• 1 TRY OUT LANGUAGE

  • 2 LEARN GRAMMAR

  • 3 APPLY ON YOUR OWN

Describe a Favorite Topic

Define and Explain

What do you enjoy? Tell a partner about a game, sport, or other topic that you know well. Define the difficult words.

First, use a Word Web to gather the important words that go with the topic. Here is a Word Web about Egypt.

Word Web

Word Web

Decide which words you may need to define for your partner. Write the meanings. Use a dictionary if you need help.

Then talk with a partner. When you give your explanation, define at least one word.

How to Define and Explain

  • 1. Define: Tell what the word means.

  • 2. Explain: Give details and examples to make the definition clear.

A mummy is a body that has been treated so it doesn’t fall apart. A mummy is wrapped in cloth. In ancient Egypt, the dead were made into mummies.

Use Verb Tenses

Be sure to use the correct verb tense when you speak. When you define something, you can use the present tense verbs is or are.

EXAMPLESThe Nile is an important river in Egypt.
The pyramids are special buildings in Egypt.

When you give an explanation, you may tell about something that already happened. If so, use past tense verbs.

EXAMPLESLast year, I went to a museum. I saw a mummy up close.
It was covered in cloth. The guide told us that the mummy was 2000 years old.