A selection of English ESL describing printables

Two exercises where students as asked to describe an image.


The first image is film still from one of the Harry Potter films. Students are asked to write 5 sentences about the image. If you wish to project the original image to see it in more detail, it can be accessed via the QR code on the worksheet.


For the second task, students as asked to describe a photograph they have stored on their phone or computer as appropriate. They are asked to write descriptive sentences to describe the image. If you have the means available, their images can be printed and glued to the worksheet.


This activity can be used for any level student, you can prompt them with questions to use any target language you are studying.

Describe It: The Great Hall

 I designed this game for a class of 5 teenagers. People pick a random name. They do not look at it. The name is then attached to their back with some sellotape or to their forehead with an elastic or other. The rest of the class CAN see the name, of course if the name is behind the back make sure the student is standing with their back facing the class. The person then has to ask the rest of the class yes or no questions concerning the appearence of the person whose name they picked, in order to guess who the character is. Questions can range from "am I tall/short/a male/a female" to "Am I real/am I alive/dead" etc. The worksheet is editable so you can add as many names as you need for your class or adapt them to the level of the students or to the culture of the country you teach in. Hope this can be useful! :)

Who am I ? game for describing people

This guide aims to help your students with picture description. It contains useful vocabulary, phrases, some grammar reference and advice on the appropriate language to use when describing a picture or photograph.

How to describe a picture - useful vocabulary

This fun video activity helps learners to practise the use of the past simple passive voice. Learners watch the video, read the active voice description of the clip, then say and/or write a sentence in the past simple passive voice. Write the answers on the worksheet provided.



Click this link to watch the video activity:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oupCkuW1vo&feature=youtu.be



Past Simple Passive Video Activity - Describing Cartoons

This is a sheet that has about 8 pictures. You can display it on an overhead projector and have students write a simple sentence/compound sentence for each one. I had the students write a simple sentence for the first one then compound for the second...etc. After the writing activity ask the students for their sentences for the pictures in order.

Describing pictures using simple and compound sentences

A four-page worksheet that I made for my business English groups. The worksheet series begins very simply with the passive, in general, and by the fourth worksheet is covering the "this should have been done yesterday" construction.



The worksheets are all centered in an absurd company called "The Ohmpah Express" and YOU SHOULD READ THROUGH IT BEFORE USING IT to make sure that the things I think are funny are the same things that your students will think are funny.

Business English: Describing processes with the passive

A family picture very useful for practising descriptions and family members vocabulary

Describe all the members of this family

A continuation of the business series on describing graphs. This one is about describing a change in the overall change. This can be very important in a business setting as the big boss always wants to know why things are getting better/worse. This is meant for upper level students. If you like this series just send me a message/comment...it always makes me smile.

Describing Graphs - A Change In The Trend

Exercise to get students to look at data and then describe it using different verb tenses -- present perfect, simple past, simple present and future

Describing world population data - compare verb tesnes

*MAKE SURE IMAGES ARE CORRECTLY SIZED AND PLACED BEFORE PRINTING*

This worksheet is an introduction to describing an image. It includes describing the location of objects within an image, as well as prepositions of relative location. Formats include fill in the blank and sentence creation based on images. 

Describing an Image and Prepositions of Location

Simple speaking assignment with evaluation grid. Students need to present a painting for their fellow students. They work in groups. Each person grades a fellow student (peerevaluation). 

Speaking assignment: describing a work of art

This worksheet is designed for A1 level English students. They should read five short texts descrbing a monster and then match it to the correct one. The second page provides some comprehension questions about the texts and also a short writing task.
Young students can learn the basics of working with text with this worksheet.
This worksheet was created in Canva.

Body Parts & Describing - Monsters A1 Reading Comprehension

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

2,294 Describing English ESL worksheets pdf & doc