Step 37: People and Personality
Describing people — Character adjectives; -ed / -ing adjectives
📖 Read — Emma's Favorite People
Emma loves describing people. “My brother Jack is the life of the party — he's funny and friendly with everyone. My cousin Lily is shy with new people, but she's kind and generous. And Miss Taylor is strict in class, but she's fair and always polite.”
On Friday, the family watched a movie. “The movie was boring,” says Jack, “so I was bored. But the game after it was exciting, and we were all excited!” Emma laughs. “You see? People and things are different: the THING is -ing, and the PERSON feels -ed!”
🧩 Grammar — -ed and -ing Adjectives
Adjectives that end in -ing describe the THING or person that makes the feeling: a boring movie, an exciting game, an interesting book. Adjectives that end in -ed describe how a PERSON feels: I was bored, we were excited, she is interested. Never mix them: ✗ I am boring (that means YOU make other people bored!).
- The book is interesting.
- I am interested in the book.
- The trip was tiring.
- We were tired after the trip.
🏗️ Key structures
- He / She is ___ (personality) — She is kind and generous.
- The ___ was ___-ing — The movie was boring.
- I was / felt ___-ed — I was bored in the movie.
⭐ Idiom & natural phrases
Jack tells jokes and sings — he's the life of the party.
🔤 New words
nice and kind to other people; easy to talk to
Our neighbors are very friendly.
quiet and a little afraid with new people
Lily is shy at first, then she's fun.
not afraid; doing hard things without fear
The firefighter is very brave.
not liking work or activity; wanting to rest all the time
Don't be lazy — help us!
saying please and thank you; respectful
Always be polite to your teacher.
happy to give things and time to others
She's generous — she shares everything.
happy and smiling most of the time
Our cashier is always cheerful.
having strong rules and making people follow them
Miss Taylor is strict but fair.
🎧 Say it with me
My brother is funny and friendly — he’s the life of the party. The movie was boring, but the game was exciting, and we were all excited!
🎤 Your turn to speak
Describe two people: use two personality adjectives for each, then talk about a movie or game with one -ing and one -ed adjective.
Say it out loud three times. Even better: record it on your phone and listen — your ear is your best teacher.
✍️ Your turn to write
Write 4 sentences describing your best friend and a movie you watched. Use personality adjectives and one -ing / -ed pair.
See a model answer
My best friend Anna is cheerful and generous. She is never lazy! Last week we watched a long movie. The movie was boring in the first hour, and I was bored. But the end was exciting!
Self-check: capital letters? Full stops? Did you use the grammar of this step?
📝 Quick check
Go deeper
This step is a doorway — the full lesson goes much further:
Adjectives: Describing Words & Their Place — full lesson + 50-question quiz
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