Vocabulary practice

4. Study the following and do the tasks below.

Your family tree

• Your closest relatives are your parents: your mother and father; and your siblings (brothers or sisters). If your mother or father is not an only child, you also have aunts and / or uncles. An aunt is the sister of your mother or father, while an uncle is the brother of your mother or father. Your female child is called your daughter, and your male child is your son.

• If your aunts or uncles have children, they are your first cousins. (In English, the word cousin is used, whether the cousin is female or male.) Your female cousin is your mother (or father’s) niece, while a male cousin is the nephew of your mother and father.

• In-laws

When you marry, your husband (or wife’s) family become your in-laws. The mother of your spouse (husband or wife) is your mother-in-law and his or her father becomes your father-in-law. The term in-law is also used to describe your relationship with the spouses of your siblings. So the husband of your sister becomes your brother-in-law, while the sister of your husband becomes your sister-in-law. If you are a woman, you become the daughter-in-law of your husband’s parents, and if you are a man, you become the son-in-law of your wife’s parents. The same term in-law is used for all generations. The husband of your aunt is still your mother’s brother-in-law, for example.

• Grandparents / grandchildren

The parents of your parents are your grandparents – grandmother and grandfather. You are their grandchildren – either a granddaughter or a grandson. If your grandparent has a sister, she is your great-aunt. If your grandparent has a brother, he is your great-uncle. (And you are either his or her great-niece or great-nephew.)

The mother of your grandmother or grandfather is your great-grandmother. The father is your great-grandfather. If you go back another generation, the grandmother of your grandmother / grandfather is your great-great-grandmother. The grandfather of your grandparent becomes your great-great-grandfather.

• Second families

If your mother or father remarries, you can acquire a new family and set of relatives. For example, if your father marries a second wife, she becomes your step-mother. Any children she already has become your step-sisters or step-brothers.

If your mother or father remarries and has children, they become your half-brothers or half-sisters.

You might also hear people talking about their biological brother / sister etc, to mean a brother who is related by blood, rather than by marriage.

5. Express the following in one word.

• the sister of your mother or father

• the children of your aunt or uncle

• the parents of your mother or father

• the child of your son or daughter

• the brother of your father or mother

• a son of your brother or sister

• a daughter of your brother or sister

• your husband’s/ wife’s father

• your mother’s second husband

• your father’s second wife

• a brother who has either the same mother or the same father as you

6. Complete the sentences with an appropriate family word.

1. We have the same mother, but different fathers. She’s my ... .

2. He’s my brother’s son. He’s my ... .

3. He married my mother after my father died. He’s my ... .

4. She married my son. She’s my ... .

5. I don’t have any brothers or sisters. I’m a/an ... .

6. She’s my brother’s daughter. She’s my ... .

7. We live together but we’re are not married. He’s my ... .

8. I used to be married to him. He’s my ... .

7. Which sentence is logically (or legally) impossible?

1. I’m an only child but I have lots of cousins.

2. My nephew is 5 years older than my wife.

3. My brother-in-law’s girlfriend is the step-daughter of my cousin.

4. My ex-wife’s second husband is a grandfather.

5. My niece’s partner has three step-children.

6. My sister’s husband is the son of my parents.

7. My father-in-law is the grandfather of my daughters.

8. Give personal information.

1. Have you got a family? How large is your family?

2. Who is the oldest person in your family?

3. How old is your father?

4. Is your mother younger than your father?

5. Are you an only child in the family?

6. Have you got an elder brother? How old is he? What is he like?

7. Who is the youngest person in your family? How old is he/she? When is his/her birthday?

8. Are your grandparents alive?

9. How old are they?

10. What are their interests?

11. Where do they live?

12. How often do you visit them?

13. Have you got any aunts or uncles?

14. What do they do?

15. Have you got any cousins?

16. What are their names?

17. Have you got common interests?

18. What are your relatives like? Who is the smartest, the kindest, the friendliest or the most stupid in the family? Who is the most beautiful?

Smile with us

“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.” (Mark Twain)

GRAMMAR REVIEW

THE PAST CONTINUOUS

The past continuous form = the past tense of be + an ing-form.

9. Read and translate the conversation.

Ann :	I rang at about three yesterday afternoon, but you weren’t in. I didn’t know where you were.
David :	Oh, I was helping Dad. We were repairing his car. It took ages. We were working on it all afternoon.
Ann :	It was raining. I hope you weren’t doing it outside.
David :	No, we were in the garage. So I didn’t get wet. But I’m afraid I got oil all over my new trousers.
Ann :	Why were you wearing your new trousers to repair a car?
David :	I don’t know. I forgot I had them on.

10. Complete the conversation. Put in the past continuous forms.

Jessica :	I was looking (I / look) for you, Vicky. I’m afraid I’ve broken this dish.
Vicky :	Oh no! What ________ (you / do)?
Jessica :	________ (I / take) it into the kitchen. I bumped into Emma. ________ (she / come) out just as ___ (I / go) in.
Vicky :	I expect it was your fault. ________ (you / not / look) where ________ (you / go).
Jessica :	Sorry. I’ll buy you another one as soon as I have some money.

11. What can you say in these situations? Add a sentence with the past continuous to say that an action lasted a long time.

Example: You had to work yesterday. The work went on all day. — I was working all day.

1. You had to make phone calls. The calls went on all evening.

2. You had to wait in the rain. The wait lasted for half an hour.

3. You had to sit in a traffic jam. You were there for two hours.

4. You had to make sandwiches. This went on all afternoon.

5. Your neighbour played loud music. This went on all night.

SPEAKING

Useful Words and Expressions

FAMILY RELATIONS	Parents:	a mother, a father;
	Grandparents:	a grandmother, a grandfather;
	Children:	a daughter, a son;
	Grandchildren:	a granddaughter, a grandson;
	Other relatives:	a sister/a brother; an aunt/an uncle; a niece/a nephew; a cousin;
	In-laws:	a mother/father-in-law; a daughter/son-in-law; a sister/brother-in-law;
	Steprelatives:	a stepchild/mother/father/daughter/son/brother/sister;
APPEARANCE	Face:	thin/long/round/oval/square;
	Hair:	black/brown/red(ish)/fair/blond/grey/white/dark/ sandy/mousey; long(ish)/short(ish)/straight/wavy/curly/neat/ untidy/well-kept;
	Eyebrows:	thin/bushy;
	Eyes:	blue/grey/brown/green;
	Eyelashes:	long/bushy/thick;
	Nose:	long(ish)/straight/large/turned-up;
	Lips:	thin/full;
	Cheeks:	rosy/hollow;
	Chin:	pointed/double; a beard /a moustache;
	Complexion:	pale/good/dark/sunburnt (tanned)/olive/fair/oriental/brown;
	Build:	fat/thin/slim/plump/stout/well-built/broad-shouldered;
	Height:	1.70m/medium/average/below average/tall(ish)/short(ish);
CHARACTER	“good”	“bad”
	kind-hearted	callous/hard-hearted
	good-tempered	bad-tempered
	broad-minded	narrow-minded
	generous	greedy/stingy
	cheerful easy-going	gloomy
	imaginative	dull/boring
	patient/tolerant	impatient
	reliable	unreliable
	sympathetic	indifferent
	thoughtful/ considerate	selfish egocentric
	balanced	moody
	polite	impolite/rude
	sensible	light-minded/unpractical
	sensitive	thick-skinned
	sociable/ outgoing	reserved shy/bashful

12. Tell your classmates about the people in your family. Describe their personality and appearance.

Example:

My father is kind of tall. I think he’s handsome and smart.

My mom is really nice. She has short brown hair...

CONVERSATION

13. Act out the following dialogue.

Looking at vacation pictures

Kathy :	Jim, I heard you took a trip to San Diego. Is that right?
Jim :	Yeah, I just got back this morning.
Kathy :	That sounds really nice. What did you do there?
Jim :	Well, we were only there for three days, so we didn’t do too much. We went shopping and went out to dinner a few times. At night we walked around the city with some friends.
Kathy :	Did you take any pictures?
Jim :	Yes, I have them with me. Do you want to look at them?
Kathy :	Sure, I love looking at photos.
Jim :	This one is of my wife and me on the beach, and this one is our daughter Emily standing next to my wife.
Kathy :	Your daughter looks like her mother.
Jim :	I know, they look very similar.
Kathy :	Where was this picture taken?
Jim :	That was taken at the train station before we left.
Kathy :	Did you have time to go to the Zoo?
Jim :	No, not this time. We went there last time.
Kathy :	It looks like you all had a nice time.
Jim :	Yeah, it was a lot of fun.

14. Ask your classmates about their families. Listen and ask appropriate related questions.

Example:

— How many brothers and sisters do you have, Kate?

— I just have one sister.

— What’s her name?

— Ann.

— How old is she?

— She’s seventeen.

15. Tell your classmates or teacher about your family. (If you have a family photograph, you may wish to show it to them.)

E xample:

There are five people in my family. (My mother, father, older brother, younger sister and me.)

OR

My mother is a dentist. My father is a veterinarian.

I have two brothers and one sister.

OR (while showing a picture)

This is my grandmother... This is my father... This is me, when I was 15 years old.