Next Level Adjectives

Thank you to all of you who wrote to me about not receiving them. Today's episode is about adjectives. I was talking to a student of mine recently, and she said that actively practicing adjectives has helped her feel more secure and more fluent when using her English. And I thought that was awesome. She said she was sick of using the same adjectives and decided to make a list, and whenever she hears one she really likes, she adds it to her list.

She said it has really helped her, so that's what I thought we could do today: work on adjectives. But not just any adjectives, some next level adjectives. So let's go. You are listening to the forty-second episode of season two of English with Dane. Hit it! I made a short list of some adjectives you can add to your day-to-day speech that aren't your typical overused adjectives. Here they are. The first adjective is absent-minded. Absent as in ausente and mind as in mente.

Someone who is absent-minded often forgets things or does not pay attention to what is happening near them because they are thinking about other things. It translates to despistado or distraído. We all have a friend or a family member that is absent-minded. And if you don't, hey, maybe it's you. I can be a bit absent-minded at times. People who are absent-minded spend a lot of time daydreaming, maybe looking out the window, thinking about a million other things.

Absent-minded has a hyphen, by the way, ungion. It's absent guion minded. It's a compound adjective. Okay, next one. Accurate. This is a word that my students always want to use but never know. Accurate means correct and precise. It translates to preciso, exacto, correcto, even. Maybe you and your friends are talking about politics or whatever, and someone says something like, Did you know that two out of three people believe that blah blah blah blah?

You can say, Well, I don't think that's accurate. Another example could be something like, our company will help you to accurately measure, medir, your website's traffic or something. Okay, number three is similar to number one in the sense that it's also a compound adjective, and it also includes the word minded. I'm talking about closed-minded, de mente cerrada in Spanish. So we express it the same.

Someone who is closed-minded is someone who has very rigid opinions or beliefs, and is not willing, no está dispuesto, to consider different options or ideas. For example, they say that older generations are more close-minded. I know that's not necessarily the case, just an example. Number four is hectic, spelled H E C T I C. Hectic means characterized by activity, excitement, or confusion, chaotic. In Spanish we could say ajetriado or chaotico.

If somebody asks you about your day, for example, and you've been doing as estado haciendo a million things, going from one place to another, dealing with problems, clients, etc., you would say you've had a hectic day. If you're at an event and it seems, parece que it's very unorganized, you would say it's a hectic event. This is one I don't think I've ever heard a student use, but more of them should know about it. Next one, moody, spelled M O O D Y, moody.

Someone who is moody is very temperamental. Your mood is your estado de animo, how you're feeling at any particular moment. So if someone is moody, they are constantly in a bad mood, or their mood is easily affected, let's say. It's kind of like sensitive. Moody translates to malumorado or malumorada. We all know somebody who gets really moody when they're hungry, for example, or tired. Most of us, I guess.

We actually use moody as well when talking about a machine that sometimes works or sometimes doesn't, like the printer at your parents' house. Okay, moving on. I have one more. Straightforward. It's the word straight like derecho or recto, and forward as in adelante. Someone who is straightforward is honest without unnecessary politeness. Again, someone who is straightforward is honest without unnecessary politeness.

In Spanish we would say una persona sincera, franca, directa, etc. For example, people tend to vote for the most straightforward political candidate, for better or worse. Alright, a quick recap before I leave you. Number one, absent minded. Someone who is absent-minded often forgets things or does not pay attention to what is happening near them because they are thinking about other things we have despistado or distraído in Spanish. Number two, accurate, correct, and precise.

Someone who is close-minded is someone who has very rigid opinions or beliefs and is not willing to consider different options or ideas. Alright, that's the show for today. I hope it was useful. I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any thoughts, let me know, write to me on Instagram at Englishwithdain, or send me an email at Englishwithdain at gmail.com. Don't forget to follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

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