Reviews vocabulary- make me say yes

A LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

Useful vocabulary for writing reviews game, with extreme adjectives, synonyms and antonyms

By: Alex Case

Level: All Levels

Theme: Entertainment

Study Area: Vocabulary

Download Lesson Plan (PDF) 263 KB

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Lesson Plan Content:

Reviews vocabulary make me say yes

with extreme adjectives, synonyms and antonyms

Ask a Yes/ No question using at least one word below. If your partner says “Yes”, you can cross off that word and get one point, but if they say something else (“No”, “I don’t know”, etc), you don’t get a point and the word can be used again. Words on the same line don’t always have exactly the same meaning, so choose one word (not one line) each time.

Suggested yes/ no questions to ask with reviews vocabulary

Did you find…?

Do you generally find…?

Do you think it is fair to say that…?

Have you ever found that…?

In your experience,…

Is… more…/ …er than…, do you think?

Would … be … enough for…, in your opinion? – Would … be too … for…?

Would you agree that…?

Would you describe… as…?

Would you rank … as the most…/ the …est … (…)?

Would you rate … as…?

Would you say that…?

Would… find… to be…, do you think?

Possible topics of reviews

place (attraction/ sightseeing spot, café, restaurant, shop, etc)

arts and media (book, exhibition, magazine, album, concert/ gig, film/ movie, TV programme, etc)

service

technology (e.g. app)

thing (product, dish, etc)

ambience/ atmosphere

appearance (décor, etc)

contents/ materials

cost/ value for money

design

dimensions/ measurements (weight, size, etc)

effect on people/ society

experience

quality

range

style

suitability (for particular people)

taste

texture

use(s)

comparisons to other things

Ask about any topics above, words below, etc that you are not sure how to use.

absolutely/ totally/ completely/ utterly – slightly/ a little/ a bit/ a tiny bit
accessible/ convenient/ close/ near – inaccessible/ inconvenient/ far
addictive/ moreish
amazing/ brilliant/ fantastic/ outstanding/ superb/ terrific – awful/ dreadful/ terrible
amusing/ funny/ hilarious – unfunny
annoying/ irritating/ infuriating – calming/ relaxing
attractive/ beautiful/ gorgeous/ pretty/ stunning – hideous/ ugly/ unattractive
bland/ boring/ dull/ tedious – interesting/ fascinating/ intriguing
cheerful/ uplifting – depressing
comforting/ cosy/ welcoming
compact/ pocket-sized/ portable/ tiny – huge/ massive/ enormous/ bulky
cool/ stylish
cutting edge/ modern/ up to date – out of date/ old-fashioned/ classic/ traditional
delicious/ tasty – disgusting/ revolting
distinctive/ original/ unique/ unusual – unoriginal/ cliched/ typical/ common
easy/ simple – challenging/ difficult/ impossible/ tricky/ complicated
energetic/ lively – quiet/ calm
entertaining/ fun – a chore
exciting/ gripping/ thrilling
extremely – fairly/ somewhat
famous – infamous/ notorious
fashionable/ popular/ trendy/ booming – unfashionable/ unpopular/ obscure/ niche/ cult
favourite – least favourite/ most hated
forgettable – memorable/ unforgettable
good for you/ educational/ healthy – bad for you/ unhealthy
got better/ improved – got worse/ worsened
impeccable/ perfect/ flawless – flawed
important/ essential/ crucial – pointless/ trivial/ unimportant
impressive/ awe-inspiring – unimpressive/ disappointing
intellectually stimulating/ intelligent – mindless/ stupid
knowledgeable/ (well-)informed – ignorant/ uninformed
luxurious
monotonous/ repetitive – varied
moving
nice/ lovely/ delightful/ charming/ enchanting – unpleasant
odd/ strange/ weird/ eccentric/ unconventional – normal/ conventional
overrated – underrated
polite – impolite/ rude
pretentious – humble/ unpretentious
reasonable/ good value – expensive/ a rip off/ overpriced
ridiculous/ silly – serious
satisfying – dissatisfying
sophisticated – unsophisticated
subtle/ restrained/ understated – over the top/ excessive
surprising/ shocking/ astonishing – predictable
tasteful – tasteless/ tacky

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Extreme adjectives for reviews presentation

Underline the strongest word or words in each line below (= words that are extreme/ ungradable and so mean “very + weaker adjective” and go with adverbs like “absolutely/ totally/ completely/ utterly”, not “a little”, “fairly”, etc).

amazing/ brilliant/ fantastic/ good/ outstanding/ superb/ terrific
awful/ bad/ dreadful/ terrible
amusing/ funny/ hilarious
annoying/ irritating/ infuriating
attractive/ beautiful/ gorgeous/ pretty/ stunning
hideous/ ugly/ unattractive
interesting/ fascinating
compact/ little/ pocket-sized/ portable/ small/ tiny
big/ huge/ large/ massive/ enormous
cutting edge/ modern/ up to date
distinctive/ original/ unique/ unusual
challenging/ difficult/ impossible/ tricky/ complicated
exciting/ gripping/ thrilling
fashionable/ popular/ trendy/ booming
memorable/ unforgettable
important/ essential/ crucial
pointless/ trivial/ unimportant
impressive/ awe-inspiring
mindless/ stupid
nice/ lovely/ delightful
surprising/ astonishing

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Vocabulary for reviews synonyms and antonyms

Write as many words with the same and/ or opposite meanings to the words below as you can. In this activity, words which mean “very…” the other word (e.g. “freezing” and “cold”) count as synonyms.

outstanding
amusing
infuriating
gorgeous
tedious
uplifting
tiny
cutting edge
tasty
simple
lively
booming
forgettable
essential
impressive
intellectually stimulating
knowledgeable
monotonous
strange
overrated
polite
pretentious
reasonable
subtle
astonishing
tasteful

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Mixed answers – line by line version

amazing/ brilliant/ fantastic/ superb/ terrific – awful/ dreadful/ terrible
annoying/ irritating – calming/ relaxing
attractive/ beautiful/ pretty/ stunning – hideous/ ugly/ unattractive
awe-inspiring – unimpressive/ disappointing
boring/ dull – interesting/ fascinating
delicious – disgusting/ revolting
depressing
easy – challenging/ difficult/ impossible/ tricky/ complicated
energetic – quiet/ calm
fashionable/ popular/ trendy – unfashionable/ unpopular/ obscure/ niche/ cult
funny/ hilarious – unfunny
good value – expensive/ a rip off/ overpriced
huge/ massive/ enormous/ massive
humble/ unpretentious
impolite/ rude
important/ crucial – pointless/ trivial/ unimportant
(well-)informed – ignorant/ uninformed
intelligent – mindless/ stupid
memorable/ unforgettable
modern/ up to date – out of date/ old-fashioned/ classic/ traditional
odd/ weird/ eccentric/ unconventional – normal/ conventional
repetitive – varied
restrained/ understated – over the top/ excessive
surprising/ shocking – predictable
tasteless/ tacky
underrated

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Mixed answers – opposites split version

amazing/ brilliant/ fantastic/ superb/ terrific
annoying/ irritating
attractive/ beautiful/ pretty/ stunning
awe-inspiring
awful/ dreadful/ terrible
boring/ dull
calming/ relaxing
challenging/ difficult/ impossible/ tricky/ complicated
delicious
depressing
disgusting/ revolting
easy
energetic
expensive/ a rip off/ overpriced
fashionable/ popular/ trendy
funny/ hilarious
good value
hideous/ ugly/ unattractive
huge/ massive/ enormous/ massive
humble/ unpretentious
ignorant/ uninformed
impolite/ rude
important/ crucial
(well-)informed
intelligent
interesting/ fascinating
memorable/ unforgettable
mindless/ stupid
modern/ up to date
normal/ conventional
odd/ weird/ eccentric/ unconventional
out of date/ old-fashioned/ classic/ traditional
over the top/ excessive
pointless/ trivial/ unimportant
predictable
quiet/ calm
repetitive
restrained/ understated
surprising/ shocking
tasteless/ tacky
underrated
unfashionable/ unpopular/ obscure/ niche/ cult
unfunny
unimpressive/ disappointing
varied