French · Elementary (A2) · Chapter 10 of 12
Describing people
Décrire quelqu'un
Describe what people look like and what they're like, say what someone was like in the past, and link ideas with qui and que.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Describe someone's appearance and personality
- Say what someone was like with the imparfait
- Link two ideas with qui and que
Listen
Zoé is visiting her grandmother Jacqueline in Quimper. They look at an old family photo together. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Zoé
Mamie, c'est qui, le garçon qui porte des lunettes ?
Grandma, who's the boy wearing glasses?
Jacqueline
C'est ton grand-père. Il avait dix-neuf ans sur cette photo.
That's your grandfather. He was nineteen in this photo.
Zoé
Il était très mince. Et il avait les cheveux longs.
He was very slim. And he had long hair.
Jacqueline
Oui, c'était la mode. Il était grand et brun, avec des yeux bleus.
Yes, it was the fashion. He was tall and dark-haired, with blue eyes.
Zoé
Et il était comment ? Gentil ?
And what was he like? Kind?
Jacqueline
Très gentil, et drôle. Mais au début, il était un peu timide.
Very kind, and funny. But at first he was a bit shy.
Zoé
Et la fille qui est à côté de lui, avec la robe rouge ?
And the girl next to him, in the red dress?
Jacqueline
C'est moi, à dix-sept ans. C'est la robe que je portais tous les dimanches.
That's me, at seventeen. It's the dress I used to wear every Sunday.
Zoé
Tu étais très jolie. Vous vous êtes rencontrés où ?
You were very pretty. Where did you meet?
Jacqueline
Au bal du village, un samedi soir. C'est un soir que je n'oublierai jamais.
At the village dance, one Saturday night. It's an evening I'll never forget.
Understand
What does he look like? What is he like?
To ask about someone's personality, say or, about the past, (What is he like? What was he like?). For hair and eyes, French uses + : (She has short hair), (He has blue eyes).
For people, means “tall” and means “short”. means “to wear”: (He wears glasses). (brown, for eyes) never changes: .
| Appearance | English | Personality | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| / | tall | / | kind, nice |
| / | short | funny | |
| slim | shy | ||
| / | dark-haired | friendly, nice | |
| / | blond, fair-haired | / | serious |
| long hair | / | chatty | |
| short hair | / | patient | |
| blue eyes | calm | ||
| brown eyes | / | intelligent |
What someone was like: the imparfait
To describe how someone was in the past (their looks, character, age or clothes), use the imparfait from chapter 5: , , . It's also used for habits:
For something that happened once, like meeting someone, use the passé composé: (Where did you meet?). Zoé says to her grandmother, but here she uses because she means both grandparents: is also the plural of . With a reflexive verb meaning “each other”, the participle agrees with both people: a man and a woman .
- Quand j'étais petite, j'avais les cheveux blonds.When I was little, I had blond hair. (said by a woman)
- Mon professeur était très patient.My teacher was very patient.
- Ils se sont rencontrés à Quimper.They met in Quimper.
Qui and que: who, which, that
and join two ideas. Both can mean “who”, “which” or “that”, for people and for things. Use when a verb comes next: (the boy who's wearing glasses). Here is the subject of .
Use when a new subject comes next, such as a name or , , : (the dress that I used to wear). English can leave out “that”, but French never leaves out . Before a vowel, becomes qu', but never changes.
- C'est la fille qui est à côté de lui.That's the girl who's next to him.
- C'est un soir que je n'oublierai jamais.It's an evening I'll never forget.
- J'ai une amie qui habite à Quimper.I have a friend who lives in Quimper.
- C'est le film qu'il préfère.It's the film he likes best.
More in the grammar: Adjectives: agreement and position · Reflexive verbs: se lever, s'appeler · The imparfait: describing the past · Relative pronouns: qui, que, où, dont
New words
- mamiegrandma · : grandad
- porterto wear
- les lunettesglasses · feminine plural
- le grand-père / la grand-mèregrandfather / grandmother
- minceslim
- les cheveuxhair · always plural
- la modefashion
- les yeuxeyes · one eye:
- il était comment ?what was he like?
- au débutat first
- à côté de luinext to him
- se rencontrerto meet (each other)
- le baldance (event)
- oublierto forget
Practise
1.How do you say “She has long hair”?
2.Complete with or .
The boy who's wearing glasses is my grandfather.
3.Complete with or .
It's the dress I used to wear on Sundays.
4.Your grandfather was tall when he was young. What do you say?
5.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.She has blue eyes and wears glasses.
6.Match the French with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Il est comment ?
What's he like?
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.