Vocabulary · Lesson 12

Feelings & personality: describe without guessing

A good description answers the right question. Name a current feeling, identify what creates that reaction, or describe a general personality tendency supported by repeated behavior. Keep an observation separate from an assumption about someone’s identity.

50–60 min corestate · reaction · tendency · behavior-ed experiencer · -ing stimulus15–20 min listening and retrieval

NoticeFind six description jobs in one team update.

DiscoverSeparate feelings, causes, tendencies, and evidence.

BuildChoose complements, degree, questions, and careful labels.

UseGive an evidence-based fictional team introduction.

Can-do: By the end, you can describe a current or past feeling; distinguish an experiencer from a stimulus in common -ed / -ing pairs; add natural complements and intensity; ask separately about condition, personality, preference, and appearance; describe a personality tendency with evidence and appropriate limits; and replace an unsupported label with an observable behavior.

Two-minute retrieval

Three earlier patterns

Choose present is, past was, or the frequency word matching most meetings.

1The speaker describes Maya’s current state now: Maya calm now.

2The speaker describes Leo’s feeling before yesterday’s talk: Leo nervous before yesterday’s talk.

3Nora asks useful questions in most meetings, but not every meeting: Nora asks useful questions in meetings.

Notice six description jobs in one update

Harbor workshop team

“Before the workshop, Leo felt nervous. The new schedule was confusing, so the volunteers were confused at first. Maya usually stays patient when someone needs another explanation. During today’s meeting, Nora spoke only once. She says she likes listening before she gives an opinion.”

Which phrase names a feeling, and which phrase names its stimulus?
Which sentence describes a general tendency supported by repeated situations?
Which sentence reports only today’s observable behavior? Does that one behavior prove a personality label?

Discovery check: identify each description job

1Leo felt nervous before the workshop reports a .

2The schedule was confusing presents the schedule as the .

3The volunteers were confused names the volunteers’ .

4Maya usually stays patient describes a .

5Nora spoke only once during today’s meeting gives an .

6Nora likes listening before she gives an opinion is her own .

Get to the root: describe state, reaction, tendency, or behavior

description job	useful frame	example
current state	be / feel + adjective	I’m nervous. I feel nervous.
past state	was / were / felt + adjective	We felt relieved after the call.
reaction and stimulus	experiencer + -ed · stimulus + -ing	The interested visitors asked about the interesting design.
general tendency	usually / often / can be + adjective	Maya is usually patient. Leo can be quiet in large groups.
observable behavior	subject + action + situation	Leo listened and took notes during the meeting.

Be presents a state: I’m worried. Feel foregrounds the person’s experience: I feel worried. Both can be natural. Feel like is a different pattern: I feel like taking a break means that action appeals to me now.

A feeling word is not automatically temporary, and a personality word is not automatically permanent. Context supplies the time boundary: Nora is quiet today describes today’s state, while Nora is usually quiet in large meetings describes a limited tendency.

Choose the experiencer or the stimulus

The useful distinction is not “person versus thing.” The -ed form normally presents the experiencer’s reaction. The -ing form presents something or someone as having an effect that creates or invites that reaction.

experiencer reaction	stimulus or effect
The audience was bored.	The talk was boring.
I’m interested in the guide.	The guide is an interesting person.
The team felt encouraged.	The manager was encouraging.
We were surprised by the result.	The result was surprising.

A person can therefore be interesting, boring, encouraging, or surprising because people can create effects. A group or organization can be interested because it can experience or express a reaction. Choose the meaning role, not whether the noun is human.

Drill 1: reaction or effect?

1The visitors wanted to learn more about the design, so they were in it.

2The guide’s stories held everyone’s attention, so the guide was .

3The volunteers could not understand the new schedule, so they felt by the new schedule.

4The schedule showed two different start times, so it was .

5The team expected ten visitors but saw fifty, so everyone was by the number.

6Fifty visitors arrived when the team expected ten, so the number was .

Add the complement and degree

Many adjectives carry a common complement. Store the whole chunk: interested in, excited about, worried about, nervous about, surprised by / at, angry with / at someone, angry about something. These are strong tendencies, not rules that ban every alternative.

low or limited degree	ordinary strong degree	very strong degree
a little nervous · a bit worried	really excited · very interested	extremely surprised · completely confused

Choose degree from evidence, not drama. If a speaker says a little nervous, do not report terrified. If you are unsure about another person’s feeling, ask: How are you feeling about the presentation?

Drill 2: complete the feeling accurately

1Nora wants to learn more about the research project: She is interested the research project.

2Leo is looking forward to Saturday’s workshop: He is excited Saturday’s workshop.

3Maya is upset with Leo personally because he changed her notes without asking: She is angry Leo.

4The final number was unexpected and created the team’s reaction: The team was surprised the final number.

5Nora says her nervousness is small, not extreme: She feels nervous before the talk.

6After reading two conflicting schedules, Leo understands none of the plan: He is confused by the conflicting schedules.

Describe tendencies with evidence and limits

A personality adjective summarizes a tendency. It does not prove how someone acts in every situation. Add a limit such as usually, often, can be, with new people, or in large meetings when that is what the evidence supports.

word	possible evidence	important boundary
friendly	greets people and includes newcomers	one smile does not prove a global trait
patient	waits or explains again calmly	someone can be patient in one role and impatient in another
quiet	speaks little in a stated situation	quiet does not automatically mean shy, unfriendly, or unhappy
funny	says things that make people laugh	fun means enjoyable; funny can also mean strange
hardworking	regularly prepares and completes difficult work	one late task does not prove laziness
direct	states an opinion clearly with little softening	the same style may sound efficient or too strong in different contexts

For useful feedback, describe the behavior before applying a label: Maya explained the process twice and waited for questions is more precise than Maya is nice. Avoid diagnosing a feeling from appearance alone. You look worried is an impression, not a fact; How are you feeling? lets the person answer.

Ask the question you actually mean

information wanted	natural question	possible answer
current condition	How is Maya? How is Maya feeling?	She’s feeling better.
general character	What’s Maya like?	She’s usually patient and direct.
preference	What does Maya like?	She likes small-group discussions.
appearance	What does Maya look like?	She has short, dark hair.

What’s Maya like? can invite a broad description, so clarify when needed: What’s she like to work with? This asks about a context, not every part of her identity.

Drill 3: choose the supported description

1At three events, Maya greeted every newcomer and introduced people to one another. The repeated evidence supports .

2When volunteers need help, Leo calmly explains the same step again. This repeated behavior supports .

3Nora spoke once in one meeting, and no one knows whether this is typical. The evidence supports only .

4At several team lunches, Omar told stories that made everyone laugh. The repeated evidence supports .

5Maya’s emails state problems clearly with little softening, but her spoken feedback is gentle. The limited description is that she .

6A new volunteer wants a general description specifically about collaborating with Maya. The useful question is

Sound natural: let endings, stress, and questions carry the contrast

In common -ed adjectives, the ending follows the same sound logic as regular past forms. Bored /bɔrd/ and tired /ˈtaɪɚd/ end in /d/. Embarrassed /ɪmˈbærəst/ ends in /t/. Interested /ˈɪntrəstɪd/ and excited /ɪkˈsaɪtɪd/ add /ɪd/ because their bases end in /t/ or /d/.

The -ing ending is /ɪŋ/, with no extra hard /g/: boring /ˈbɔrɪŋ/, interesting /ˈɪntrəstɪŋ/. Stress the meaning contrast: I’m BORED. The talk is BORING.

In connected U.S. speech, How are you feeling? may sound like /haʊɚjə ˈfilɪŋ/. In What’s she like?, stress the description word like. In What does she like?, does she is lighter and the preferred item receives the next strong stress.

Use contrastive stress to repair the role: I said I was INTERESTED, not that I was INTERESTING.

Listen for the description job

Tutor-read listening: Keep the transcript closed. Read each item once naturally and once after the learner chooses. Preserve normal reductions and make contrastive correction audible.

Six description decisions

1. How strong is Leo’s stated feeling?

2. What role do the instructions have?

3. What evidence supports the description friendly?

4. Which statement preserves the speaker’s limited claim?

5. What information does the question request?

6. What does the correction clarify?

Read an evidence-based team introduction

Harbor workshop coordinator’s note

Maya is usually patient with new volunteers. At the last three events, she explained the check-in process more than once and waited for questions. Leo can be quiet in large planning meetings, but he asks detailed questions in one-on-one conversations. Nora is interested in design, and she prepared an interesting display for Saturday. She felt worried about the deadline on Friday, but she was relieved when the display was finished. These descriptions apply to the situations in this note, not to every part of each person’s life.

Reading check: use only the coordinator’s note

1. Which evidence supports the description of Maya as patient?

2. In which context can Leo be quiet?

3. What relationship does interested in design and an interesting display express?

4. How did Nora’s feeling change?

Build the relationship and the limit

Drill 4: build reaction and stimulus

The volunteers had the reaction. The guide created it.

Drill 5: build a limited tendency

Leo speaks little in some large meetings, but not in every situation.

Notice and repair unsupported meanings

Drill 6: repair the experiencer role

Tap the adjective whose ending gives the wrong meaning.

Drill 7: repair the adjective complement

Tap the preposition that does not complete the target chunk.

Drill 8: repair the unsupported label

Leo spoke once in today’s meeting. Tap the word that claims more than the evidence supports.

Play and practice

Games and a short reading that recycle this lesson. Use them as a warm-up, a fast finisher, or homework. Each one checks itself.

Read

Meet the new front desk team

Read once for meaning. Then read again and do the tasks below.

Staff newsletter122 wordsAbout 1 min

Last month, two new people joined the front desk team at Lakeside Hotel. On her first day, Grace was worried because the reservation system was confusing. Now she is usually calm, even on busy weekends, and guests often say she is patient.

Omar can be quiet in large meetings, but he is not unfriendly. He prefers to listen first. Last week, a guest told a long story about her trip, and Omar seemed really interested. Later he said the story was amazing.

Both of them were surprised by the number of guests in July. It was a tiring month, but the team felt relieved when the summer staff arrived. Please say hello to Grace and Omar at the staff lunch on Friday!

Find it

Tap the 7 feeling adjectives that end in -ed or -ing. Skip verbs such as joined and arrived.

Check your understanding

1. Why was Grace worried on her first day?

2. What does the newsletter say about Omar?

3. When did the team feel relieved?

Sort it

State, tendency, or behavior?

What job does each sentence do? Tap it, then tap its box.

Crossword

Describe the feeling

Click a clue or a square, then type. Press Check when you finish.

Across

Down

Match up

Ask the question you mean

Tap an item on the left, then its partner on the right.

Question

Answer

Use it without profiling real people

You never need to disclose your real feelings, mental health, personality, relationships, family, workplace, coworkers, home, schedule, or personal history. Use the fictional Harbor team. Real disclosure is optional.

Fictional evidence cards: Maya welcomed newcomers at three events and calmly repeated instructions. Leo spoke little in two large meetings but asked detailed questions one-on-one. Nora said she felt worried before a deadline and relieved afterward. Omar’s lunch stories often made the team laugh.

State or tendency: Give one current or past feeling from the cards and one limited personality tendency. Include the time or context that supports each description.

Evidence before label: Describe one behavior first. Then add a careful summary with usually or can be. Ask your listener whether the summary matches the evidence.

Question repair: Ask separately about Maya’s current condition, her work style, her preference, and her appearance. Explain what information each question requests.

Final production and check

Final production: give a 45–60 second fictional team introduction

Introduce two Harbor team members. Include one current or past feeling with its cause, one accurate -ed / -ing relationship, two personality tendencies supported by repeated behavior, one context limit such as in large meetings, and one follow-up question. Replace any unsupported label with an observation.

Evidence check: Can the listener identify which words report a feeling, which describe an effect, and which summarize repeated behavior? Can the listener see the evidence and limit for every personality description?

Final check: choose the defensible description

1. Which sentence assigns the experiencer and stimulus roles accurately?

2. Which question asks specifically about Maya’s character as a coworker?

3. Leo spoke little in two large meetings but talked freely one-on-one. Which description stays inside the evidence?

4. Nora wants to learn about the design and says her presentation worry is small. Which report preserves both meanings?

Reflect: what do you know, and what are you inferring?

Explain the description choices

Complete these ideas aloud: An -ed adjective usually presents... An -ing adjective presents... A personality tendency needs... One quiet meeting does not prove...

Then revisit your final introduction. Underline the observations and circle the summaries. Add a context limit anywhere a summary is broader than its evidence.

Return tomorrow for the three-item retrieval check before rereading any explanation.

Next-day retrieval

Return without rereading the page. Name the evidence or meaning role before choosing.

Three delayed checks

1. Nora wants to learn more about the project. Which phrase fits?

2. Nora spoke once in one meeting. Which statement stays inside the evidence?

3. Which sentence assigns both meaning roles accurately?