Describing your abilities in English? Use adjectives+"at" to highlight your skills! #EnglishHelp

“I’m good at school. I’m good at English. I’m good at exercising.”

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Sound familiar? If you’re an intermediate English learner, you probably use the phrase “good at” very often to describe your skills. But that can get a bit boring after a while!

Don’t limit yourself to the basics like “good,” “bad,” and “ok” for describing your abilities. Try to push yourself and start using a greater variety of phrases.

Try replacing “good,” “ok,” and “bad” with one of the words below.

For "good at":

• skilled at (slightly formal, useful for talking about careers)

• talented at (suggests natural ability)

• accomplished at (suggests recognized achievement, more formal)

• exceptional at (shows strong ability)

• competent at (shows moderate ability)

For "okay at":

• average (neutral)

• passable at (neutral, informal)

• adequate at (neutral, formal)

• not bad at (slightly above average skill)

• mediocre at (slightly below average skill)

For "bad at":

• terrible/awful/hopeless/poor at (very bad)

• inexperienced at/not great at (not quite very bad, but still bad)

Use these phrases with this sentence structure:

• Followed by a noun: I'm talented at basketball.

• Followed by a verb: I'm talented at playing basketball.

Note that the verb must be the "-ing" form.

Imagine a friend invites you over to their house for dinner.

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You arrive a bit early, so they ask if you can help with some of the cooking. Which of the following would make sense to say?

1. I’m exceptional at cutting vegetables.

2. I’m competent at making risotto.

3. I’m terrible at boiling pasta.

4. I’m accomplished at cook.

While talking, your friend mentions that she is having trouble keeping her houseplants alive.

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You are not great at keeping houseplants alive, but you are also not terrible at it.

Which of the following responses would make sense to say?

1. I’m mediocre at keeping houseplants alive, but if you want my advice…

2. I’m average at to keep houseplants alive, but if you want my advice…

3. I’m not bad at keeping houseplants alive, but if you want my advice…

4. I’m passable at houseplants alive, but if you want my advice…

After dinner, your friend suggests playing some board games to relax.

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However, you're really bad at board games even though you've played many of them, so you really don't want to play. What could you say?

1. No thanks, I’m terrible at board games.

2. No thanks, I’m not great at board games.

3. No thanks, I’m inexperienced at board games.

4. No thanks, I’m awful at playing board games.  

The next time you go to an English's speaking friend's house dinner, try using those phrases!

Until then you can continue to improve by: