Functional English Training for Professionals

Everyday English

Describing a Place: Student guide

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Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Malini, and I stay in

Mysore.

Mysore has a small population and a rich historical

background. It is known as the City of Palaces, and is
a famous tourist attraction in India.

Why dont you tell me about the place you live in?
Take five minutes to write about it in your
handbook.
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Learning Objectives

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Grammar and Vocabulary

Grammar Vocabulary
Adjectives Located, Close, Far
Adverbs Population,
Community
Cold, Hot, Foggy,
Rainy
Beautiful, Famous
Big, Small, Tall,
Very, Too, Many

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Describing a Place - Location
Lets learn some commonly used categories for describing a place:

Location: A place can be described by its location, or its relation to other

locations. For example, you can describe a place by saying Ooty is about
600 kilometers from Chennai.

Here are other ways of describing a place by its location:

Ooty is located in the It takes about 4 hours to reach Mysore

Nilgiri Hills. from Bangalore.
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Describing a Place - People

People: A place can also be described by the number of people living

there, or the type of people and what they do. You can describe a place
by saying It has a population of 8 lakh people.

Here are other ways of describing a place by its location:

The Todas are a tribal Tipu Sultan was once the ruler of
community that live in Mysore. He is known as The Tiger of
Ooty. Mysore.
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Describing a Place - Climate
Climate: Climate describes the weather of a place over a long time
period. You can describe a place by its climate by saying It has a cold
climate.

Here are other ways of describing a place by its climate:

The mornings in Ooty

It rains heavily in Mumbai
are usually cold and
between July and September.
foggy.
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Describing a Place Tourist Attractions

Tourist Attractions: The tourist attractions of a place are the things that
a place is famous for. You can describe a place by saying It is known for
its flower gardens.

Here are other ways of describing a place by its tourist attractions:

Ooty has 4 beautiful

Mysore is known as
waterfalls.
the City of Palaces.
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Interactive Exercise: Match the Following
Match the following sentences to the type of description.

Its 3 kilometers from my house X Tourist Attractions

It has a population of 30,000 X Climate

It gets very hot in July X Location

There is a very beautiful fountain at X People

the center of that building

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Writing Exercise: Describe the Picture

Look at the picture given below. The description for the picture is
incomplete. Fill in the blanks in your handbook with the words given here.

(garden, located, shape, Taj Mahal, tourist attraction, twenty, white)

The Taj Mahal is a famous _______ in India that

draws millions of visitors every year. It is _____ in
Agra, a city in Uttar Pradesh. It was built as the final
resting place for Mumtaz Mahal, the third wife of
Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The name _______
means crown of palaces. It is made of _____
marble and took ______ years to be built.

The Taj Mahal has a large white dome that is called

an onion dome due to its______ . It is surrounded
by four smaller domes. The Taj Mahal complex
includes a large_____ , a pool, and mosques.

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Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives and Adverbs are words or groups of words that describe a

noun and a verb respectively. Adverbs can also be used to describe an
adjective, or another adverb.

For example:

Ajay bought a yellow scooter which is very fast.

Ajay is quickly learning to drive long distances.

In the above sentences, 'yellow', 'fast' and 'long' are adjectives as they
describe the nouns 'scooter' and 'distance' respectively.

Very is an adverb as it describes the adjective fast and in the first

sentence. Quickly is also an adverb as it modifies the verb 'learning'.
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Summary: Describing a Place
Here are different ways of describing a place. Take 5 minutes to read this table.

Location: People: Climate: Tourist

Attractions:
A place can A place can
be described also be Climate is the The tourist
by its location, described by weather attractions of
or its relation the number of condition of a a place are
to other people living place over a the things that
locations. there, or the long time the place is
type of people period. famous for.
and what they
do.

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Pair Work: Describing Hyderabad

Form pairs.
Read the sentences carefully and identify the category where
each sentence should belong. You have 7 minutes for this.
As soon as the time is up, read out your answers to your
partner.
After all the students have read their answers, the facilitator
will read out the correct answers.
The students should make corrections in the notebook,
wherever necessary.
Remember, you need to identify if the description is based on
location, people, climate or tourist attractions.

Tourist
Location People Climate
Attractions

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Pair Activity: Describing Hyderabad
Tourist
Location People Climate
Attractions

Hyderabad is a famous Indian city located in South

India.
Hyderabad is known for the Golkonda Fort, Hussain
Sagar lake and Hyderabadi biryani.
Hyderabad has a population of about 6.8
million people.
Hyderabad is known for its hot weather.
Hyderabad was historically known as a pearl and
diamond trading centre, and it continues to be known
as the City of Pearls.
In summer, the temperature is Hyderabad can go as
high as 40 C.
The people of Hyderabad speak Telugu, Hindi and
Urdu.
Currently, Hyderabad is the common capital for the
states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
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Group Activity Describe a Place

1. Form groups with 5 people in each group.

2. One person from each group will step forward and describe their
hometown or neighbourhood.

3. You need to describe your neighbourhood using all the

categories (location, people, climate and attractions), as well as
adjectives and adverbs.

4. At end of the activity, the team should share the best answers
with the other groups in the room.

Time: 10 minutes

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Check your Learning Describing a
Place
Match the following sentences to the type of description.

New Delhi is quite far from Bangalore. X People

New Delhi is very hot in the summer. X Location

New Delhi is famous for the Red Fort. X Climate

New Delhi has a large population

of Punjabis. X Tourist Attractions

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Check your Learning Adjectives & Adverbs

Hyderabad is a ____city. The sun was shining _____.

Bigger Very Bright
Biggest Brightly
Big At night
Too Big Confused

The _____ sun was shining all I was _____ tired after climbing
day the hill.
Bright How
Sunny Very
Confused Much
Brightly Two

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Check your Learning Adjectives & Adverbs

The cricket match was ___ good. The Taj Mahal is the ____ popular
Three tourist attraction in India.
Two Very
To More
Too Most
Much
Utility building is the ____building in
Bangalore. New Delhi is ___ than Agra.
Tall Bigger
Taller Biggest
Tallest Big
Short Very Big

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Action Plan

Think of all that you have learnt in this class, and apply it in everyday situations.
Maintain a diary and show your progress to your teacher.

In the next 2 days:

Describe the area you live in to your friend.
Describe the area you live in, using 3 adjectives and 2 adverbs.

In the next 14 days:

Write a postcard to your friend describing your hometown.
Listen to your teachers and make a note of all the adjectives and adverbs you
hear.

In the next 1 month:

Write a short essay on your favorite place in India. Use all the categories of
places, adjectives and adverbs.

Keep practising!

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