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8A Grammar

Describe a good friend

Unit 8

I CAN use adjectives to describe people
I CAN use present simple to describe habits

Grammar

10 cards

When we talk about a friend, we often describe habits — things he or she does every day, every week, or every year. In English, we use the present simple for habits. Look at this sentence: 'My friend plays football on Saturdays.' The verb 'play' ends in -s because the subject is 'he / she / my friend' (third person singular).

The rule: with I / you / we / they the verb has no -s: I play, we help, they live. With he / she / my friend the verb takes an -s: he plays, she helps, my friend lives. In the negative, we use doesn't + verb (no -s): He doesn't help. He doesn't play football. In questions, we use Does + subject + verb (no -s): Does he help? Yes, he does. / No, he doesn't. The -s moves from the verb to the helping word.

Subject	Affirmative	Negative	Question
I / You / We / They	help	do not help	Do I help?
He / She / My friend	helps	does not help	Does he help?

Spelling tip: verbs ending in -ch, -sh, -s, -x, -z add -es (watch → watches). Verbs ending in consonant + y drop the y and add -ies (study → studies). Other verbs simply add -s (play → plays, help → helps).

Time expressions for habits: always (100% of the time), usually (most of the time), often (many times), sometimes (a few times), every day / every week / on Saturdays. These words usually come before the main verb: 'He always helps me.' / 'We often play football.'

Generating translation…

He helps his friends every day.

Notice: the verb 'help' becomes 'helps' because the subject is 'he'.

She plays tennis on Sundays.

Notice: the verb 'play' becomes 'plays' because the subject is 'she'.

Required

Look at the two sentences above. What letter do the verbs 'helps' and 'plays' end with?

-s
-ed
-ing

Required

She ___ (play) tennis on Sundays.

Required

He ___ (not help) with homework.

Required

Which is the correct third person form of 'live'?

live
lives
living

Required

He don't help me with homework.

Required

Put the words in order to make a sentence.

She
always
tells
funny
jokes

Required

Drag the correct verb form into each sentence. Remember: he / she + verb-s.

helps
plays
laughs
gives

He always me with homework.

She tennis on Sundays.

My friend good advice.

He at my jokes.

Listening

5 cards

You will hear a short conversation between Emma and Tom. They are at a school café after class. They are talking about a friend called Sam, who is not with them today. Before you listen, think: what do you do for your best friend? What does your best friend do for you?

Sam is Emma and Tom's classmate. In the conversation, you will hear about three things: what Sam is like (kind, funny), what he does (helps with homework, plays football), and what he gives (advice). You will also hear present simple verbs with the third person -s: helps, plays, gives. Listen carefully to how Emma and Tom use them. For example, Emma says 'He gives great advice' — the verb 'give' becomes 'gives' because Sam is one person (he).

After the conversation, you will answer three questions: one about the main idea (gist), one about a specific detail, and one where you fill in a missing word. If you miss an answer the first time, do not worry — you can listen to the dialogue again. Good listening often means listening two or three times.

Generating translation…

Emma and Tom are at a school café. They are talking about their friend Sam.

E
Emma Hi Tom! Do you have a minute?
T
Tom Sure, Emma. What's up?
E
Emma I want to talk about Sam. He's a really good friend.
T
Tom I know! Sam is so kind. He always helps me with my homework.
E
Emma Yes! And he gives great advice too.
T
Tom He plays football with us every Saturday. He never misses a match.
E
Emma He's very funny too. He tells great jokes at lunch.
T
Tom I feel lucky to have him as a friend.

Required

What is the conversation mainly about?

Tom's football team
A new student at school
Sam, a good friend
Homework problems

Required

When does Sam play football with Tom?

Every day
On Sundays
Every Saturday
On Fridays

Required

Listen again. Tom says: 'He always ___ me with my homework.'

Pronunciation

6 cards

When we add -s to a verb for he / she / my friend, the spelling is always -s. But the sound can be different! The -s can sound like /s/ or /z/. It depends on the sound before it.

The rule: after a voiceless sound (p, t, k, f, th) the -s sounds like /s/. After a voiced sound (b, d, g, l, m, n, r, v, all vowels) the -s sounds like /z/. Voiceless means your voice is OFF — put your hand on your throat, say 'p p p', and feel: no vibration. Voiced means your voice is ON — say 'b b b' and feel: vibration.

How to make the sounds: for /s/, put your tongue close to your top teeth (do not touch them), push air out, and keep your voice OFF. Like a snake: 'ssss'. For /z/, use the same mouth position, but turn your voice ON. You can feel your throat vibrate. Like a bee: 'zzzz'.

Example words: He helps /s/ — 'help' ends in /p/ (voiceless). She plays /z/ — 'play' ends in /eɪ/ (voiced vowel). He laughs /s/ — 'laugh' ends in /f/ (voiceless). She gives /z/ — 'give' ends in /v/ (voiced). He works /s/ — 'work' ends in /k/ (voiceless). She lives /z/ — 'live' ends in /v/ (voiced).

Practice this short dialogue. Pay attention to the -s sound at the end of each verb. A: He works hard. / B: Yes, and he plays well too. / A: She teaches the children. / B: She gives them confidence. Notice: 'works' and 'teaches' end in /s/; 'plays' and 'gives' end in /z/.

Generating translation…

Quick summary:

After voiceless sounds (p, t, k, f, th): -s = /s/ (no voice). Like a snake.
After voiced sounds (b, d, g, l, m, n, r, v, vowels): -s = /z/ (voice on). Like a bee.
Put your hand on your throat to check: vibration = /z/, no vibration = /s/.

Required

Listen to the word. Does the final -s sound like /s/ (no voice) or /z/ (voice on)?

/s/ (voiceless)
/z/ (voiced)

Required

Say the word clearly. Put your hand on your throat. You should feel no vibration. /s/.

helps

Required

Say the word clearly. Put your hand on your throat. You should feel vibration. /z/.

plays

Required

Read the sentence. Listen for /z/ at the end of 'gives'.

She gives good advice.

Reading

6 cards

In this section you will read a short social media post. The writer is Leila, and she is writing about her best friend, Omar. The post is from her personal blog. As you read, think about what makes Omar a good friend.

Reading strategy: Reading for gist — when you read for gist, you read the whole text quickly to get the general idea. You do NOT stop for every new word. Just try to understand the main message: who is the text about? What is the writer's main idea? When you read for specific information (detail questions), you go back to the text and read more carefully. Look for names, places, numbers, and time words. The answer is usually in one sentence.

Key words to know: cousin — a child of your aunt or uncle; study — to learn at school or at home; weekend — Saturday and Sunday; listen — to hear and pay attention to someone; advice — help or ideas you give to someone; lucky — feeling good because something nice happened.

Tip for English reading: in English (UK), commas (,) and dashes (—) are common. When you see a dash like '—', it usually means the writer is adding extra information. For example: 'He is also honest — he always tells me the truth, even when it is hard.' The part after the dash explains 'honest' in more detail.

Generating translation…

My Best Friend, Omar By Leila

My best friend is called Omar. He is my cousin and my neighbour. He is very kind and funny. He always makes me laugh.

Omar helps me with my English homework every evening. He is patient and never says 'no' when I need help. He is also honest — he always tells me the truth, even when it is hard.

On weekends, we play football together in the park. He is a good player, but he is not a show-off. He listens when I have a problem, and he gives great advice. I feel very lucky to have a friend like Omar.

Required

Who is the post mainly about?

Leila's teacher
Leila's cousin Omar
Leila's brother
Leila's neighbour Ali

Required

Omar helps Leila with her maths homework.

Required

Omar is honest and always tells the truth.

Required

What do Leila and Omar do together on weekends?

They study English
They play football in the park
They cook dinner
They watch films

Speaking

7 cards

Now it is your turn to talk! In this section you will learn useful phrases to describe a friend. You will hear a short model conversation, then repeat key sentences, and finally have a live chat with the AI.

Step 1: Listen to the model. You will hear a model conversation between two students, Ali and Sara. Sara is asking Ali about his best friend. Listen to the phrases they use — they are the same phrases you can use in your own answer.

Step 2: Useful phrases to describe a friend:

My best friend is called... — صديقي المفضل اسمه...
He / She is very + adjective. — هو / هي + صفة. For example: 'He is very kind.' / 'She is really funny.'
He / She always + verb-s. — هو / هي + فعل. For example: 'He always helps me.' / 'She always makes me laugh.'
We often + verb (no -s). — نحن + فعل. For example: 'We often play football together.' / 'We usually study together.'
I feel lucky to have him / her as a friend. — أشعر بأنني محظوظ لوجوده/ها كصديق/ة.

Tip: speak slowly and clearly. It is OK to make small mistakes — the most important thing is to communicate! Try to use at least three different adjectives and three present simple verbs. In the roleplay at the end, you will speak with a new classmate (the AI). They will ask you about your best friend. Try to use the phrases above!

Generating translation…

Listen to Ali and Sara. Sara asks Ali about his best friend. Notice the useful phrases.

S
Sara Hi Ali! Tell me about your best friend.
A
Ali My best friend is called Omar. He is very kind and funny.
S
Sara What does he do?
A
Ali He always helps me with my homework. We play football together on Saturdays.
S
Sara That sounds great!
A
Ali Yes, I feel very lucky to have him as a friend.

My best friend is very kind and always helps me.

This is a good model sentence. It uses an adjective (kind) and a present simple verb with -s (helps).

Required

Read the sentence aloud. Speak clearly and at a natural speed.

My best friend is called Omar. He is very kind and funny.

Required

Read the sentence aloud. Notice the -s on 'helps' and no -s on 'play'.

He always helps me with my homework. We play football together on Saturdays.

Required

A new classmate is asking about your best friend. Describe your friend: say their name, what they are like (use 2-3 adjectives), what they do (use 2-3 present simple verbs), and what you do together. Try to speak for at least 4-5 sentences.

Required

I CAN describe a good friend using adjectives
I CAN use the present simple to talk about habits

Vocabulary

6 cards

To describe a good friend in English, we use adjectives — words that tell us what someone is like. A good friend has special qualities: some are kind and patient, others are funny and helpful. In this lesson you will learn seven common adjectives to describe a friend. When we describe a person in English, we often say 'He is + adjective' or 'She is + adjective'. For example: 'He is kind.' / 'She is very funny.' We can also put the adjective before a noun: 'a kind friend', 'a funny joke'. Both positions are correct in English (UK).

Look at the table below. Each word has a small Arabic meaning in the third column. Then read the example sentence to see how the word is used in real English.

Word	Part of speech	Example
kind	adjective	My friend Sara is very kind.
funny	adjective	Tom tells funny jokes at school.
helpful	adjective	Ali is helpful with my homework.
honest	adjective	An honest person always tells the truth.
generous	adjective	She is generous with her time.
patient	adjective	A good teacher is patient.
friendly	adjective	The people in this town are friendly.

Notice that most of these adjectives end in -y (funny, friendly) or have a long form (helpful, honest, generous, patient, kind). In English (UK), the spelling is always the same — there is no change for plural or gender. We can use one adjective or several together: 'He is kind and patient.' / 'She is funny, friendly and helpful.'

In the next steps you will meet the words, match them to their meanings, hear them in a sentence, and check what you remember.

Generating translation…

Read each word. Listen to the pronunciation, then say the word after the app.

friendly ˈfrendli
A friendly person is kind, warm, and pleasant toward others. Someone who is friendly creates a comfortable and
funny ˈfʌni
Causing laughter or amusement; also means strange or odd.
generous ˈdʒenərəs
Willing to give more than necessary or expected; unselfish in sharing money, time, or resources with others.
helpful ˈhelpfəl
Useful; providing help or assistance to someone.
honest ˈɒnɪst
A person who is honest tells the truth and does not deceive or steal from others.
kind kaɪnd
Friendly, generous, and considerate toward others; showing care and warmth in one's actions toward people or a
patient ˈpeɪʃənt
able to wait calmly without becoming annoyed or anxious, even in difficult situations