Wednesday 14 February 2018

Describing Clothing Video

My latest Youtube video teaches how to describe clothing and people's actions using the present continuous.


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Here's the script of the video:


In this video we will learn how to talk about the clothes people are wearing and the actions they are doing using the present continuous. Before we cover the target vocabulary and grammar, let's look at an example of the language we are going to learn.

What is she wearing?
She's wearing a pink, cotton t-shirt and blue, denim jeans.
What is she doing?
She's doing laundry. 

Let's start with the names of items of clothing.
a hat
a vest
shorts
sandals
high heels
a dress
a blouse
a skirt
a jacket
a sweater
jeans
gloves
a scarf
boots
a suit
shoes
a jacket
a shirt
a neck tie
a belt
pants
a t-shirt
flip-flops
sunglasses
a cardigan
sneakers

When describing clothes we can talk about colour, pattern and material. When describing the colour of clothes, we might want to broaden our colour vocabulary. These colours that you might not know are often used to describe clothes.
khaki
navy
sky blue
lilac
aqua
burgundy
beige

Now let's look at patterns.
plain
plaid or check
gingham
argyle
polka dot
striped
printed

And materials.
leather
cotton
wool or woolen
silk
denim
nylon

In a sentence, adjectives are usually in a set order before the noun. First colour, then pattern, material and finally the noun.

He is wearing a purple, check, cotton shirt.

Notice that the article comes before the first adjective. Plain is an exception. It isn't really a pattern, but is an adjective of the colour, so it comes before the colour.

She is wearing a plain yellow, cotton dress.

To describe what someone is wearing and the action they are doing we use the present continuous. To make present continuous sentences we be + verb-ing. This chart shows the grammar we need to make present continuous sentences.

I am wearing a shirt.
He is wearing glasses.
You are riding a bike.

Now we have all the grammar and vocabulary we need. Let's look at some examples.

What is he wearing?
He's wearing a plain grey, cotton cardigan, a red t-shirt and blue, denim jeans.
What is he doing?
He's talking on the telephone.

What is she wearing?
She's wearing a black and white, printed, nylon dress and black high heels.
What is she doing?
She's listening to music.

What is he wearing?
He's wearing a plain navy, woolen suit.
What is he doing?
He's riding a bike.