Describing Places: Adjectives That Create a Picture (B1)
🎙 From the classroom: Réunion Island is one of the most visually extraordinary places I’ve ever lived. The volcano — Piton de la Fournaise — is active. The lagoon is turquoise. The mountains are brutal. Tourists say ‘beautiful’. I teach my students to say something more honest.
💡 The Idea
Strong place descriptions use specific, sensory adjectives — not just ‘beautiful’ and ‘nice’. Think about: appearance (dramatic, barren, lush, angular), atmosphere (oppressive, tranquil, chaotic, remote), size/scale (vast, compact, sprawling), and texture/sound (humid, windy, silent, volcanic).
🗣 Example
❌ Weak: ‘Réunion is a beautiful island with nice beaches.’
✅ Strong: ‘Réunion is a dramatic island — a live volcano in the centre, a turquoise lagoon on the west coast, and mountains so steep they cast shadow by 3pm. Beautiful, yes. But mostly, it forces you to think about scale.’
🎯 Try It Now!
Describe a place you know using at least 4 specific adjectives. Avoid: beautiful, nice, big, small, good. Choose from the list or use your own:
✅ Check Your Answers
✅ Self-check: Did you avoid ‘nice/beautiful/good’? Did you include at least one sensory detail (sound, smell, temperature, feel)? Try adding a comparison: ‘…like a city that forgot to slow down.’
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