UNIT IV DESCRIPTIONS OF PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS

UNIT IV
DESCRIPTIONS OF PEOPLE, PLACES, AND
THINGS
“Language Information”
Dirección Universitaria de Idiomas
LANGUAGE INFORMATION
DESCRIPTIONS OF PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS
When we describe people, we mention aspects of their appearance. Look at the
following questions to ask about physical appearance.
(Cuando describimos personas, mencionamos aspectos sobre la apariencia. Revisa
las siguientes preguntas que te ilustrarán acerca de cómo se preguntan aspectos de
la apariencia física.)
Describing people
(Describir a personas)
Asking about appearance: What does he/she look like?
(Para preguntar sobre la apariencia: ¿Cómo es él/ella?)
Asking about age: How old is he/she?
(Para preguntar sobre la edad: ¿Cuántos años tiene él/ella?)
Asking about height: How tall is he/she? Is he/she tall/short?
(Para preguntar sobre la estatura: ¿Cuánto mide él/ella? ¿Es él/ella alto
(a)/bajo (a)?)
Asking about weight: How much does he/she weigh? Is he/she slim/wellbuilt?
(Para preguntar sobre el peso: ¿Cuánto pesa él/ella? ¿Es delgado (a)/
corpulento (a)?)
Asking about hair: Does he/she have long/short/black/blonde hair?
(Para preguntar sobre el cabello: ¿Tiene el cabello
largo/corto/oscuro/rubio?)
Asking about eyes: Does he/she have blue/brown/green/big/small eyes?
(Para preguntar sobre los ojos: ¿Tiene ojos
azules/cafés/verdes/grandes/pequeños?)
To describe people we usually mention:
(Para describir personas, nosotros usualmente nos referimos a:)
a Height: short, of medium height, tall
(Estatura: bajo, de estatura mediana, alto)
b Weight: thin, slim, well-built, chubby, overweight, fat, plump, of medium build
(Peso: Delgado, esbelto, fornido, gordito, obeso, gordo, regordete, de peso medio)
c Age: young, old, middle-aged, in her/his twenties, thirties
(Edad: joven, viejo, de mediana edad, en sus veintes, treintas)
d Complexion: pale, light, fair, dark, olive-skinned, olive skin tone
(Complexión: tez blanca, claro, rubio, de piel aceitunada)
e Hair – length: short, medium length, long
(Cabello – longitud): corto, mediano, largo)
f Hair – color: blond, red, grey, dark
(Cabello – color: rubio, pelirojo, gris, oscuro)
g Hair – type: straight, wavy, curly, bald, shaved head
(Cabello – tipo: lacio, ondulado, chino, calvo, de cabeza afeitada)
h Eyes - color: blue, green, brown, black
(Ojos – color: azules, verdes, cafés, oscuros)
i Eyes – size: big, small, slanting
(Ojos – tamaño: grandes, pequeños, sesgados)
j Nose - size: big, small
(Nariz – tamaño: grande, pequeño)
k Nose – shape: flat, hooked, turned-up
(Nariz – forma: plana, aguileña, respingona)
l Lips - shape: full, thin
(Labios – figura: gruesos, delgados)
m Other features: mustache, beard, glasses, wrinkles, freckles, pretty, handsome,
good-looking
(Otras características: bigote, barba, con lentes, con arrugas, pecoso, bonita, guapo,
atractivo)
*It is not polite to say to people that they are thin, chubby or fat. For further reference,
check the files “Describing people and things”, “Parts of the body”, and “Colors”
in the section Glossaries.
(No es correcto decir a las personas que son flacos (as), gorditos (as) o gordos (as).
Para mayor referencia, consulta los archivos “Describing people and things”,
“Parts of the body”, y “Colors” en la sección de Glossaries).
Look at the following examples:
(Revisa los siguientes ejemplos:)
She is Sandy and she is a model.
She is a very pretty woman.
She has got short black straight
hair and big black eyes.
She is tall and slim.
She is Frida and she is a painter.
She has got short red hair and
brown eyes.
She is very thin.
She is Mary and she is a student.
She has got long blond hair and
brown eyes.
She is tall and slim.
She has got thin lips.
(Ella es Sandy y es modelo.
Ella es una mujer muy bonita.
Ella tiene cabello negro, corto y
lacio y unos ojos oscuros.
Ella es alta y delgada.)
(Ella es Frida y es pintora.
Ella es pelirroja de cabello corto
y con ojos cafés.
Ella es muy delgada.)
(Ella es Mary y es estudiante.
Ella tiene largo cabello rubio y
ojos cafés.
Ella es alta y delgada.
Ella tiene labios delgados.)
He is Alex and he is a personal
trainer.
He is tall, strong and oliveskinned.
He has got short brown wavy
hair and green eyes.
He has got thin lips.
He is Peter and he is a lawyer.
He is short and fat.
He is bald and has got a
moustache.
He wears glasses.
He is John and he is a police
officer.
He is tall and has got a dark
complexion.
He has got short black curly hair
and black eyes.
He has got full lips.
(El es Alex y es entrenador
personal.
El es alto, fuerte y de piel
aceitunada.
El tiene cabello corto ondulado y
ojos verdes.
El tiene labios delgados)
(El es Peter y es abogado.
El es de estatura baja y gordo.
El es calvo y tiene bigote.
El usa lentes.)
(El es John y es policía.
El es alto y tiene tez oscura.
El tiene el cabello corto, chino y
oscuro y ojos también oscuros.
El tiene labios gruesos)
To know the characteristics of an object, we ask the following questions:
(Para saber las características de un objeto, nosotros utilizamos las siguientes
preguntas:)
Describing objects
(Describir objetos)
Asking about appearance: What does it like?
(Para preguntar apariencia: ¿Cómo es?)
Asking about size: How big is it? Is it big/small? Is it long/short?
(Para preguntar tamaño: ¿Qué tan grande es?, ¿Es grande/pequeño? ¿Es
largo/corto?
Asking about price: Is it expensive/cheap?
(Para preguntar precio: ¿Es caro/barato?)
Asking about weight: How much does it weigh? Is it heavy/light?
(Para preguntar peso: ¿Cuánto pesa? ¿Es pesado/ligero?)
Asking about shape: What shape is it?
(Para preguntar sobre la forma: ¿De qué forma es?)
Asking about color: What color is it? Is it black/brown?
(Para preguntar sobre el color: ¿De qué color es? ¿Es negro/café?)
Asking about material: What material is it made of?
(Para preguntar sobre el material: ¿De qué materiales está hecho?
To describe objects we usually mention:
(Para describir objetos nosotros usualmente nos referimos a:)
a Size: big, small, long, short
(Tamaño: grande, pequeño, largo, pequeño)
b Price: expensive/cheap
(Precio: caro/barato)
c Weight: heavy, light
(Peso: pesado, ligero)
d Shape: triangular, round, rectangular, square
(Forma: triangular, redondo, rectangular, cuadrado)
e Color: dark/light blue, purple, green, brown, black, red, pink, orange, yellow, while
(Color: oscuro/ azul pastel, púrpura, verde, café, negro, rojo, rosa, naranja, amarillo,
blanco)
f Material: plastic, paper, metal, wooden, cotton, leather, silk, woolen, nylon, gold,
silver
(Material: plástico, papel, metal, de madera, algodón, cuero, seda, de lana, nylon,
oro, plata)
g Other characteristics: new, old, useful
(Otras características: nuevo, viejo, útil)
*For further reference, check the files “Describing people and things”, “Describing
clothing”, and “Colors” in the section Glossaries.
(Para mayor referencia, consulta los archivos “Describing people and things”,
“Describing clothing”, y “Colors” en la sección Glossaries.)
When we talk about a place or position of things/people we use ‘there is’ or ‘there
are’.
(Cuando nosotros nos referimos a un lugar o posición de cosas/personas, utilizamos
‘there is’ o ‘there are’)
There is + singular noun
(There is + sustantivo singular)
There are + plural nouns
(There are + sustantivos en plural)
Example: There is a cat in my kitchen. There are many dogs in your house.
(Ejemplo: Hay un gato en mi cocina. Hay muchos perros en tu casa.)
Singular
Plural
(Singular)
(Plural)
There is a/an…
There are some…
(Hay un…)
(Hay algunos…)
There isn’t a/an…
There aren’t any...
(No hay un…)
(No hay unos…)
Is there a/an…?
Are there any…?
(¿Hay un…?)
(¿Hay algunos…?)
Yes, there is.
Yes, there are.
(Si, si hay)
(Si, si hay)
No, there isn’t.
No, there aren’t.
(No, no hay)
(No, no hay)
We also use prepositions of place to indicate the exact location of things:
(Nosotros también usamos preposiciones de lugar para indicar la localización
exacta de cosas).
Next to/Beside
In front of/Opposite
Under
Behind
On
In
Between
(Al lado)
(Enfrente)
(Debajo)
(Detras)
(Sobre)
(En)
(Entre)
Look at the description of a bedroom:
(Observa la descripción de la recámara:)
(Hay una
ventana al lado
de la cama)
There is a
window next to
the bed.
(Hay ropa en
el armario)
There are clothes
in the closet.
There are two
pillows on the
bed.
(Hay un pez
dentro de la
pecera)
(Hay dos
almohadas en la
cama)
There is a fish in
the fishbowl.
There is a rug
under the bed.
(Hay un tapete
debajo de la
cama)
There is a chest in
front of/opposite the
bed.
(Hay un baúl en
frente de la cama)
REFERENCES
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