General appearance

She's a very smart and elegant woman, always well-dressed; her husband is quite the opposite, very scruffy and untidy-looking. He’s very good-looking, but his friend's rather unattractive.

Do you think beautiful women are always attracted to handsome men? I don't. I think first impressions matter most.

The suffix -ish is useful for describing people: She's tallish. He has brownish hair. He must be thirtyish.

Exercise № 14. Translate these expressions:

1. тучный мужчина и полная женщина, 2. Немного полноватый слесарь 3. Довольно высокая секретарша 4. Хорошо сложенный жених 5. Коренастый пожарник 6. Страдающий отсутствием аппетита инженер 7. Ей должно быть около сорока лет.

There is a great variety of suffixes, which can help to enlarge active vocabulary.

-er - is used for the person who does an activity, e.g. writer, worker, shopper, teacher. You can use -er with a wide range of verbs to make them into nouns.

Sometimes, the suffix is written as -or instead of -er. It is worth making a special list of these as you meet them, e.g. actor, operator, sailor, supervisor.

-er/-or are also used for things which do a particular job, e.g. pencil-sharpener, bottle- opener, grater, projector.

-er and -ее can contrast with each other meaning ‘person who does something.’ (-er) and ‘person who receives or experiences the action’ (-ее), e.g. employer/employee, sender/addressee, payee (e.g. of a cheque).

-(t)ion - is used to make nouns from verbs: complication pollution reduction alteration donation admission

-ist [person] and -ism [activity or ideology]: used for people’s politics, beliefs and ideologies, and sometimes their profession (compare with -er/-or professions above), e.g. Marxism, Buddhism, journalism, anarchist, physicist, terrorist.

-ist - is also often used for people who play musical instruments, e.g. pianist, violinist, cellist. -ness is used to make nouns from adjectives. Note what happens to adjectives that end in -y: goodness, readiness, forgetfulness, happiness, sadness, weakness.

Translate in English:

Скрипач, пианист, виолончелист, эскапист, аналитик, физиотерапевт, врач, регбист.

Adjective suffix

-able/-ible - with verbs, means ‘can be done’. Drinkable, washable, readable, recognizable, countable. Examples with -ible: edible (can be eaten) flexible (can be bent)

Try to describe these pictures paying attention on general appearance and use one idiomatic expression, which would specify the character best.

Some idiomatic expressions describing appearance:

1. wear the trousers = a partner in a couple who wears the trousers is the one who makes all the important decisions. Eg. The salesman hesitated before the couple. It was difficult to see who wore the trousers.

2. dressed to kill = somebody who is wearing very fashionable and glamorous clothes intended to attract attention. Eg. She arrived at the reception dressed to kill.

3. Face only a mother could love = a humoristic way of saying that someone is ugly or unattractive. Eg. The poor guy had a face only a mother could love.

4. look like a million dollars = you look extremely good. Eg. With a tan and a new hairstyle she looked a million dollars.

5. (all) skin and bone = people who look very thin or too thin. Eg. After tracking in the Himalayas, he was all skin and bone.

Exercise № 15. Use every idiomatic expression in 2 sentences of your own describing anyone you want.

Exercise № 16. Answer these remarks with the opposite description.

Example: A: I thought you said he was the short, chubby one. B: No, quite the opposite, he's the tall, thin-faced one

1 A: Was that his brother, the dark-skinned, wavy-haired one? B: No, quite the opposite, his brother’s...

2 A: She's always quite well-dressed, so I’ve heard. B: What! Who told you that? Every time I see her, she’s...

3 A: So Charlene's that rather plump fair-haired woman, is she? B: No, you’re looking at the wrong one. Charlene's....

4 A: So, tell us about the new boss; good looking? B: No, I’m afraid not; rather...

5 A: I don't know why, but I expected the tour-guide to be middle-aged or elderly. B: No, apparently she’s only...

Exercise № 17. Write one sentence to describe each of these people, giving information about their hair and face, their height and build and general appearance.

1) you yourself 2) a neighbour 3) your best friend 4) your ideal of a handsome man/ beautiful woman