How to describe how people move in English

Описание: Hi there, Simon here! As you may have seen in this channel, there is a section dedicated to English verbs. And today we're going to have a look at some verbs that describe the way living things move. If you only know how to say 'walk' and 'run', you'll be really surprised how many verbs we've got that describe all the different movements people make.

So anyone who has a baby knows that all the very little ones can do is flail their arms and legs non-stop and without any control over them. So, anywhere from six months on, they start to crawl. Then, once they can stand up on their own two feet, and before they can walk, they shuffle while holding on to something, typically a sofa or a table, or any item of furniture. This is what my baby daughter was doing until just a couple of weeks ago, when she started to walk. And when they are a bit older, and don't want to be held, they try to escape, and they fidget or wriggle, which means that they don't want to stay still.

When it's the body that moves in a snaking motion, we can use 'wriggle' or 'writhe', but not 'fidget', because it doesn't really imply a waving or a snaking movement. Some examples are 'He turned over the rock and found worms wriggling beneath it'. Or 'The cat was writhing trying to get out of my grip'. To describe a much smoother wriggling motion, we use verbs like 'sway' or 'swagger'.

And if we want to convey a sense of labored or very difficult movement, we can use verbs such as 'trundle', 'trudge' or 'plod', so example would be 'The girls trundled in carrying heavy book bags', or 'He trudged back to his house'. If someone moves in a hurry, we often say 'saunter' or 'dash'. Just to give a couple of examples. So, 'He sauntered or dashed over to the bar and ordered a drink'. That's all for now.

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PAINTINGS
Exploring, by Anna Rose Bain
Ploughing with Oxen, by Léon-Augustin Lhermitte
Tabby Cat Art, by AmySpittleArt
Young Man Lying on a Bed with a Cat, by Giovanni Lanfranco
Children Running, by Harry Mills Walcott
I am a child, by Karl Witkowski
Sympathy, by Briton Riviere
Children Running, by Irene McDun
Children running, by William Arthur Winter
Leon, Cocker et Lapin déboulant, by Danchin
Breton Girls Dancing, by Paul Gauguin
First Steps, by Fred Morgan