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English · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 26

Describing people

More tall or taller?

  1. Emma Tell me about your sister, Minsu. What is she like?
  2. Minsu She is very kind. And she is more tall than me.
  3. Emma Almost! With short words, add -er: "taller", not "more tall". Keep "more" for long words.
  4. Minsu I see. My sister is taller than me, and she has long hair.

Who is this in the photo?

  1. Emma Who is this in the photo?
  2. Minsu This is my friend Jack. He is tall and he has short hair.
  3. Emma Is he older than you?
  4. Minsu Yes, a little older. He wears glasses and he is very funny.
汉字PinyinPOSMeaning
tall adj. tall
short adj. short
young adj. young
old adj. old
beautiful adj. beautiful
kind adj. kind
funny adj. funny
hair n. hair
eyes n. eyes
glasses n. glasses

She is taller than me She is taller than me

Two verbs describe people. Use "be" + adjective for a quality: She is tall. He is kind. They are funny. Use "have" + a feature: She has long hair. He has blue eyes. I have glasses. To compare two people, add -er to a short adjective and follow with "than": tall → taller, old → older, young → younger. She is taller than me. For longer adjectives, put "more" in front: beautiful → more beautiful. Do not mix the two: say "taller", not "more tall". Korean marks every comparison with one word ("deo" = more), so Korean speakers reach for "more tall" — but short English words take -er instead.

Two verbs describe people. Use "be" + adjective for a quality: She is tall. He is kind. They are funny. Use "have" + a feature: She has long hair. He has blue eyes. I have glasses. To compare two people, add -er to a short adjective and follow with "than": tall → taller, old → older, young → younger. She is taller than me. For longer adjectives, put "more" in front: beautiful → more beautiful. Do not mix the two: say "taller", not "more tall". Korean marks every comparison with one word ("deo" = more), so Korean speakers reach for "more tall" — but short English words take -er instead.

  • She is tall and she has long hair. She is tall and she has long hair.
  • He has blue eyes and he wears glasses. He has blue eyes and he wears glasses.
  • My sister is taller than me. My sister is taller than me.
  • This actor is more famous than that one. This actor is more famous than that one.

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