A really bad day (gradable and ungradable adjectives)

Joe | Sep 25, 2026Sep 25, 2026

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

• talk about bad experiences and how they made you feel;
• learn and practise gradable and ungradable adjectives;
• watch a video about two women’s worst day.

In this lesson, students discuss unpleasant experiences and review adjectives for describing them. They learn the difference between gradable and ungradable adjectives. They also practise using intensifiers (e.g. quite, a bit, really, absolutely, completely) correctly with each type. Students also watch a video about a flight mix-up and take part in a storytelling game using vocabulary from the lesson.

WARM-UP AND ADJECTIVES

This lesson starts with a warm-up in which students look at photos of unpleasant situations and discuss which they think is the worst. Afterwards, they match sentence halves containing adjectives and intensifiers (e.g. quite bad, a bit hungry, really angry, completely exhausted). Then, they find a stronger synonym for each adjective in the sentences (e.g. tired/exhausted, hungry/starving, angry/furious). Moving on, students choose the correct options to complete rules for gradable and ungradable adjectives. Then, they complete further gaps with the intensifiers from earlier in the lesson.

STORIES AND VIDEO

In this part of the lesson, students read three short texts and choose the correct words to complete them, using gradable and ungradable adjectives correctly. They then discuss who had the worst day and what they would do in each situation. Moving on, students look at a set of everyday situations, add details and say how they would feel using a word from each of two boxes. Following that, they predict what happened in a conversation shown in a video about two women’s worst day. Then, they watch the first part to check. Students go on to watch the second part and say if statements about the story are true or false. Then, they discuss who was responsible for the mix-up and how they’d feel in the same situation. Finally, in pairs, students take turns building a story about a bad day, earning a point every time they use a phrase with gradable or ungradable adjectives.

HOMEWORK/REVISION

This lesson also includes an additional task that you can use as homework or revision. In the task, students replace words in bold with a correct gradable or ungradable adjective. They then finish four of the sentences with their own ideas. The task is available in the teacher’s version of the worksheet. You can print it, cut it up and hand it out to your students. It’s also included in the e-lesson plan.

WORKSHEETS

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