Goal of this unit: describe any person in clear English (what they
look like + what they're like) and report what someone said. Past papers
test this in Test 3 (picture fill-in), Test 7 (comprehension about a person),
Test 8 (paragraph about a person) and Test 10 (reported speech).
👤 Appearance — six toolboxes
- Age: young · middle-aged · old · early/mid/late 30s
- Face: thin · long · round · oval · square · clean-shaven
- Complexion: fair · light-skinned · tan · pale · dark-skinned
- Build: small · medium · average · well-built · thin/slim
- Height: tall · average · short · 165 cm tall · 5'5"
- Other: thin/full lips · pointed nose · curly/straight hair · moustache · beard · bald head · broad shoulders
📷 Picture-fill survival kit
- Scan the word box before reading the gaps.
- Place nouns first (boy, girl, table), then verbs, then adjectives.
- If unsure between two words, pick the one that collocates: "thick beard", "curly hair", "busy market".
- Check that the article (a / an / the) and the plural ending stay correct.
✓ Positive qualities
- helpful · kind · loyal · honest · truthful
- friendly · cheerful · hard-working · punctual
- ambitious · confident · sociable · sensible
- co-operative · generous · understanding
- optimistic · outgoing
✗ Negative qualities (use with care)
- noisy · lazy · stingy · careless · untidy
- wasteful · hot-tempered · selfish · aggressive
- shy · oversensitive · disobedient · dishonest
- Tip: mention only one weakness; never list three.
📐 Grammar — Reported Speech மறை மொழி
- Rule: drop quotes, add "that", step the verb back one tense, change pronouns & time-words.
- Present → Past: is → was · has → had · do → did · will → would · can → could · may → might
- Past → Past perfect: went → had gone · saw → had seen
"It looks nice." → He said it looked nice.
"He is my boss." → He said he was his boss.
"I decided." → He said he had decided.
"Where is it?" → She asked where it was. (no "was it")
✍️ Writing — 50–60 word paragraph + 40–50 word notice
- Paragraph (Test 8): topic sentence → 2 appearance details → 2 qualities → 1 concrete example → personal closing.
- Found / Lost notice (Test 6): HEADLINE in capitals · passive verb (was found / is lost) · exact place + date + time · brief description · contact line · signature with class.
- Reported speech (Test 10): "She said that…" + tense step-back + pronoun fix.
- Watch out: he/she/it = HAS, IS, DOES (not have / are / do).