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Describing People’s Personalities

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 261: Describing People’s Personalities.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 261. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Remember to visit our website at eslpod.com to download the Learning Guide for this episode. You can also take a look at some of the new features we have on our website, including our ESL Podcast Store.

This episode is called “Describing People’s Personalities.” It’s going to be a dialogue between two people talking about the personality of their children, as well as themselves. Let’s get started.

[start of story]

Joann: Oh, are those pictures of your kids?

Artem: Yes. These are my three daughters and these are my two sons.

Joann: Your sons look so alike. Are they similar in personality, too?

Artem: It’s funny you ask that. My wife and I are always saying how different they are from one another, even though they’re the closest in age. Sergey, the younger one, is moody and a little timid, while his older brother, Dennis, is talkative and cheerful all the time.

Joann: That’s really interesting. You know, I have an older sister and we’re only a year apart, but we have very different personalities, too. When I was little, I was bad-tempered and I always fought with my brothers and sisters, while my sister was a little angel. She was always patient and generous. I really looked up to her.

Artem: It’s hard for me to believe that you were ever bad-tempered. You’re so even-keeled now. Me, on the other hand, I was a selfish and stubborn kid. I’m surprised that my parents put up with me.

Joann: I’m sure you’re exaggerating. All kids are a little selfish and stubborn, I think. Good thing most of us grow out of it as we get older.

Artem: Well, that may be true, but according to my wife and kids, I’m still the most stubborn person in the world. They may be right.

[end of story]

We heard the dialogue between Joann and Artem. Joann begins by asking Artem if those are pictures of his children - “of his kids.” Artem says, “Yes. These are my three daughters and these are my two sons.” Joann comments, or notes, that Artem’s sons look alike that, meaning they have the same physical look. She says, “Your sons look so alike” - very much alike. “Are they similar in personality, too?” The word “personality” (personality) refers to a person’s - a man or a woman’s characteristics that affect what they do and how they act or behave. So, personality is a broad, general word to describe all sorts of things about how you behave; how you act; how you think.

Artem says, after Joann asks him the question about his son’s personalities, “It’s funny you ask that.” He means it’s interesting that you are asking me that. We use the word “funny” to mean ha-ha-ha funny, but also, in the expression “it’s funny,” we mean it’s weird, or interesting, or different. Here, I think, he mean simply it’s interesting.

He says, “My wife and I are always saying how different they are from one another,” the two sons, that is, “even though they’re the closest in age.” The expression “closest (closest) in age” means they have the smallest difference between them in terms of their ages; the fewest years between two people. So, someone who is 25, 30 and 50 - you have three people - the persons who are ages 25 and 30 are the closest in age.

Artem goes on to say that “Sergey, the younger one, is moody and a little timid.” “To be moody” (moody) means you change your emotions or your moods - the way you act and feel - very quickly, often becoming angry or sad for no reason. Someone who is moody is somebody who often is negative or sad; changes their emotions very quickly. Usually it’s a bad thing when you say someone is moody.

“To be timid” (timid) means to be shy or quiet. The opposite of “timid” would be “outgoing” (outgoing - one word). “To be outgoing” is the opposite of “timid,” which is shy - quiet. I am timid, for example.

“Dennis is talkative and cheerful,” the other brother; the older brother, “Dennis is talkative and cheerful.” “To be talkative” (talkative) means you’re always talking;

you like to talk a lot. “To be cheerful” (cheerful) means to be happy; to be positive; we might say, “to be in a good mood.” That’s cheerful.

Joann says that it’s very interesting, what Artem has told her. She says that she has “an older sister and we’re only a year apart,” meaning she’s one year older than I am, or I’m one year older than she is. I have a brother who is one year apart from me; he’s one year older than me.

Joann says she and her sister have different personalities. She says that when she “was little” she was “bad-tempered.” “To be bad (bad) -tempered (tempered)” means to be very negative; to be angry; to be mad; to be in a bad mood. The word “temper” (temper) refers sometimes to how easily you get angry or mad. You could say about someone, “He has a bad temper.” You can be “good-tempered,” with an “ed” at the end, or “bad-tempered,” however. “To be bad-tempered” would be someone who gets mad easily; “to be good-tempered” would be someone who’s normally happy.

Joann says that her sister, when they were younger, “was a little angel” (angel). Here, angel means a very good person; a kind, thoughtful person who everyone likes. She’s somebody who is very nice. Joann says that her sister “was always patient and generous.” “To be patient” (patient) means to be able to wait for something without getting angry or frustrated. “To be patient” means not to get excited if something is taking a long time. “Generous” (generous) means you are willing to share with other people. You’re willing to give things to other people, and not expect they will give you something back.

Joann says she “really looked up to” her sister. “To look up to someone” means to admire someone; to respect someone; to think that someone is very good. The expression “to look up to” has a couple of different meanings; take a look at the Learning Guide for this episode for some additional explanations of that expression and the word “patient,” which also has several different meanings in English.

Artem says, “It’s hard for me to believe that you were ever bad-tempered. You’re so even-keeled now.” “To be even (even) -keeled (keeled)” means to be eventempered; not to change your moods quickly, so it’s the opposite of badtempered, in a way. It’s somebody who doesn’t come easily angry; who doesn’t become mad very easily. That is an “even-keeled” person.

Artem says, “Me, on the other hand,” notice how he says “me” instead of “I,” grammatically, the correct form would be “I,” but in normal conversation people often say, in this case, “me.” “Me, on the other hand, I was selfish and stubborn.”

“To be selfish” (selfish) means to not want to share with others. It’s the opposite of generous; wanting to have everything for yourself. “To be stubborn” (stubborn) means that you don’t want to change your mind or your opinion - your idea about something; you continue to think in the same way. My wife says I am stubborn; once I make a decision or decide on something, I don’t change my mind and I don’t listen to other reasons why I am wrong. I’m very stubborn; I think it’s because I am never wrong, but my wife disagrees!

Artem says, “I’m surprised that my parents put up with me.” “To put up with someone” means to tolerate someone; to accept someone’s negative behavior without complaining, or to accept a bad situation without complaining or getting angry. That’s “to put up with something,” usually a difficult person or a difficult situation.

Joann says to Artem, “I’m sure you’re exaggerating.” “To exaggerate” (exaggerate) means to make something bigger or more important than it really is; to talk about something and make it sound more important than it is or greater than it is.

Joann says, “All kids are a little selfish and stubborn. Good thing most of us grow out of it as we get older.” “Good thing” here means it is a good thing that most of us grow out of it. “To grow out of something” means to stop doing something as one gets older. Some children like to play with video games, and as they get older, they “grow out of it” - they mature and they stop playing the same games. Or maybe, just different games!

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of story]

Joann: Oh, are those pictures of your kids?

Artem: Yes. These are my three daughters and these are my two sons.

Joann: Your sons look so alike. Are they similar in personality, too?

Artem: It’s funny you ask that. My wife and I are always saying how different they are from one another, even though they’re the closest in age. Sergey, the younger one, is moody and a little timid, while his older brother, Dennis, is talkative and cheerful all the time.

Joann: That’s really interesting. You know, I have an older sister and we’re only a year apart, but we have very different personalities, too. When I was little, I was bad-tempered and I always fought with my brothers and sisters, while my sister was a little angel. She was always patient and generous. I really looked up to her.

Artem: It’s hard for me to believe that you were ever bad-tempered. You’re so even-keeled now. Me, on the other hand, I was a selfish and stubborn kid. I’m surprised that my parents put up with me.

Joann: I’m sure you’re exaggerating. All kids are a little selfish and stubborn, I think. Good thing most of us grow out of it as we get older.

Artem: Well, that may be true, but according to my wife and kids, I’m still the most stubborn person in the world. They may be right.

[end of story]

The script for this podcast was written by Dr. Lucy Tse.

That’s all we have time for. From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. We’ll see you next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse, hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. This podcast is copyright 2007.