Worksheets: Adjectives to Describe Workers (Business English)
ESL Level: Upper-intermediate
Note: This page is for teachers. Students, you can do these exercises here.
Background: I compiled a list of English adjectives that describe both good and bad employees then I made three worksheets with the most useful adjectives. There are three worksheets, and each page has eight adjectives (see below).
Suggestions:
- Only do one page per lesson.
- Get students to brainstorm adjectives (either before or after the worksheets) that are associated with certain jobs, e.g. a teacher, a nurse, a manager, an athlete, a coach, a surgeon, a lawyer, etc.
- Pose the question to your students: "If you had to describe yourself in three positive adjectives and one negative adjective in a job interview, what would you say?"
Adjectives: ambitious, bright, decisive, genuine, loyal, humble/modest, practical, arrogant, resourceful, meticulous, obedient, patient, outgoing, productive, punctual, easygoing, prudent, diligent, stubborn, eager, ruthless, cooperative, versatile
Download: Now available on TPT.
Worksheet preview (below)
Business English: Adjectives to Describe Workers (Set 1)
Write the correct person's name under the adjective that best describes him or her.
| Ben doesn't like to talk about his athletic achievements. Although he was once in the Olympics, he doesn't think he's better than anyone else.Despite coming from a poor family, Danielle is determined to succeed. She plans to be the first person in her family to graduate college. Takeshi would never quit his job. He thinks of his company as his family, and he plans to stay there until he retires. Laurence is an intelligent man. Tina gave up her dream of being an astronaut because it wasn't realistic. She has decided to study IT instead because it will allow her to get a job. People like Carol because she is sincere. She speaks truthfully, from her heart. Grace is an excellent public speaker. She is able to organize her ideas well and communicate them fluently. Like usual, Paul made the decision with little hesitation. | ambitious ____________ articulate ____________ bright ____________ decisive ____________ genuine ____________ loyal ____________ humble/modest ____________ practical ____________ |
Answers
Ben is humble/modest. Danielle is ambitious. Takeshi is loyal. Laurence is bright. Tina is practical. Carol is genuine. Grace is articulate. Paul is decisive
1. ambitious 2. articulate 3. bright 4. decisive 5. genuine 6. loyal 7. humble/modest 8. practical | A. fake B. lazy C. confusing D. conceited; egotistical E. unrealistic; idealistic F. unfaithful G. doubtful H. stupid |
Answers
1-B, 2-C, 3-H, 4-G, 5-A, 6-F, 7-D, 8-E
Business English: Adjectives to Describe Workers (Set 2)
Write the correct person's name under the adjective that best describes him or her.
| After losing her job, Lily waited six months before starting another. She'd had several offers, but she waited until the perfect one came along.John is an excellent newspaper editor because he pays great attention to detail and he is careful to ensure that everything is formatted perfectly. Lloyd thinks he's more important than everyone else because his father is the company's boss. He treats everyone like they are beneath him. As a junior in the company, Winston always does what he's told to do, even if he doesn't like it. Unlike most of the staff, Alex doesn't need to work overtime. He's always able to finish all of his tasks by 5 o'clock. Everyone in the office knows Penelope. She is very friendly and confident in her social skills. In his professional life, Terry is always on time for every day of work, meeting, and interview. Brenda is an excellent project manager because she is able to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties that suddenly arise. | arrogant ____________ resourceful ____________ meticulous ____________ obedient ____________ patient ____________ outgoing ____________ productive ____________ punctual ____________ |
Answers
Lily is patient. John is meticulous. Lloyd is arrogant. Winston is obedient. Alex is productive. Penelope is outgoing. Terry is punctual. Brenda is resourceful.
1. arrogant 2. resourceful 3. meticulous 4. obedient 5. patient 6. outgoing 7. productive 8. punctual | A. shy B. rebellious; defiant C. impatient D. ineffective E. humble; modest F. unreliable G. unimaginative H. careless |
Answers
1-E, 2-G, 3-H, 4-B, 5-C, 6-A, 7-D, 8-F
Business English: Adjectives to Describe Workers (Set 3)
| There's no point in arguing with Bruce. He won't listen to the opinions of others, even if they prove him wrong.As the owner of a small company, Carol has to be able to do many different things. In addition to her regular duties, she's also the accountant, hiring manager, and even receptionist sometimes. Victor takes care when making decisions in order to avoid unnecessary risk. People love working for Randy because he's relaxed. He doesn't mind if his employees are late and he gives them a lot of freedom. Robert, the new boss, fired four people in his first week. He'll do whatever he has to in order to turn the failing company around. Patricia works hard and she makes an effort to do her tasks well. Fresh out of university, Tanya, was excited about getting started with her job and learning new things. Mike is very helpful. He's always willing to be of assistance to the other members of the team. | easygoing ____________ prudent ____________ diligent ____________ stubborn ____________ eager ____________ ruthless ____________ cooperative ____________ versatile ____________ |
Answers
Bruce is stubborn. Carol is versatile. Victor is prudent. Randy is easygoing. Robert is ruthless. Tanya eager. Mike is cooperative.
1. easygoing 2. prudent 3. diligent 4. stubborn 5. eager 6. ruthless 7. cooperative 8. versatile | A. lazy B. uptight; strict C. unhelpful D. caring; sympathetic E. flexible; open-minded F. foolish G. limited H. apathetic |
Answers
1-B, 2-F, 3-A, 4-E, 5-H, 6-D, 7-C, 8-G.
very good learning
very good. a very useful website
A great resource, thank you. Just one thing, in set two, 'farther' should be 'father'
Thanks Paul. I've updated it!
I think these ideas are great to build up vocabulary and for speaking practice. I liked it!
it was a great help. thanks
very informative website and good worksheets .
Very helpful. Thank you.
Thanks. it is so helpful!
Nothing no answers so dumb!!!
Thank you so much for this, thumbs up, very helpful
Thanks！！
It was very helpful. What was the antonym of apathetic? Thank you.
Hello. Sorry the answer was not given. ‘Eager’ can be a match.