For example, aromatic, fragrant, fresh, perfumed,

stinky, smelly, sweet, nasty etc

DESCRIBING THINGS
Refers to act of saying or explaining what
somebody or something is like. For example,
i.

i.
ii.

The boy was described as short and white,

and aged about 18.

iii.
iv.

Hence, the adjectives; short, white and aged are

used to describe the boy

Taste; to recognize different foods and drinks

when you put in a mouth

Describing things in terms of quality,

For example; bitter, sweet, sour, acidic, dry, fruit,

juicy, peppery, salty, biting, sugary etc

Act of saying or explaining the standard of

somebody or something when it is compared to
somebody else or other things. For example,
i.

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

Atuganile is more intelligent than her

brother.

Therefore, standard of intelligence of Atuganile is

more when it is compared to her brother

For example; tough, damp, dry, feathery, frosty,

limp, puffy etc

Shape, is the form of the outer edges and surfaces

of something

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

For example, round, rectangular, square, flat,

pentagon, triangular etc
Our house is round in shape.
Island was originally circular in shape.
People used to think the earth was flat.
Mount Kilimanjaro has steep slopes

He is not tough enough to hold a gun.

She wears damp trouser in her final exams.
Our couch was soft and furry to the touch.
The clouds are puffy today.

Sound; something that somebody hears

For example; bang, chime, chuckle, croak, crunch,
groan, slam, twang, whistle etc

Colour; is the by-product of the spectrum of

light, as it is reflected or absorbed, as received by
the human eye and processed by the human brain.

i.
ii.
iii.

For example; red, orange, yellow, green, blue,

indigo, violet, etc

iv.

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

Beer has bitter test in the mouth.

This wine is too sweet for me.
I need to eat sour apple.
She likes to have a hot peppery sauce for
her supper.

Touch; to put your hand or another part of your

body into somebody or something

Describing things in terms of quality can be done

in terms of the following; Shape, colour, smell,
taste, touch, sound, texture, size. etc.

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

The flower is strongly aromatic.

The air is fragrant with scents from the
Ocean and garden.
The school lavatory is stinky.
Lusungu has smelly feet.

Juma bangs the table with his spoon.

He heard the clock chime
She chuckled when she remembered her
youth time.
Anna lays on the floor groaning

Texture; the way a surface, substance or piece of

cloth feels when you touch it,

Maharajah has light-brown skin.

My school uniform has orange colour.
She has red eyes when she gets angry.
My house is pink in colour.

For example how rough, smooth, hard or soft it is.

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

Smell; to have or sniff a particular smell

Mwanza to Geita road is rough road.

Your skin is smooth like a baby.
The door is hard to break.
May hair is soft to comb with small comb.
prepared by Wapalila, Alex A

Size; the large amount or extent of something

For example;

For example; height (tall, high, short, low), length

(long, short), weight (heavy, light), amount (large,
big, small), build (fat, tubby, overweight, plump,
bonny, stocky, thin, skinny, underweight, slim,
slender and anorexic)
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

He is tall and thin

The road is long in height
Juma is a heavy weight champion in
boxing
Anna has a big mouth

Describing things in terms of quantity

Act of saying or explaining an amount or number
of something
Quantifiers are words that are used to state
quantity or amount of something without stating
the exact number.

For example, words can be used;

With plural count Nouns we normally use;

Many; Several; A few; few.

Use of;

With non count nouns. Much; A great deal;

A little; little

few/little - means that is not enough of something.

a few /a little - means that there are not a lot of
something, but there is enough.

With both we normally use; enough; plenty;

some; lot of; a lot of; any

Few and little describe the quantity in a negative

way:

There are 3 main types of quantifiers.

Quantifiers that are used with countable

nouns
Quantifiers that are used with uncountable
nouns and
Quantifiers that are used with either
countable nouns or uncountable nouns.

Few people visited him in hospital (= he had

almost no visitors)
He had little money (= almost no money)

A few (for countable nouns) and a little (for

uncountable nouns) describe the quantity in a
positive way:
"I've got a few friends" (= maybe not many, but
enough)
"I've got a little money" (= I've got enough to live
on)

prepared by Wapalila, Alex A

Some is used with:

Positive sentences, when asking a question, if the
answer is expected to be positive or not relevant or
you are offering something.
The children have some free time.
Please buy some bananas.
Can I have some tea?
Would you like some cake?
Enough is placed before the noun, to indicate the
quantity
required
or
necessary:
There

is

enough

bread

for

Non count nouns can be measured by container,

portion, shape etc.

lunch.

a can of (beer, coke, beans), a bowl of

(soup), a cup of (tea, coffee), a glass of
(milk, water, juice)

a slice of (bread, lemon), a piece of (cake,

meat, cheese), a strip of (meat)

a spoon of (soup)

a pound of (powder), a scoop of (mashed

potato), a quart of (water)

Some and any are used to state the quantity,

amount of something. When using some or any the
exact number is not stated.

a bottle of (wine), carton of (cigarette,

milk), a jar of (coffee, jam, honey), a bag of
(chips)

Some and any are used with countable nouns and

uncountable nouns

a gallon of (oil), a loaf of (bread)

a roll of (film, mints), a tube of

(toothpaste), a bar of (chocolate, soap), a
bunch of (bananas, grapes, flowers)

We didn't have enough time to visit London

Bridge.
Is

there

enough

milk

for

breakfast?

She has enough talent to become an international

singing star
When to use some and any?

Any is used with:

Negative sentences

Some expression that can be used when asking for

description

When asking a question.

Any is used when a sentence is grammatically
positive, but the meaning of the sentence is
negative.

i.
ii.

Do you have any ice cream left?

iii.

I don't have any money today. I am getting paid on

Friday.

iv.

My brother never does anything good

v.

What does it look like?

Its big, with eight hairy arms.
How big is it?
Its three feet, by four feet
How much does it weigh?
Its weighs 80 kg
What colour is it?
Its bright yellow, brighter than banana
Whats it made out of?
Its made of plastic and aluminum

prepared by Wapalila, Alex A