Giao Vien 4
APPEARANCE & CHARACTER/PERSONALITY
What does he look like? (appearance, generally)
What is he like? (character/personality)
How does/did he look? (basically physical/mental condition/spirits, right now or a point of time in the past)
How is/was he? (basically somenone's health)
I. APPEARANCE:
To ask about people´s physical appearance - generally, we say:
WHAT + DO/DOES + SUBJECT + LOOK LIKE?
What does he look like?
He is tall and thin, with brown hair. He is twenty-five years old.
He is old, short, medium-build, with gray hair and a beard.
Jack looks like his father. They are both tall and have dark hair.
He looks like a soldier.
What does she look like?
She is young and good-looking, with dark eyes and long red hair.
She has dark eyes, wavy blond hair, and a nice figure. She looks great.
She looks like Christina.
II. CHARACTER/PERSONALITY
To ask about people´s character/personality we say:
WHAT + BE + SUBJECT + LIKE?
What is he like?
He is friendly and dependable. He is interesting and amusing.
He is smart and honest. He also has a good sense of humor. I like him.
What is she like?
She is careless and lazy. You can't depend on her.
She is serious, organized, hard-working, and tough.
III. JUDGMENT on someone's APPEARANCE
To ask a feeling/spirit, or judg on people's appearance/mental condition - right now or at a point of time in the past, we say:
HOW + DO/DOES/DID + Subject + LOOK?
How does he look?
He looks great/nice/terrible/awful/angry, etc.
I've heard of John Lennon, but I've never seen a picture of him. How does he look?
How does he look? Does he look good in the new haircut or stylish in the new suit?
He looks good/well/tired.
How did he look?
He looked tired.
How do I look?
"You look fine, don't worry about it."
"Oh my god! Amber! No, it can't be. It is you! How can this be possible? Oh my god, I can't believe it. It is really you."
How does it look now?
"It looks nicer."
IV. a person's HEALTH:
To ask about a person's HEALTH, we say:
HOW + BE + SUBJECT?
How is he?
He is good/well/tired.
He is better today.
V. PLACES - OBJECTS - WEATHER:
1. OBJECTS:
What does (something) look like? => call for describing the outside of the object
What is (something) like? => call for describing the inside of the object (quality)
How is (something)? => call for an attitude or opinion about the object
How does it look (now)? => call for describing its condition now
VD1: "What does your new car look like? Still a Nissan?"
"Yes, it's a Nissan."
"It's like yours."
=> ask about its model
"What is your new car like?" "OK.-it is a bit slow."
=> ask about its quality
"How is your new car?" "It's great!"
=> call for an attitude or opinion about the car
VD2: What does your new house look like? or What is your new house like?
"Great - we've got much more room."
"It has two floors and six rooms."
"Oh, very nice. It's a big house."
=> call for describing the outside and inside of the house
How is your new house?
"It's warmly and cosily. I like it very much."
=> means "Are you pleased with your new house? Does it suit you?"
=> call for an attitude or opinion about the house.
VD3: What does the cake look like? or What's that cake like?
"The cake has two layers of meringue with cashew nuts and butter cream."
"What is the cake like? I don't want a cake that looks lovely but tastes foul!"
"The cake has two layers of chocolate-sponge cake. Between the two chocolate sponge cake layers is a thick layer of very rich, chocolate and cream filling."
=> call for a description from the outside and inside of the cake.
How is the cake?
"It's perfect!"
=> call for an attitude or opinion about the cake.
2. PLACES:
What does (a place) look like? => calls for describing the landscape
What is (a place) like? => calls for describing the people or culture
How is (a place)? => calls for an attitude or opinion about the place
How does it look (now)? => calls for describing its condition now
VD1: "What does Britain look like?"
"It's mostly open farmed countryside, but has rivers, moors and hills. There are also many towns and cities.
=> ask about the landscape
"What's Britain like? Is everyone happy there?"
"Delirious!" (= extremely happy and excited).
"No... if anything, I suppose people carry their own happiness with them."
=> ask about the people
VD2: "What does the area look like? Is it green and hilly, or flat, or mostly desert, etc."
"What does the town look like? What infrastructure is there? Location of nearby streams and lakes? "
=> ask about the landscape
"Well what's the town like that you came from?"
"Oh the town I come from is full of wonderful people. Everyone was so kind to each other and so forgiving and so merciful and helped each other and served each other."
=> ask about the people
"How is your new town in Switzerland like?"
"It is very very small town comparing to cities where I lived before, I still cannot get used to this. And for me it's a pretty much boring place, though it's a good place for travelling and self-development."
=> calls for an attitude or opinion about the town.
"How does the town look now?"
"It looks more modern than before with streets and proper roads."
=> calls for describing its condition now
3. WEATHER:
What does the weather (forecast) look like?
=> a statement about what will happen in the future
What is the weather like?
=> a statement about what is happening right now
VD:
We're supposed to go to the game tonight. What does the weather look like?
They say it's supposed to be chilly and rainy.
Oh, we'd better bring an extra coat and an umbrella.
or:
We're supposed to go to the game tonight. What is the weather like?
Right now, it's overcast and windy.
Well, we'd better bundle up, then, if it's getting cold already.
Other Questions:
What's it like outside/out there?
It's really cold now.
How's the weather?
It's minus ten. (-10 degrees)
What's the weather forecast? (What is the weather expected to be like?)
They're saying blue skies and hot!
Do you have rain?
We have not had any rain for many weeks.
Have you had any rain during the summer this year?
We have not had a drop of rain for many weeks now.
What's the temperature in Manchester?
Today it is 22 degrees Celsius which is a lot warmer then it has been.
It's snowing here in Manchester, what's it doing there?
It's raining really hard.
It is a beautiful day for a walk, right?/Is it a beautiful day for a walk?
We couldn't ask for a better day.
What's the weather forecast this week/for the rest of the week?
They're saying it is going to rain all week.
They're saying we will have blue skies for the rest of the week.