Describing People: Personality Adjectives (A2)
Promise
After this lesson you can describe a person with eight personality adjectives and their opposites.
Audience: Adult and teen learners of English in Réunion (French first language); plain English A2–B1.
Time to read: 5 minutes · Format: web page
Before you start
You will be able to: describe someone you know with three exact adjectives.
Three words you need first:
- personality — what a person is like inside.
- adjective — a word that describes a noun, like “kind”.
- opposite — a word with the other meaning.
You need: one person you know well.
My lesson (the original, unchanged)
A2 ⏱ 5 min
😊 Describing People: Personality Adjectives
In hospitality you read people in seconds. In English, you need the exact word — not just ‘nice’.
📖 Personality Adjectives
opp: shy / insecure
opp: impatient
opp: mean
opp: dishonest
opp: lazy
opp: unreliable
opp: conventional
opp: cold / indifferent
🍷 From the Restaurant Floor
Someone who always does what they say is:
The opposite of ‘patient’ is:
‘She understands how others feel.’ This person is:
He never tells lies — he is completely ____________.
She always wants to achieve more — she is very ____________.
🎯 Describe Someone You Know
Independent project; not affiliated with, endorsed by, or accredited by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Confers no qualification.
Answers to the quiz above
- Reliable
- Impatient
- Empathetic
- honest
- ambitious
Lecture notes
Segment 1 — Positive and negative
Visual 1 — Opposite pairs
What it shows: each adjective with its opposite.
How to draw it: Draw two columns: + and −.
The point it makes obvious: Many opposites add un-, im- or dis-.
+ - patient -> IMpatient honest -> DIShonest reliable -> UNreliable generous -> mean (British: not generous)
EXAMPLE (learner in Réunion): “My neighbour in Le Tampon is very reliable. She always does what she says.”
Check 1: What is the opposite of “honest”?
Show the answer
Segment 2 — Better opposites
Visual 2 — Word scale
What it shows: closest opposites.
How to draw it: Write each word with its closest opposite.
The point it makes obvious: “Lazy” is the opposite of hard-working.
ambitious <-> unambitious (lazy <-> hard-working) creative <-> unimaginative (or conventional) confident <-> shy / insecure
EXAMPLE (learner in Réunion): “He is hard-working but not ambitious: he likes his job and does not want promotion.”
Check 2: Is a lazy person always unambitious?
Show the answer
Worked example — “He never tells lies; he is completely ___.”
The task: Find the adjective.
| Step | What happens | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Key idea: never tells lies. | Truth. |
| 2 | The word for telling the truth is “honest”. | From my list. |
| 3 | Write: “He is completely honest.” |
Self-explanation prompt: Why not “reliable”? Reliable means you do what you say; honest means you tell the truth.
Your turn (guided): Try: “She always wants to achieve more; she is very ___.” (Answer: ambitious.)
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Why it happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| “He is very sympathetic” for a nice person | French “sympathique” means friendly. | “He is very friendly” or “nice”. |
| “She is sensible” for easily hurt | French “sensible” means sensitive. | “She is sensitive.” |
| Only using “nice” | It is easy. | Choose an exact word: patient, generous, reliable. |
Glossary
| Term | Plain definition | Where first used |
|---|---|---|
| personality | what a person is like | Before you start |
| adjective | a describing word | Before you start |
| reliable | does what they say | My lesson |
| empathetic | understands how others feel | My lesson |
Quick review
- Someone who always does what they say is…?
- Opposite of patient?
- “She understands how others feel.” She is…?
- In British English, “mean” can mean…?
- What was my worst manager like?
Show all five answers
2) Impatient.
3) Empathetic.
4) Not generous with money.
5) Confident but unreliable.
Fact check, 30 October 2026
Small corrections: in my list, “lazy” is not the closest opposite of “ambitious”; “unambitious” is closer, and “lazy” is the opposite of “hard-working”. For “creative”, “unimaginative” is the more usual opposite, though “conventional” can work. “Mean” as “not generous” is British English; in American English it usually means unkind. The definitions match the Cambridge learner’s dictionary. My restaurant memories, including the Ivy, are my own experience.
Status: rewritten in lecture-notes style on 30 October 2026. Not tested with readers.