Hello. Welcome to Living English.
We're going to learn about describing things today.
We're going to describe animals.
First look at this episode of our drama...
... where Steve and Anne spend some time together in a Wildlife Park.
Look at this big grey one.
He is massive.
He has very, very strong arms and legs.
And a big strong tail.
[...]. And big ears. Very big ears.
They look very [...].
[...] from my hand.
It's got beautiful big brown eyes.
Oh, look at that little black and white one.
Oh, yeah.
That's a willy wagtail.
It's very fast and [...].
It's cute.
It's got such a long tail.
Yeah.
Oh, look at that bird.
Oh, it's kingfisher.
Oh, we have them in Singapore.
- Really? - Uhuh.
Look at its beautiful blue back.
It's so coloful.
There's lots in Australia.
Big ones and small ones.
We have a very big one called a kookaburra.
It has a very interesting laugh.
He's so soft and cuddly.
Yes, like me.
[...] really sharp [...].
He's so cute!
Can I take him home?
Don't you notice they're very happy without us?
[...].
What's the matter?
Nothing [...]. Just feeling [...].
[...].
There was planty of animals there to describe.
To start today let's listen to the way Anne describes a kangaroo.
Look at this big grey one.
This big grey one.
Anne uses two of the describing words called adjectives.
Big and grey.
When we describe something like an animal...
... we usually say something about its size and color.
When we do this using two adjectives before the thing described...
... this big grey one...
... we say the size first and then the color.
This big grey one.
Have a try saying 'Look at this big grey one' with Anne.
Look at this big grey one.
Anne says 'one' instead of 'kangaroo'.
You can say 'one' instead of a noun that can be counted.
You can count birds.
One bird.
Two birds.
Three birds.
So you can say 'one' instead of 'bird'.
Some nouns can't be counted such as milk.
For nouns such as milk we don't use 'one'.
We use the words 'some' or 'any'.
For instance if I said 'Do we have milk?'...
... you could answer 'Yes, we have some'...
... or 'No, we don't have any'.
If I ask you about something you could count...
... 'Do you have a car?'...
... you can answer 'I have one'...
... or 'I don't have one'.
Now it's your turn.
Do you have a fridge to keep your food cold?
Yes, I have one.
Or 'No, I don't have one'.
Do you have fruit juice in the fridge?
Yes, I have some.
Or 'No, I don't have any'.
Do you have a bicycle?
Yes, I have one.
Or 'No, I don't have one'.
Can you remember what one Anne is talking about here?
Oh, look at that little black and white one.
That little black and white one.
She is referring to a bird called a Willy Wagtail.
Now listen as Steve talks about the sort of birds called Kingfishers.
There's lots in Australia.
Big ones and small ones.
You can use 'ones' to refer to plural nouns that can be counted.
Such as birds like Kingfishers.
Steve is saying that there are big Kingfishers...
... and small Kingfishers in Australia.
Now listen to the order of the words Anne uses...
... to describe the kingfisher she and Steve are looking at.
Look at its beautiful blue back.
Its beautiful blue back.
First Anne uses the adjective that describes a quality - beauty...
... and then the color.
Its beautiful blue back.
This ring is gold.
And I think it's beautiful.
Now you describe the ring using adjectives 'gold' and 'beautiful' before the noun 'ring'.
It's a...
... beautiful gold ring.
Now listen to Anne uses three adjectives in a row...
... to describe a kangaroo's eyes.
It's got beautiful big brown eyes.
Beautiful and big are both adjectives that describe qualities.
You say them before the color brown.
But you can also say 'It's got big beautiful brown eyes'.
Usually we would say 'beautiful big brown eyes'.
Try saying it with Anne.
It's got beautiful big brown eyes.
Listen again to Anne describes the Willy Wagtail.
Oh, look at that little black and white one.
That little black and white one.
Anne describes the size first and then the colors.
Notice that she says 'black and white'.
Listen once more.
Oh, look at that little black and white one.
It's time to say 'hello' to Michelle Crowden with beautiful big blue eyes. Hello.
Hello Brenton.
Hello everyone.
What are we [...] today?
[...] mammal of course.
Real ones?
No, toy ones.
Now I'd like you to describe each animal...
... starting with this one.
It's a cat.
A small striped toy cat.
Now it's your turn.
What size is the cat?
It's small.
What pattern is it?
It's striped.
What sort of cat is it?
It's a toy.
So it's a...
... it's a small striped toy cat.
Remember the order of the adjectives - its size first.
Small.
Then color or pattern.
Striped.
And finally what sort of thing it is.
Toy.
A small striped toy cat.
Now see if you can describe this one in the same way.
It's a...
... big black and white toy panda.
Size first.
Big.
Then color.
This time two colors - black and white.
And finally the sort of thing is used.
Toy.
A big black and white toy panda.
You could have said 'large' instead of 'big'.
Yes.
But you wouldn't say that he's very, very big.
[...].
He is massive.
He is not massive.
A real panda is massive.
Yes, he is big.
But he is not that big.
He is not very big.
We'll be looking at using words such as 'very' before adjectives on a previous episode.
Listen to Steve using 'very' here to describe a sort of kingfisher called a kookaburra.
We have a very big one called a kookaburra.
It has a very interesting laugh.
We use 'very' to mean 'more than'.
Very big is more than big.
And massive is very, very big.
Very, very?
Sometimes we use word 'very' to mean 'even more than'.
Listen to Steve.
He is massive.
He has very, very strong arms and legs.
Now listen to how Anne says that the koala is more than cute.
He's so cute!
Can I take him home?
He is so cute.
He is soft and cuddly cute.
How soft and cuddly?
He's so soft and cuddly.
A big [...] panda.
That's the same as saying 'He's very soft and cuddly'.
Yes, but you can't use 'so' in exactly the same way as 'very' all the time.
For instance, I can say that you have very beautiful eyes.
Yes, she can.
But I can't say 'You have so beautiful eyes'.
I have to say 'Your eyes are so beautiful'.
Explain.
When the adjective 'beautiful' is used before the thing it's describing - eyes...
... you can't use 'so'.
You can only use 'so' when the adjective - beautiful...
... comes after the thing it describes - eyes.
Your eyes are so beautiful.
All people have said that before.
I'm sure they have.
Now there is a word with the same meaning as 'so'...
... that you can use when an adjective comes before the noun in a sentence.
You have beautiful eyes.
I know.
You have such beautiful eyes.
I know.
Listen to Anne uses 'such' to describe the willy wagtail's long tail.
It's got such a long tail.
She said 'such a long tail'.
She says 'a' because there is only one tail.
And we can also say 'It's such a nice day'.
Yes, but with plural nouns such as 'eyes' we drop the 'a'.
You have such beautiful eyes.
Weather is something we can't count.
And so we say 'This is such lovely weather'.
Well, I've had such a good time doing it today.
I don't want to stop.
But it's time for us to say 'goodbye'.