Tall, high, height
Heavy, weigh, weight

          A: How old are you, Bob?
          B: 49
          A: How tall are you?
          B: 170.2 centimeters.
          A: How much do you weigh?
          B: Hmm... I'd rather not say, but if you must know... 69 kilogrammes.
          A: Oh, that's not too heavy

    　

           Name: 
             Bob Jones   
           Age: 
           49 
             Height:   
           170 cm. 
           Weight: 
           70 kgs. 

    TALL, HIGH, HEAVY and OLD are adjectives. We can use them in sentences like these:

    • How tall / heavy / old are you?
    • How high is that wall?
    • She's over 180 centimetres tall.
    • This bag's very heavy

    WEIGH is a verb. We can use it in sentences like these:

    • How much do you weigh? (cf. How heavy are you?)
    • This bag's heavy. It must weigh about 40 kilogrammes.

    HEIGHT, WEIGHT and AGE are nouns. We can use them in sentences like these:

    • What's your height / weight / age?
    • Do you know the height of this mountain?
    • He needs to lose some weight.
    • He left home at the age of 16 and moved to London.

    What's the difference between tall and high?
    Both these words refer to height. We tend to use tall for things that are narrow　and high: a tall man, a tall tree, a tall glass of beer. We tend to use high for things that are broad and high: a high mountain, a high fence, a high building. By the way, we might tend to say high building but tall skyscraper.

    To see how well you can use the above words, please try the exercises below.

    Exercise 1

    Write TALL, HIGH or HEIGHT in the blanks below:

    1. How __________ is your brother?
    2. I'd say he's about average __________.
    3. How __________ is Mount Fuji?
    4. How do you measure the __________ of a mountain?
    5. I'd like a nice cold beer in a __________ glass, please.
    6. Standing at a __________ of 172 metres, the Mendocino Tree in California is officially recognised as the world's __________est tree.
    7. There was a __________ wall around the garden and we couldn't get over it.
    8. You can adjust the __________ of the chair by pressing this button.
    9. I think you and I are about the same __________, aren't we?

    Exercise 2

    Write HEAVY, WEIGH or WEIGHT in the blanks below:

    1. A: How much do you __________?
      B: Sorry?
      A: How __________ are you?
      B: About 65 kilogrammes.
    2. She worries too much about her __________.
    3. I'm too __________. I need to lose some __________.
    4. (Farmer at a festival) If you can guess the correct __________ of this turkey, you can take it home.
    5. (Doctor to patient) You're grossly over__________. You need to go on a diet.
    6. (Airport employee to passenger) I'm afraid I'll have to __________ your hand luggage, sir. It looks a bit __________.
    7. Matt Skelton became British and Commonwealth heavy__________ boxing champion in April 2004.

    Exercise 3

    Write OLD or AGE in the blanks below:

    1. How __________ are you?
    2. My grandmother's 92 years __________.
    3. My grandfather left school at the __________ of 13 and started working in a factory.
    4. Could I have your __________, please?
    5. Children over the __________ of 12 must pay full fare on the buses.
    6. You have to be at least 21 years of __________ to work here.
    7. I don't want to tell you how __________ I am. It's rude to ask a lady her __________.
    8. Seijin no hi (成人の日) is usually translated as "Coming of __________ Day."

    Click here to check your answers and to read some further comments.

    Click here if you want to try some of my other one-point lessons.

    © Robert E. Jones, 2004