“He has a kind of solid build, right?”

English Lesson: He has a kind of solid build, right?

You're talking with your mother about your second cousin, who you haven't seen for many years. You think you remember him being broad-shouldered, muscular, and maybe a tiny bit overweight. You check with your mother to see if your memory is correct.

He has a kind of solid build, right?

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kind of (adjective/adverb)

"Kind of" means "a little" or "somewhat". People often use it in spoken English:

I'm kind of shy when it comes to the opposite sex.

It kind of took me by surprise.

You can use "kind of" before an adjective ("kind of shy") or before a verb ("kind of took me by surprise").

Another phrase with a similar meaning is "somewhat":

Most students find that university courses are somewhat more difficult than the classes that they took in high school.

"Somewhat" is more formal. Use "kind of" for most situations and "somewhat" when discussing academic topics or in writing.

The pronunciation of "kind of" sounds like "kinda".

a solid build

A person's "build" means the shape of their body. You use it like this:

The owner of the bar had a slender build.

A person with a "solid" build is muscular, with maybe a little fat as well.

Some other words that go well with "build" include:

  • a slender build (thin)
  • an athletic build (strong and lean)
  • a stocky build (similar to "solid")

(sentence), right?

Put "right?" at the end of a sentence to ask someone to confirm what you just said. For example:

We're leaving at 7:30, right?

This is similar to using a tag question like this:

We're leaving at 7:30, aren't we?

But "right?" is easier than a tag question because tag questions change depending on what kind of helping verb you use:

You were there, weren't you?

He sure talks a lot, doesn't he?