Personality

Read this opening conversation between two friends:

Michael:  Tell me more about why you married Jim.
Michiko:  Well, we just hit it off the first time we met.
Michael:  That's amazing.
Michiko:  Yeah.  His weaknesses are my strengths and vice versa.

When you first meet someone, there might be an instance where you can talk to someone very easily.  We call this "hitting it off."  Read this example sentence:

"We just hit it off the first time we met"


Some personalities complement each other because they're so opposite. Here are some examples of what we say when two people have complementary personalities:

"a perfect pair"

"a match made in heaven"

or
"opposites attract"


Read these example sentences:

"His weaknesses are my strengths and vice versa"


Now let's read this next conversation between two friends:

Michael:  I can't stand Derek!
Michiko:  Why?  What did he do to you?
Michael:  Oh, we just have personality clashes all the time.
Michiko:  Maybe you need to sit down and talk about what's irritating you.
Michael:  You're right.  I'll try that.

A clash means that something or someone doesn't get along.  Here's another example of how to use the word clash.   Read these example sentences:

"Those two colors you're wearing clash together"

"Joe and I have personality clashes"


Everyone has different personality traits.  For example:

"ambitious"   "reliable"


Read these example sentences:

"He is an ambitious person"

"Being a reliable person is a good character trait"






Here are some that are negative characteristics:

"gullible"   "selfish"


Read these example sentences:

"He is a very gullible person"

"It's not good to be selfish"


Here are also some neutral qualities:

"shy"   "innocent"
"funny"   "proud"


Let's read this next conversation is between two parents talking about their children.

Michael:  How's Ryan doing in school now?
Michiko:  Well, you know that last year he wasn't doing too well…
Michael:  Up huh.
Michiko:  But he's worked really hard and has a B average now. I'm really proud of him.
Michael:  I'm glad to hear that.

So in this conversation, the parent wasn't bragging.  He was just very happy and pleased that his son worked hard and was doing better.  Also artists, composers or manual labor workers might tell you, "I take pride in my work."







Read these example sentences:

"I'm proud of my son's accomplishments"

"I take pride in my work"







Let me mention that there are people who have pride and think  they are better than others.  We sometimes use words such as conceited, vain, over-confident.

Read this example conversation:

Michiko:  That guy is so conceited.
Michael:  How could you tell?
Michiko:  The way he talks and his attitude.
Michael:  Somebody had better deflate him.

People who fight a lot are said to :  "fight like cats and dogs." Cats and dogs are natural enemies and hate each other and that's how some humans often act.  Let's practice this sentence everyone.  For example:

"They fight like cats and dogs"


Most jobs require certain kinds of character traits.  For example, good salesmen have to be aggressive, outgoing and smooth-talking to attract customers. If you're wondering if someone is right for the job, you can say:

"Do you think Pete is right for the job?"

or
"Do you think Pete's personality fits this job position?"


Now read this short conversation between office workers:

Michiko:  The office is different now that Aaron works here.
Michael:  Yeah, he's really funny and brings a lot of life here.

People like other people who bring a lot of life into the world.  This means the bring a lot of fun, laugher, excitement and so on.  Michiko, have you heard the phrase, "he's the life of the party?" For example:

"She's the life of the party"







More important than the outward appearance is what is inside of people.  When you get to know them, you find out how they really are.  Read these example sentences:

"I know his true personality"

"I got to know her true nature"


In marriage, people find many hidden things about their spouse that they didn't know before.  Someone with two personalities or two faces is called Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  You might have a similar personality to someone in your family.





You might say this:

"I take after my Aunt Sue"

or
"Our personalities are similar."


When we learn a character trait through experiences, we can say that we learned through "trial and tribulations."  Read this example sentence:

"I learned how to be patient through many trials and tribulations"


Read this next conversation between two roommates:

Michael:  I hope that John is responsible.
Brad: The most important thing  is that he's easy to live with.
Michael:  And that's he's neat.
Brad:  He seems like he stays to himself most of the time.
Michael:  But do we want to live with a hermit?  What about our loud parties?

A person who is easy to live with makes no trouble for his/her roommates.  If you are a hard person to live with, people don't like to live with you.

People who like to be by themselves are called " loners."  They are kind of shy.  For example:

"Is he a loner?"

"Scott usually keeps to himself"


Now read this next conversation:

Michael:  We need a fourth for tennis tonight.
Michiko:  How about Tim?  He's an excellent player.
Michael:  That's true but I hate playing with him because he's arrogant and hogs the ball.
Michiko:  How about my co-worker Joshua?
Michael:  Oh yeah, he's not as good as Tim but he's more of a team player who likes to have fun.
Michiko:  Let's call him!

In the conversation, they choose someone who had a good personality. So even in sports, it's important to have a team mate that is patient, likes teamwork, and has certain qualifications for that particular sport.  For example:

"a person who believes in teamwork"
"mentally tough"
"aggressive"
"persistent"
"hard working"
 "teachable"

So if the coach asks you:

"Are you a hard-working person?"

You can say:

"It's something I'm working on"

or
"People tell me I am."


People who cannot control themselves, often get into bad situations. We might say:

"He has no self-control"







We're going to read a conversation between two friends.  It also has a few idioms in it:

Michael:  Oh!  I can't stand Vanna!
Michiko:  Really?  Why do you feel that way towards her?
Michael:  Well, she does everything by the book and she's very rigid in her thinking.
Michiko:  At heart she's a nice person.
Michael:  Hmmm, you're right.  I know she means well.

In this conversation, they were talking about a woman who did everything by the book.  "By the book"  describes a legalistic person.  They do everything according to the law.   For example:

"She does everything by the book"


The next idiom was "at heart."  This means essentially or basically. Let's practice.  Read this example sentence:

"At heart, she's a nice person"