Queries relating to language skillsDo you find grammar confusing? Do you get stuck with words when writinga letter, an essay or a blog? Do you have a fear of public speaking? Or doyou simply want to improve your communication skills? Times NIE is here tohelp you to master the intricacies of the English language. Just shoot usyour queries on toinie175 @gmail.com

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OTHER WORDS FOR“THIN” OR “SMALL”

SLENDER: Thin, in a pretty or el-egant kind of way.SLIM: A positive word for “thin.”You can use this to compliment

people:Hey, you’re looking slim thesedays. Have you been working out?LANKY: Tall and thin. But in anawkward kind of way.SKINNY Very thin, possibly too thin.Like someone who doesn’t eatenough.PETITEThis is French for “small.”In English it also means “small,”but we tend to use it to describeshort women.

OTHER WORDS FOR“MUSCULAR”BEEFSomeone with a lot of mus-

cles. This is informal and usu-ally used for men.BURLY

Strong, heavy.BROAD“Broad” actually means“wide.”

WELL-BUILTBig. Strong.RIPPEDIt’s means that the person has

well-defined muscles.

Face Shape■ Square ■ Oval ■ Round ■ Triangular■ Heart-shaped■ Thin Wide ■ Chiseled

Eyes Tip: Pay attention to the eyes, asthey often reveal much about aperson.

SHAPE, SIZE, AND APPEAR-ANCE: Large, small, almond-

shaped, round,squinty, crinkly,

bulging, heavy-lidded, hooded, deep-

set, close-set, hollow, tear-filled etc.

EYE COLOURBlack, brown, hazel, ( brown andgreen) green, blue, violet, grey,amber etc.

EYE EXPRESSIONSPiercing, mesmerising, sad, sor-rowful, haunted, gentle, sympa-thetic, warm, compassionate, ex-pressive, bright, twinkling, live-ly, sly, sleepy etc.

ADJECTIVES FOR HAIRCOLOURDYED (red, green, etc.)Maybe you don’t like your haircolour?

HIGHLIGHTEDPerhaps you don’t want to bleachall of it?Maybe you just want some of itbleached or “streaks”.Then get it highlighted.

GREYINGWe have to face the truth! Sooneror later our hair goes grey.

GINGER“Ginger” is a way of describingpeople with naturally orange(“red”) hair.

SKIN ANDCOMPLEXIONWRINKLEDCovered with lines or loose foldsof skin; often associated with age.

FRECKLEDSprinkled or covered with lightbrown spots.

RUDDYSkin that has a reddish tint; mayhave the appearance of sunburn.

SALLOWSkin that has a yellowish tint; maybe associated with illness.

WHEATISHWheatish skin is light brown incolour.

MIND YOUR LANGUAGE

Hi friends. We are

Describing someone’s physicalappearance may sound offensive, if youare not careful with the choice of words

AVOID THESECOMMON MISTAKESSeveral adjectives of appearance carry a negative connotationin our social fabric. You should avoid using them in professional or formal conversations

Physical description Polite way Inappropriate Way

Age

Build/Height

Skin/Eyes/Hair

Clothes

Elderly Experienced Veteran

Well BuiltStout

Dusky ComplexionTanned Skin Grey haired

Not well dressedGaudily dressed

OldAged

FatObese

DarkNot fair White hair

ShabbyShow-off

“Do not believe what your teacher tells youmerely out of respect for the teacher”

Gautama Buddha

➤Beauty lies in the eyes of thebeholder, so your idea of a “gorgeous”

person may not matchsomeone else’s view. Giveyour opinion, but do withtact.

➤Call a person you findunattractive “ordinary” or“plain,” not “ugly.”

➤Use “scruffy” or “unkempt” insteadof “messy.”

➤Use “attractive” to denote good-looking, instead of “beautiful,” “gorgeous,” or even “handsome.”

➤“Flabby” isn’t ideal, but it may bethe best way to describe someone whois the opposite of “fit,” “toned,” or“well-built.”

DESCRIBING THE OVERALL APPEARANCE AS TACTFULLY AS POSSIBLE

uizTAKE THIS

INTERACTIVE ACTIVITYImagine that you have been invited to participate in a quizin another city. The organiser is at the station to receiveyou. She calls you to coordinate a meeting point andrequests you for some information about how to recogniseyou. Can you describe what you look like? You can also use

the words listed below. But be careful as some ofthem are not very flattering!

My friend Harish is quite _______ ( long/tall). Sarita has ______ (long/ lengthy) hair. My friend is ____________ (fatty/well built). During the winter season my skin becomes ________ (shiny/dry).Ramesh is my _______ (elderly/elder) brother.

Send us your responses at toinie175@gmail.com

●Tall ●Shirt ●Curly/Straight ●Well built ●Fat●Skinny ●Thin ●Black eyes ●Glasses●Trousers ●Plump ●Wheatish

1Don’t use an apostrophe to

pluralise nounsTHE MISTAKE: Those home’swere built in the 1960’s.

WHY IT’S WRONG: Apostro-phes are used to indicatepossession. But remember,they’re also used to plu-ralise single uppercase orlowercase letters, depend-ing on which style guideyou follow.

HERE’S A TIP: Don’t useapostrophes when you plu-ralise nouns, numbers, sym-bols, or multiple letters, suchas VIP.

2Don’t write run-onsentences

THE MISTAKE: I left work ear-ly but I missed my train andI waited in the station for 40minutes until the next one fi-nally came so I didn’t gethome until 8 pm.

WHY IT’S WRONG: Withoutcommas, sentences become aconfusing, grammatically in-correct block of text.

HERE’S A TIP: When linkingtwo independent clauses, usea comma before any coordi-nating conjunction that con-nects two independent claus-es. An independent clause isa sentence that can stand

alone.Use the acronym FAN-

BOYS (for, and, nor, but, or,yet, so) to remember every co-ordinating conjunction.

3Don’t overusecommas

THE MISTAKE: I went home,and ate dinner.

WHY IT’S WRONG: Using toomany commas can also begrammatically incorrect. Forexample, a comma splice oc-curs when you connect twoindependent clauses withonly a comma instead of acomma followed by a coordi-nating conjunction.

HERE’S A TIP: Use a commato link two independentclauses or connect a depend-ent clause with an independ-ent clause. A dependentclause is a group of wordswith a subject and a verb thatcannot stand on its own.

In the sentence above,“and ate dinner” doesn’thave a subject so you don’tneed to insert a comma be-fore “and.”

4Don’t interchangesemicolons for

commasTHE MISTAKE: The trafficwas crazy today; but I arrivedat work on time.

WHY IT’S WRONG: Semi-colons are most commonlyused to separate two inde-pendent clauses that areclosely related in meaningor subject matter. Comparedto a comma or a period, asemicolon emphasises therelationship between twoclauses.

FOR EXAMPLE: I can’t go outtonight; I’m running amarathon tomorrow.

Never use a semicolon toconnect two independentclauses that aren’t related.

HERE’S A TIP: In general,only use a semicolon inplaces where you could alsouse a period. You should nev-er use a semicolon in place ofa comma before a coordinat-ing conjunction – that’s whatcommas are for.The only exception to theserules is when you’re writinglong sentences or complexlists that already have sever-al commas.

FOR EXAMPLE: If I want tobuy the iPhone 8, I’ll have tostart saving today; but if theiPhone 7 gets cheaper, I’ll con-sider that option, too.SOURCE: BUSINESS INSIDER

AVOID THESE MISTAKES

Funny idiomsWhen pigs fly MEANING: about something that willnever happen.EXAMPLE: I think he’ll pay you backyour money – when pigs fly.

Have (or get) your ducks in a rowMEANING: get everything organised,straightened up and accounted forbefore embarking on an activity or project.EXAMPLE: I’ll get my ducks in a rowbefore going on vacation.

Monkey businessMEANING: behaviour that is notacceptable or dishonest.EXAMPLE: I want to sleep. Stop dis-turbing me by your monkey business.

Bull in a china shopMEANING: extremely awkward and

clumsy person. EXAMPLE: You are like a bull in a chinashop, a complete misfit in a museum.

More holes than a SwisscheeseMEANING: Something that has a lot offaults and problems.EXAMPLE: The new movie’s plot hasmore holes than a Swiss cheese.

Best thing since sliced breadMEANING: Used to show one’s enthusi-asm about a person, thing or idea; tohype up a certain thing.

EXAMPLE: The way they act, it wouldseem like the new employee is the bestthing since sliced bread.

To have a cast iron stomachMEANING: to have no problems eatingor drinking anything.EXAMPLE: I think I would be sick if Iate all that food, but Joe seems to havea cast iron stomach.

Use your loaf MEANING: use your head, think smart.EXAMPLE: Come on Parker, use yourloaf! I know you can solve this problem!

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

WORDS YOUMUST KNOW8WANDERS

MEANING: move or walk leisurely EXAMPLE: You should be focusedwhen your mind wanders off.

HARD-WIRED MEANING: compelled, forced EXAMPLE: Being cautious is hard-wired in our brain.

DIMINISHING MEANING: decreasing EXAMPLE: The new law is expect-ed to diminish industrial growth.

LIBERALISED MEANING: with minimum restrictions EXAMPLE: The new liberalisedpolicy will help businesses flourish.

PICTURESQUE MEANING: visually attractive EXAMPLE: The picturesque val-leys of Kashmir should be visited.

HOTSPOT MEANING: a bustling placeEXAMPLE: Cafes in cities arehotspots for meeting new people.

ASSETMEANING: a valuable thing EXAMPLE: My strong communica-tion skill is my most valuable asset.

MOTIFMEANING: a pattern or design, arecurring subject or theme in anartistic workEXAMPLE: Superstition is arecurring motif in the book.

HOW TO WRITEPHYSICALDESCRIPTION