English names and forms of address vary across cultures. Ask what a person prefers:

What should I call you?
You can call me Mei.

Do not assume everyone’s name follows the same family-name/given-name order.

40. Pronouns and reference | 代词指代

Once a person has been identified, pronouns reduce repetition:

This is Anna. She is my teacher. She is very patient. She has short brown hair.

Make sure the pronoun clearly refers to the right person.

41. They for a person | 单数 they 认识

Modern English can use singular they when gender is unknown, irrelevant or when it is a person’s pronoun.

Someone left their bag.
Ask the new student what they need.

For beginners, recognise this common English usage. Use the pronouns a person asks you to use.

42. Mandarin transfer: adjective predicate | 中文形容词谓语

Mandarin can say:

她很高。
他很友好。

English normally needs be:

She is tall.
He is friendly.

This is one of the most important structural differences in person description.

43. Mandarin transfer: 有 vs has | “有”与 have/has

她有长头发。 → She has long hair.
他有胡子。 → He has a beard.

But do not use has for height or age:

She has tall. ✗
She is tall. ✓
She has twenty years. ✗
She is twenty. ✓

44. Mandarin transfer: 很 | 很不总是 very

Mandarin 很 often serves a grammatical or natural linking role with adjectives. English very genuinely increases degree.

她很高。 may simply mean “She is tall.”
She is very tall. strongly means “她非常高”.

Do not automatically translate every 很 as very.

45. Listening: identify the description machine | 听力先判断结构

Listen for the early grammar cue:

She is… → adjective/state
She has… → noun/feature
She wears… → clothing/accessory habit
She looks… → appearance/impression

This predicts what kind of word comes next.

46. Pronunciation: is / has / wears | 小词不能丢

In description, small verbs carry structure. If is disappears, “She tall” may sound incomplete. If has disappears, the feature relation is lost.

Practise chunks:

She’s tall.
She has long hair.
He wears glasses.

47. Reading practice A: finding a teacher | 阅读 A

Mei is looking for her new English teacher. The receptionist says, “Her name is Ms Lee. She is quite tall and has short black hair. She wears glasses. Today she is wearing a blue jacket. She is standing near the window.” Mei sees two women near the window. One is wearing a red sweater. The other is wearing a blue jacket and glasses. Mei walks to the second woman.

What is the teacher’s name?
Is she tall or short?
What kind of hair does she have?
Does she wear glasses?
What is she wearing today?
Which woman is probably Ms Lee?

48. Reading practice B: two brothers | 阅读 B

David has two brothers, Leo and Sam. Leo is older than Sam. Leo is tall and has curly brown hair. Sam is shorter and has straight black hair. Leo is usually quiet, but Sam is very talkative. Both brothers are friendly. Sam wears glasses, but Leo doesn’t.

Who is older?
Who is taller?
What kind of hair does Leo have?
Who is talkative?
Do both brothers seem friendly?
Who wears glasses?

49. Reading practice C: careful description | 阅读 C

A woman comes into the office. She is wearing a grey coat and carrying a green bag. She has short hair. Anna does not know her name or job, so she does not guess. She asks the receptionist, “Who is the woman in the grey coat?” The receptionist says, “That’s our new designer, Maya.”

What visible features does Anna know?
What information does she not know?
Does she guess the woman’s job?
How does she ask for identity?

50. Writing practice: four-machine description | 四套机器写人物

Describe one fictional person using:

one be + adjective sentence
one have/has sentence
one wear sentence
one look sentence

Example: Mei is tall. She has long black hair. She wears glasses. She looks tired today.

51. Writing practice: identify, don’t judge | 只写可验证信息

Write a description for finding someone at a station. Include:

height
hair
clothing
bag or accessory

Do not include guesses about personality, nationality or profession.

52. Speaking practice: Who am I describing? | 猜人物

One learner describes a fictional person. The other asks:

Is the person tall?
Does the person wear glasses?
What colour is the person’s shirt?
Does the person have long hair?

This combines Lessons 011–013.

53. Speaking practice: compare two people | 比较两个人

Anna is taller than Mei.
Mei is younger than Anna.
Anna has shorter hair.
Both are friendly.

Use only relevant, respectful comparison.

54. Error clinic | 常见错误诊所

Common error	Better English	What broke?
She very tall. ✗	She is very tall. ✓	be missing
She has tall. ✗	She is tall. ✓	adjective vs noun feature
She is long hair. ✗	She has long hair. ✓	have needed
He has twenty years. ✗	He is twenty. ✓	English age uses be
She doesn’t has glasses. ✗	She doesn’t have glasses. ✓	base verb after doesn’t
He is more taller. ✗	He is taller. ✓	double comparative
What she looks like? ✗	What does she look like? ✓	does question

55. First weak link diagnosis | 第一个卡点诊断

I know adjectives but say “she tall” → be missing.
I use is for hair/features → have/has distinction.
I know words but cannot identify someone → in/with description chunks.
I overuse very → degree control.
I confuse appearance and personality questions → look like vs be like.
I make comparisons wrongly → comparative form.
I can write descriptions but cannot understand them in speech → listen for is/has/wears/looks.

56. Retrieval lab | 提取练习

她很高。 → ______
他有短头发。 → ______
她戴眼镜。 → ______
他今天看起来很累。 → ______
她比妹妹高。 → ______
穿蓝色外套的女士。 → ______
戴眼镜的男士。 → ______
她长什么样？ → ______
她是怎样的人？ → ______
她不是很高。 → ______

Suggested answers: She is tall. / He has short hair. / She wears glasses. / He looks tired today. / She is taller than her sister. / the woman in the blue coat. / the man with glasses. / What does she look like? / What is she like? / She isn’t very tall.

57. Ten-minute daily practice | 每天十分钟

2 min	be + adjective	形容词
2 min	have/has + feature	外貌名词
2 min	wear / in / with	识别人
2 min	comparison	比较
2 min	one spoken description	口头描述

58. Seven-day training cycle | 七天训练

Day 1	height + age	身高年龄
Day 2	hair + eyes	头发眼睛
Day 3	glasses + clothing identity	识别特征
Day 4	personality	性格
Day 5	look like / be like	问描述
Day 6	comparatives	比较级
Day 7	one-minute respectful description	综合输出

59. Self-test: 30 questions | 30 题自测

Translate: 她很高。
Translate: 他很友善。
Translate: 她有长头发。
Translate: 他有黑色短发。
Translate: 她戴眼镜。
Translate: 他看起来很累。
Ask: 她长什么样？
Ask: 她是怎样的人？
Translate: 穿红衣服的女士。
Translate: 戴眼镜的男士。
Translate: 她比我高。
Translate: 他比弟弟年长。
Correct: She tall.
Correct: She has tall.
Correct: She is long hair.
Correct: He has twenty years.
Correct: She doesn’t has glasses.
Correct: He is more taller.
What is the difference between “She is tired” and “She looks tired”?
What is the difference between “What is she like?” and “What does she look like?”
Why should visible description avoid guessing nationality?
Give one respectful height description.
Give one hair description.
Give one personality description with evidence.
Give one in + clothing identifier.
Give one with + feature identifier.
Compare two fictional people by height.
Compare them by age.
Make one negative description.
Describe one fictional person in four sentences.

Answer key | 答案

1 She is tall; 2 He is friendly; 3 She has long hair; 4 He has short black hair; 5 She wears glasses; 6 He looks tired; 7 What does she look like?; 8 What is she like?; 9 the woman in red / the woman in the red shirt; 10 the man with glasses; 11 She is taller than me/I am depending on register; 12 He is older than his younger brother; 13 She is tall; 14 She is tall; 15 She has long hair; 16 He is twenty; 17 She doesn’t have glasses; 18 He is taller; 19 fact vs appearance/impression; 20 personality/general traits vs appearance; 21 appearance does not reliably establish nationality; 22–30 answers vary.

60. For parents and teachers | 给家长和老师

Teach description through structure, not adjective accumulation. The learner should repeatedly choose between is, has, wears and looks.

Use photographs of fictional, consented or classroom-safe subjects. Ask learners to report visible information only. This creates a natural lesson in evidence as well as language.

For Mandarin speakers, explicitly compare the Chinese adjective predicate with English be + adjective, and compare 有 + feature with have/has.

Teach respectful description. If a word is not needed to identify or understand the person, do not force it into the exercise merely because it appears in a vocabulary list.

When teaching personality adjectives, ask for behavioural evidence: “Why do you say she is helpful?” This prevents empty labels and develops explanation.

61. Final real-world challenge | 最终真实任务

Describe a fictional person with five visible features.
Use be + adjective correctly.
Use have/has correctly.
Use wear/in/with to identify the person.
Use look + adjective for a temporary impression.
Ask “What does he/she look like?”
Ask “What is he/she like?”
Make two respectful comparisons.
Correct one mistaken identity.
Give a one-minute description without guessing private identity information.

If you can do this, you can describe people clearly without turning description into careless judgment.

如果能完成，你已经能“说明一个人”，同时保持准确和尊重。

Next: Lesson No.014 | 下一课

People descriptions naturally lead to clothing and colour. The next lesson turns colour words into a system for identifying, choosing, buying and describing clothes.

Lesson No.014 · Clothes and Colours · 衣服与颜色

Reference floor: British Council A1 Elementary · British Council A1–A2 Vocabulary · Cambridge English Vocabulary in Use: Elementary.

Small Group Tutorials

How to Learn Basic English (Chinese Edition) | Lesson No.013 | People and Descriptions | 人物与描述