Adjectives for Describing Stunning Places and Views

Hi there, this is Harry and welcome back to my  advanced English lessons where I tried to help  

you to get a better understanding of the English  language. If you like my lessons, please don't  

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So in this particular lesson is looking  at advanced English adjectives to describe  

travel or indeed, travel experiences.  So I'll give you them, I've actually got  

10. They're all adjectives. And I'll also  give you nouns that they will collocate with.

Okay, so we'll start. Impressive. Remarkable.  Superb. Astonishing. Stunning. Dramatic. Exotic.  

Unique. Breathtaking. And memorable. Now,

as I said, they're all adjectives.  And because they connected with  

travel or travel experiences, then a lot of  them will collocate with very similar words,  

but at least they'll give you a choice of  words with which you can use them. Okay,  

so I'll try and give you  some of those collocations.

So impressive. Something that lead... leaves an  impression, something lasting in your memory.

Okay, so when you arrive at the hotel, you  weren't sure what to expect. But when you step out  

of the bus or after the taxi, you can see the  hotel really impressive. Yeah, it stretches for  

many, many metres. It's main  architecture is very, very old, but  

really clean and really well maintained. So  the whole look of the hotel is impressive.

When you walk into the reception area, it is  impressive big, big room, beautiful wooden  

desk by where the receptionist is, and a  real great atmosphere. So everything about  

the entrance, the setting is very impressive.  Okay, now, the people in the hotel can also be  

impressive, but there are other adjectives we  could use to describe them. So let's focus on  

this travel part. You're impressed by what you  see. So the five star rating, that's impressive.  

The entrance to the hotel. That's impressive,  the reception area, that is also impressive.

Remarkable. Yeah, remarkable can be  something that is gives you a lot of  

information, something that you didn't know about.

Okay, so you go to visit  some local sightseeing tours,  

for example, the museum or the art gallery.  And you could say that they were remarkable  

because of the information they provided  you that you perhaps you didn't know about.  

Perhaps there's some particular painter  attached historically to that particular  

area. And when you go to visit the art gallery  with his name, there's a lot of information.

So while it's quite remarkable about his style,  and the way he did things, I really didn't  

know anything about him before I visited that  particular gallery. Or the museum is a remarkable  

exhibition of all kinds of clothing or things,  relics that had been found in this particular  

area. So the information I got was really  remarkable. I can use it in my lessons for my  

students in the history... classes. Okay,  so something really, really remarkable.

Superb, well, we can often use this to describe  food. So if you're going to a five star hotel,  

you'd expect that the food and the menu  

would be very, very good. So when  somebody asked you what was the food

like, Oh it was superb, superb food every night,  there was always the Chef's choice on the menu.  

And yeah, that was particularly on the  Tuesday that was really superb. The meat was  

cooked to perfection, how they serve it, how  they dressed the tables out there presented.  

Yes, superb as the only word  I could use to describe it.  

Yeah. So if I wanted one word to describe the  holiday, superb, super wonderful, amazing. Okay.

Astonishing. Well, astonishing is something that  shocks us or surprises us in a positive way.  

Yeah. So the use of the word astonishing when  we're travelling could be to do with experiences.  

It could be do with something that we see it could  do with the amount of time that you you have.

For example, when you get up in the morning  and you're down for breakfast, they have a  

really as we said before, superb menu and  the food is excellent. And it's astonishing  

how much food you can eat when you're  on holiday. So you're nice and relaxed.  

It was astonishing how much food I actually ate.  But I didn't put on any weights because I got  

plenty of exercise. That was also astonishing. I  was astonished that I didn't put on any weight.

So I was astonished or was astonishing,  that I didn't put on any weight,  

it was astonishing the amount  of food that I actually ate  

really good quality. But you know, I  really, really enjoyed it. Astonishing.

Stunning. Now, we often use this word stunning  to do with views, and particularly if you're on  

a holiday, or if you're travelling, then  you will be very interested and hopeful  

that a lot of the views that you will see, you  could be able to describe them as stunning.

So for example, if you were standing at  the top of Niagara Falls, which I have done  

many times, the view is stunning. Okay,  the extent to which the spray of the water  

travels up on the air, and  then blows across the street,  

that's quite stunning, the force of the water  falling over the fall's is also stunning.

But there are lots and lots of other  places around the world that people would  

equally describe a stunning the first time  perhaps that they they go to Egypt and  

all the views that they have there,  they would be certainly stunning.

As soon as they see the pyramids, yeah, the  size of them the shape. Yeah, stunning views  

of the standing on top of Grand Canyon. Looking  down, that view would also be quite stunning.  

But it doesn't have to be something on such a  grand scale as the Grand Canyon or the pyramids.

You can be standing at top of a mountain and the  sky is blue. And you can look down over a valley,  

nobody else might know much about it. But to you  

that particular view could be  stunning. So a stunning view.

Okay, a stunning museum, we could also use it  in that, to that extent, the hotel was stunning.  

So we can use it to describe the hotel. So all of  those collocations. Now, we can also use stunning  

when we see somebody really, really beautiful.  But here we're focusing just on travel. But  

you could say a stunning looking man or stunning  looking looking woman again, very, very beautiful.

Dramatic. Well, dramatic means  theatrical. Yeah, so dramatic.

Again, this could relate to views that dramatic  views or if we go back to my point about  

Niagara Falls, looking at the depths,  when you look down, it's quite dramatic,  

because it goes straight down, the water  falls down several hundred metres, and then  

the spray comes back up again.  Okay, so that's quite dramatic.

Or if you get on the boat that goes underneath,  the water for that is even more dramatic. So it  

could be a dramatic journey on the boat.  It could be a dramatic view, when you look  

down to see the force of the water and you hear  that noise. It's quite deafening. You can't hear  

other people talking because of the force of the  water. So that in itself would also be dramatic.

Okay, now, you could have a dramatic  events or something happened  

on your journey or your holiday that  could be quite dramatic. You know,

perhaps if you're travelling by plane,  

and the plane hits a bit of turbulence  as it can often happen. That could be  

quite dramatic. So that plane journey turned  out to be dramatic all's well that ends well.  

And there were no problems. But yeah, a  few people were really scared and they were  

shouting and screaming a little bit so we could  certainly describe the plane journey as dramatic.

Exotic. Well, exotic could be a number of things.

If you're going on a tropical island, then  certainly the trees or the vegetation,  

or the fruit could be described as exotic fruits  that you wouldn't get when you're at home.  

You're at full list of exotic fruits,  a list of exotic fruit drinks to enjoy.  

Okay, the whole experience walking on the  golden white sands with palm trees hanging over  

the sands to... to provide you with some shelter  and shade. That could also be described as  

exotic so exotic trees, exotic plant  and animal life, exotic fruits to enjoy  

a new evening while you're sitting by the pool,  exotic and exotic locations. So where did they  

go for the honeymoon? Ah, they picked  some exotic location in the Caribbean.

Unique. Unique means unusual or different,  

or something special. Okay? So when you're  on a journey or a holiday, or travelling,  

then something unique is something  perhaps that you haven't done before.

Well, going on a cruise ship, for me would be  a unique experience, because I've never done it  

before. So a unique experience. So if you're  travelling somewhere where you haven't been,  

well, it's going to be unique for me,  because I've never been to South America.

Or I've never been to Asia, to enjoy some of  the traditions perhaps in Japan for when they  

have the tea ceremony that could be unique. So  a unique exhibition, or a unique demonstration  

of the traditions a unique tradition, only  known to the Japanese so you could describe it  

in those ways and use unique, connected  or co located with those particular nouns.

Breathtaking. Again, this is usually about  views, okay? So when you stand on that mountain,  

when you stand on that, at the top of the ridge,  when you look down that waterfall, when you look  

across the expanse of the river, then all of those  views would be breathtaking breath, taking view.

Or if you've never been skiing before, and  then you get up to the top of this mountain  

at three or three and a half thousand  metres. And there's a vast expanse of  

white snow. Yeah, this sky is blue  as it often is, the sun is shining.  

So you could see wow, this is truly  breathtaking. A breathtaking view,  

a breathtaking experience, okay, so something  that literally takes your breath away your you  

can't think of words to say it's everything  is quite surprising. Really, really, really  

good experience for you is something that  you haven't experienced before. Breathtaking.

And then finally, memorable. Well, memorable  is all connected with the memory, what are you  

going to remember in the future, so we all go  on holidays, some of them could be forgettable  

because they weren't so interesting. Or they  were just average holidays, nice to get away.  

But nothing so memorable. So memorable means  something that will last for a long time.

It could be your honeymoon. I guess it was a  memorable holiday, we really, really pushed the  

boat out with, with our location, we spent a lot  of money but you know, it was wonderful, really  

memorable. Those memories will last for a long  time you went hiking, you climbed over a mountain,  

you visited places that you hadn't never expected  to see. And perhaps you'll never see them again.

So these all add to the experience. All of  them would be memorable, memorable experiences,  

memorable occasion, a dinner that was memorable  because it was the first one of the holiday  

or the last one of the holiday. Or perhaps it  was one of these restaurants that are on these  

revolving restaurants at the top of towers.  So you, you go up in a tower and an elevator,  

you go on this revolving tower. So  as you're eating your meal, the tower  

revolves very slowly, but they can be  memorable because if it's a clear night,  

you can see different places at different times  and really, really enjoy it and you can't wait  

until we get home to tell your friends  about it. So memorable experiences.

Okay, so these are all adjectives,  they're advanced English adjectives,  

all connected to describing travel or travel  experiences. So we can have impressive views  

and impressive hotel. We can have a remarkable  experience in a certain museum or gallery.  

Superb service, superb wine list.  Astonishing views, stunning views.  

Dramatic journey, a dramatic experience, a  dramatic event. Exotic fruits, exotic animals,  

exotic trees, whatever. Unique experience, a  unique show, a unique event, a unique country  

to visit. Something you have never experienced  that probably never will experience again.  

Breathtaking again, breathtaking views  breathtaking scenery from the balcony of your  

hotel looking out on that sunset beach with  the the water that's hardly rippling at all yet  

turquoise colour really, really breathtaking, and  then memorable. Overall, the little holiday was  

memorable, or that final dinner that you  took me to at the top of that tower really  

memorable. I will remember that for a long, long  time. I'm glad we have all those photographs.

Okay, so advanced English adjectives all to  do with travel, and all to do with travel  

experiences. Okay, well hopefully you can get  to use some of those that tried to practice them  

if you need any more help than you know  where I am, and I really appreciate you  

watching and listening. As always, join  me again soon. This is Harry signing off.