Discussing celebrations with gradable and extreme adjectives
Submitted by: Alex Case
Type: Lesson Plans
Lesson Plan Text
Discussing celebrations with gradable and extreme adjectives
Use these words to describe festivals/ celebrations/ ceremonies. Does everyone agree?
annoying or irritating/ infuriating
bad/ awful, dreadful, disastrous or terrible
big or large/ gigantic, huge, massive or enormous
bored/ stupefied
boring/ mind-numbing or stupefying
busy/ rushed off my feet
cool or cold/ freezing or frozen
crowded/ packed or cram-packed
depressing or sad/ heart-breaking
different or distinctive/ unique
difficult, hard or tricky/ impossible
disappointed/ devastated
disappointing/ devastating
drunk, merry, or tipsy/ wasted, wrecked, or blotto
excited/ thrilled
exciting/ thrilling
expensive or pricey/ exorbitant
frightened or scared/ terrified or petrified
frightening or scary/ terrifying or petrifying
full/ stuffed
funny/ hilarious
good/ great, brilliant, fantastic, fabulous, terrific or splendid
hot or warm/ baking, boiling or roasting
important or necessary/ crucial, vital or essential
impressed/ awed
impressive/ awe inspiring
little or small/ tiny, miniscule or minute
loud or noisy/ ear-splitting
memorable/ unforgettable
moving/ heart-wrenching
nice or pleasant/ charming, lovely or delightful
old/ ancient
rich or wealthy/ loaded or filthy rich
silly/ idiotic or ridiculous
special/ exceptional
surprised/ amazed, astonished or stunned
surprising/ amazing, astonishing, stunning or unbelievable
tasty/ delicious, mouth-watering or lip-smacking
tired/ exhausted
tiring/ exhausting
unpleasant/ revolting
yucky/ revolting, sickening or repulsive
p. 1
Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020
Choose a topic below and try to agree on a description using words above and these:
absolutely/ totally
extremely/ incredibly
very
fairly
a little/ not very/ not so
not… at all/ totally un…
April Fool’s Day
Armistice Day/ Remembrance Day/
War Memorial Day/ Poppy Day
autumn equinox
birthday party
Boxing Day
Buddha’s birthday/ Vesak
Burning Man
Carnival/ Mardi Gras
Children’s Day/ Children’s festival
(the twelve days of) Christmas
Christmas Day
Christmas Eve
Coming of Age Day
Constitution Day/ Independence Day
Diwali
Easter Sunday
Easter week
Eid (ul Fitr)
Emperor’s birthday/ Empress’s King’s
birthday/ Queen’s birthday
Father’s Day
(Spanish) fiesta
Fire Festival
first communion
Gay Pride
Glastonbury
“Golden Week”
Good Friday
Halloween
Flower viewing
Hanukkah
harvest festivals
Holi
Krampusnacht
La Tomatina tomato throwing festival
Lent
Lunar New Year/ Chinese New Year
May Day
Mother’s Day
National holidays/ Bank holidays
New Year
New Year’s Day
New Year’s Eve
Oktoberfest
parades
Peppero Day/ Pocky Day
Purim
Quinceañera
Ramadan
retirement celebrations
Running of the Bulls
Sabbath/ Shabbat
Saint Patrick’s Day
Setsubun bean throwing festival
Sex reveal party
Shrove Tuesday/ Pancake Day
Snow Festival
Stag night/ Hen night/ Bachelor party
spring equinox
street festivals
Tanabata
Teachers’ Day
Tet/ Vietnamese New Year
Thanksgiving
Valentine’s Day
water throwing festival
wedding anniversary
wedding ceremony
wedding reception
“White Day”
Whitsun
Yom Kippur
p. 2
Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020
Discussion questions
Ask your partner a question from below and see if you have the same their opinions,
experiences, etc:
How annoying is Gay Pride to conservatives?
How bad is it if you forget to do lucky things on the right days?
How big are wedding anniversary celebrations/ most Valentine’s Day presents/ en-
gagement celebrations?
How boring are most graduation ceremonies/ is the Queen’s speech/ are the presid-
ent’s speeches?
How busy is it during/ before/ after the New Year period?
How cold or hot is it on Xmas Day/ when people most often watch fireworks?
How crowded are most street festivals/
shops before Christmas?
How different are summer festivals in different places/ are Chinese New Year and New
Year in your country?
How difficult is it for people to fast?
How disappointed are people if you forget their birthday/ anniversary?
How drunk do most people get at wedding receptions/ on St Patrick’s Day/ during New
Year?
How exciting are most children’s birthday parties?
How expensive are most weddings?
How frightened do young children get during setsubun bean throwing/ Halloween/ The
Day of the Dead/ Black Santa/ Krampusnacht?
How full are people after Christmas dinner/ after Thanksgiving dinner/ after birthday
parties/ on Shrove Tuesday?
How funny is April Fool’s Day?
How good are most people about keeping their New Year’s resolutions/ fasting (at Ra-
madan)/ giving things up (for Lent)/ losing weight after…?
How important is the day that people come of age/ Buddha’s birthday/ the head of
state’s birthday/ May Day?
How impressive are most parades/ fireworks displays?
How interesting are most parades/ (street) processions?
How loud are street festivals/ traditional musicians?
How memorable are most people’s fifteenth birthday parties?
How moving are war memorial ceremonies?
How old are most local festivals?
How sad are people about spending birthdays/ Xmas/ New Year on their own?
How scared are pets during fireworks displays?
How scary are most Halloween costumes and decorations?
How special are 18
th
/ 20
th
/ 60
th
/ 77
th
/ 80
th
/ 100
th
birthday parties?
How surprising are most birthday presents?
How tasty is the food during winter festivals?
How tiring is it to take part in parades/ prepare for a children’s birthday party?
How unpleasant are tricks that people do on April Fool’s/ stag nights/ hen nights?
p. 3
Written by Alex Case for UsingEnglish.com © 2020