Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 15 ]

15- ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

4-] Describing people : character .

A-] Intellectual ability :

Ability : intelligent , bright , clever , sharp , shrewd , able , gifted , talented , brainy [ colloquial]

Lacking ability : stupid , foolish , half-witted , simple , silly , brainless . daft , dumb , dim [ the last four are predominantly colloquial words ] .

Clever , in a negative way , using brains to trick or deceive : cunning , crafty , sly .

B-] Attitudes towards life :

Salem is ‘pessimistic’ , while Ahmad is ‘ optimistic’ – he always expects the worst to happen while his friend Ahmad looks on the bright side .

It is strange that one of the twins is so ‘extroverted’ , while the other is so ‘introverted’ – Ali loves being the focus of attraction , while Kamal would far rather be alone with his thoughts .

I feel very ‘tense’ [ or ‘would-up’ / ‘stressed-out’ ] after a very busy day at work but after a hot bath and a nice cup of tea , I’ll soon feel ‘relaxed’ .

Noura is very ‘sensible’ – she’d never do anything stupid . In other words , she’s very ‘practical’ and ‘down-to-earth’ .

Samir is very ‘sensitive’ – he gets very ‘upset’ [ or ‘worked-up’ , more colloquial] , if he feels people are criticizing him .

C-] Attitude towards other people :

Enjoying others’ company : sociable , gregarious .

Disagreeing with others : quarrelsome , argumentative .

Taking pleasure in others’ pain : cruel , sadistic .

Relaxed in attitude to self and others : easy-going , even-tempered , laid-back .

Not polite to others : impolite , rude , ill-mannered , discourteous .

Telling the truth to others : honest , trustworthy , reliable , sincere .

Unhappy if others have what one does not have oneself : jealous , envious .

D-] One person’s meat is another person’s poison :

Some characteristics can be either positive or negative , depending on your point of view . The words in the right-hand column roughly the same as the words in the left-hand column except that they have negative rather than positive connotations .

determined	obstinate , stubborn , pig-headed
thrifty , economical	stingy , mean , tight-fisted , miserly
self-assured / confident	self-important , arrogant , full of oneself .
unconventional / original	eccentric , odd , peculiar , weird
frank , direct , open	blunt , abrupt , brusque , curt
broad-minded	unprincipled , permissive
inquiring	inquisitive , nosy
generous	extravagant
innocent	naïve
ambitious	pushy
assertive	aggressive , bossy

E - ] Opposites :

Positive	Negative
warm and friendly	cold and unfriendly
kind	unkind , mean
nice , pleasant	horrible , unpleasant
generous [ likes to give/share ]	stingy [ never gives to others ]
optimistic [thinks positively]	pessimistic [thinks negatively]
cheerful [happy and smiling]	miserable [always seems unhappy],grumpy
relaxed and easygoing	tense [nervous; worries a lot ; not calm]
strong	weak
sensitive	insensitive [does not think about others’ feelings]
honest [always tells the truth]	dishonest

F-] Describing character in work situations :

Positive	Negative
hardworking	lazy [doesn’t want to work]
punctual [always on time]	not very punctual ; always late , unpunctual
reliable	unreliable [you cannot trust/depend on]
intelligent , smart , bright	stupid , dumb [informal]
flexible [willing to change]	inflexible [a very fixed way of thinking ; unable to change ]
ambitious	unambitious [no desire to be successful and get a better job]

Relationships .

A-] Types of relationships :

Here is a scale showing ‘closeness’ and ‘distance’ in relationships in different contexts .

                               Closer ß---------------------------------à More distant

Friendship :         best friend     good friend              friend [casual ] acquaintance

Work :                 close colleague                                colleague  / workmate

Love / romance : lover , steady boy / girlfriend       ex-

Marriage :          wife / husband / partner            ex-

‘ex- can be used with or without [ informally ] another words :She’s my ex-friend.

‘Mate’ is a colloquial word for a good friend . It can also be used in compound nouns to describe a person you share somethin with , e.g. classmate , shipmate , workmate , flat-mate . ‘Workmate’ is usual in non-professional contexts or in informal contexts ; colleague is more common among professional people , and sounds more formal .

‘Fiancé /ée can still be used for someone you are engaged to , but a lot of people fell it is dated nowadays . You will sometimes see husband-to-be / wife-to-be in journalistic style .’Partner’ is probably the commonest word for ‘person I live with’ .

B-] Relatives [ members of your family ]

                                                                                 Male                                             Female

Your parents’ parents                                         grandfather                        grandmother

Your parents’ brothers and sisters                     uncles                                   aunts

Your aunt’s / uncle’s children                             cousins                              cousins

The father and mother of the person you marry    father-in-law         mother-in-law

The brother and sister of the person you marry  brother-in-law           sister-in-law

Your brother’s /sister’s children                            nephews                      nieces

If the person you marry dies , you are a….               widower                  widow

If your mother or father remarries , you have a         stepfather           stepmother

C-] Family names :

When you are born , your family gives you a ‘first name’ , e.g. Robert or Susan . Your ‘last name’ [ also called your ‘family name or ‘surname’ ] is the name that everyone in the family shares , e.g. Smith or O’Neill . Some people have a ‘middle name’ [ like a first name ] , but you do not usually say this name . Your ‘full name’ is all the names you have , e.g. , Susan Jean Smith .

D-] Liking and not liking someone :

core verb	positive	negative
like	love , adore	dislike , hate
worship	idolize	can’t stand  , loathe
respect	look up to , admire	look down on , despise
attract	be attracted to , fancy	repel , leave someone cold

e.g. She doesn’t just like her husband , she idolizes him . I can’t stand my boss as he is tyrant .

I really ‘fancy’ Salwa , but her friend just leaves me cold / doesn’t do anything for me . [ more colloquial ]

‘Fancy’ is informal . ‘Repel’ is very strong and rather formal .

E- ] Phrases and idioms for relationships :

 - Hassan and I ‘get on well’ [with each other ] . [ have a good relationship ]

- Naser and Shimaa ‘don’t see eye to eye’ . [ often argue / disagree ]

- I’ve ‘fallen out with’ my parents again . [ had arguments ]

- Salah and Salma have broken up / split up . [ ended their relationship ]

- Anne is ‘having an affair’ with her boss . [ a sexual relationship , usually secret ]

- Children should respect their ‘elders’ . [ adults / parents etc. ]

- Let’s try and ‘make it up’ . [ be friends again after a row ]

- She’s my junior / I’m her senior / I’m senior to her , so she does what she’s told . [ refers to position / length of service at wok ]

Ages and stages .

A- ] Growing up and growing older :

Age	Stage of life
0-1 approximately	a baby
1-2 years	a toddler
2-12 approximately	a child [this period is your childhood]
13-19	a teenager [early teens are 13-14]
18+	an adult [in some places you are an adult a 21]
20-29	in your twenties [mid-twenties are 24-26]
30-39	in your thirties [late thirties are 38-39]
45+	middle-aged , e.g. , a middle-aged man
65 approximately	a senior / a senior citizen
75+	old age [also elderly , e.g. , an elderly gentleman]

Note : The period from about 13 to 17 , when a young person is maturing , is called ‘adolescence’ , and the person is an ‘adolescent’ . A person who is grown [up] is an ‘adult’ . The time when you stop work is ‘retirement’ [when you are ‘retired’] , often starting at 60 or 65 .

B- ] Marriage :

- They ‘fell in love’ and ‘got married’ within six months . A year later she ‘got pregnant’ and they had their first child , a boy . Sadly , the marriage was not a success . Said ‘left’ two years afterwards and they ‘got divorced’ [ also get a divorce] . Four years later , Hanan remarried , and now she is ‘expecting’ a second ‘baby’ [ she is pregnant ] .