Describing Objects - Materials

This lesson teaches vocabulary and common expressions to describe what things are made of. You will learn material nouns (wood, metal, plastic) and how to use them with adjectives and phrases such as "made of", "made from", and adjective forms like "wooden".

• Identify common materials used in offices, products and packaging.
• Use material nouns and adjective forms correctly (e.g., wood → wooden).
• Choose the right phrase: made of / made from / made with.

How to choose between forms and phrases:

• Use 'made of' when the material is still recognizable (e.g., a table made of wood).
• Use 'made from' when the material is transformed (e.g., paper made from wood pulp).
• Use 'made with' to mention an ingredient or component (e.g., a product made with recycled materials).
• Use adjective forms (wooden, metallic) before a noun: a wooden desk, a metallic finish.

Tip: If you can still see the original material, use 'made of'. If the material was changed, prefer 'made from'.

Frequent errors learners make when describing materials:

• Using the wrong preposition: confusing 'made of' and 'made from'.
• Using a material noun where an adjective is required or vice versa (e.g., 'a wooden' instead of 'a wooden table').
• Unnecessary articles with uncountable material nouns (e.g., saying 'a glass' when you mean 'glass' as material).
• Incorrect word order: adjectives must come before the noun (e.g., 'wooden desk' not 'desk wooden').
• Pluralizing mass nouns incorrectly (e.g., 'furnitures' instead of 'furniture').

Focus on prepositions, adjective placement, and uncountable vs. countable nouns.