English vocabulary - Martin Hunt 2016
12 House and household (1)
In this unit you will learn
✵ the names of places to live (house, flat...)
✵ words for size/style/rooms
✵ how to ask questions about/describe your home (How many rooms has it got? it’s got a small kitchen...)
Basics
Do you know these words? Check in a dictionary and write the word in your language.
Note: household can be a noun or an adjective. When it is a noun, it means ’family’ or ’house’. When it is an adjective, it means ’relating to a house’, for example, ’household objects’ = things in a house.
Test your basics
Cover the words on page 146 so you can’t see them. Then write the English words below.
Extension
Rooms and garden
✵ Room is the general word for space in a house.
✵ Houses usually have two floors; upstairs and downstairs.
✵ Downstairs most houses have a kitchen where you prepare food; a dining room where you eat; a living room where you relax and perhaps watch television and a hall where you enter the house. Some houses have a downstairs toilet.
Note: In the US the toilet is also often called the bathroom.
✵ Some houses also have a basement or cellar under the house.
✵ Upstairs you usually have bedrooms to sleep in and a bathroom for washing. Many houses also have a study for people to work in.
✵ A lot of houses also have an attic (or loft) which is under the roof.
Gardens
✵ Most houses have a front [garden/yard] and a back [garden/yard].
✵ [Gardens/yards] often have a lawn (an area of grass); they sometimes have a driveway for the car and, in the back, a patio (an area without grass).
✵ They also have flowers, trees, hedges and fences.
Adjectives
Look at these opposites:
✵ A house, [flat/apartment], or room ... can be big, large or small; it can be bright or dark; it can be warm or cold; it can be old or new and its style can be traditional or modern; it can also be beautiful or ugly.
Examples:
Our house is very large.
We have a modern [flat/apartment].
The dining room is quite dark.
Our house is ugly, but the garden is beautiful.
✵ You might have one room you like more than others - this is your [favourite/favorite].
Examples:
My [favourite/favorite] room is the kitchen. It’s very warm.
My [favourite/favorite] part of the house is the [garden/yard]. It has lots of flowers and a big lawn.
Note: We normally put the [colour/color] just before the noun. For example: a small white kitchen, a traditional blue dining room.
Questions and sentences
✵ We can use [have got/have] to talk about possession - number of rooms, garden, etc. Be careful with the grammar and the negative forms of each, for example:
Our [flat/apartment] has got a beautiful, green bathroom, but it hasn’t got a downstairs toilet.
Our house has a small back [garden/yard], but it doesn’t have a front [garden/yard].
General questions
✵ Where do you live?
✵ How many rooms has... got? or How many rooms does... have?
✵ For something specific, we can ask Has your... got a ...? or Does your... have a ...?
✵ What [colour/color] is your...?
✵ We can use the question What’s your... like? to ask about everything.
Examples:
Where do you live? In a small [flat/apartment].
How many rooms has your [flat/apartment] got? It’s got five rooms.
What [colour/color] is your living room? It’s orange.
Does your house have a [garden/yard]? Yes, it has./No, it hasn’t.
What’s your kitchen like? It’s quite small and dark.
Practice
Exercise 1 Complete the crossword with the correct rooms.
Across
1 The room where you do the cooking
3 Also known as the basement
5 The room where you wash yourself
7 The room where you eat
8 Another word for attic
9 A room to work in
Down
2 Where you enter the house
4 Most people watch TV in the living...
5 You sleep in here
6 It’s useful to have a downstairs...
Exercise 2 Look at the answers below and write the question.
Exercise 3 For each question in this exercise, replace the underlined word with its opposite.
1 We have a large (small) front [garden/yard].
2 Your living room is so dark (bright).
3 This is quite a cold (...) room.
4 We don’t have a front (...) [garden/yard].
5 I really like traditional (...) houses.
6 The bathroom is downstairs (...).
7 Their house is really ugly (...).
8 You always get problems with new (...) houses.
Now check your answers.
► Exercise 4 (Recordings 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4) Pronunciation practice. Listen and repeat the words on the recording. Use the transcript at the back of the book to help you if necessary.
In use
Reading
Before you start, check you know these words:
decorate owner balcony (good) condition
Note: An [estate agent/realtor] is someone who sells houses. Brand new means very new.
Reading Read the descriptions of three houses below and complete the notes underneath. The first one has been done to help you.
McAllister & Sons, Estate Agents
1 17 Mandarin Gardens
This modern 1970s house is quite near the city [centre/center] and is close to many [shops/stores]. It has a living room, a dining room, and a kitchen downstairs and three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. It is quite small, but has a large [back garden/ backyard] with a small patio. It also has a garage. The rooms are bright and warm and it is in good condition.
2 10 Clifton Court
Large three bedroom [flat/apartment] situated on the third floor. Brand new and ready for first owners, this [flat/apartment] has a bathroom, a living room and a large kitchen with plenty of space to eat in. Decorated in a very modern style it also has a garage. The [flat/apartment] has a large balcony.
3 42 Morley Road
Beautiful, old four-bedroom house. This house has three large bedrooms and one smaller bedroom, which would be perfect for a study. The [back garden/backyard] is small, but has lots of flowers and is in good condition. It also has a living room, dining room, kitchen, downstairs toilet, and bathroom upstairs. There is a cellar and a large attic. The house is in need of some repainting.
1 17 Mandarin Gardens
bedrooms bathroom living room dining room kitchen extra toilet |
3 yes (upstairs) yes yes yes no |
house garden garage attic cellar |
quite modern yes (large back [yarden/yard], smallpatio) yes no no |
2 10 Clifton Court
bedrooms bathroom living room dining room kitchen extra toilet |
house garden garage attic cellar |
3 42 Morley Road
bedrooms bathroom living room dining room kitchen extra toilet |
house garden garage attic cellar |
► Listening
Steve and Cath have two boys and one girl and are buying a house, but are short of money. They have seen the three places in the reading exercise above. Which one do you think is best for them? Why?
Listening 1 (Recording 12.5) Listen to Steve and Cath. Which house do they decide to buy?
Listening 2 Listen to the recording again and match the description to the correct house by putting 1 for Mandarin Gardens, 2 for Clifton Court or 3 for Morley Road. Be careful - one of the descriptions is not used.
Old garage
A horrible green bedroom
Warm bedrooms
A small bathroom
Cath’s [favourite/favorite] garden
Small windows
A bright living room
A really ugly house
Now check your answers.
Recap
Here are the words we learned in this unit. Do you know them all? Write down the translations if necessary.
Nouns
house roof [garden/yard]
garage gate [flat/apartment]
front door hedge fence
window wall household
Rooms and garden
Adjectives
household big large
small bright dark
warm cold old
new traditional modern
beautiful ugly
Questions and sentences
Our... [has got/has] ...
How many rooms does... have? got?
Does your... have a...?
What’s your... like?
Where do you live?
How many room has...
Has your... got a...?
What to do next
✵ Describe your house to a friend out loud or in a letter.
✵ Look at pictures of houses - can you describe them?
✵ See if you can find any descriptions of houses in newspapers, magazines or books.
Why not try this unit next?
✵ House and household (2)
Answer key for this unit
Test your basics
Look at Basics on page 146 to check your answers.
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
1 How many rooms has your house got? or How many rooms does your house have?
2 What’s your [garden/yard] like?
3 Where do you live?
4 What’s your bedroom like?
5 Has your house got a [back garden/backyard]? or Does your house have a [back garden/backyard]?
6 What [colour/color] is your bathroom?
7 What’s your house like?
Exercise 3
1 We have a small front [garden/yard].
2 Your living room is so bright.
3 This is quite a warm room.
4 We don’t have a back [garden/yard].
5 I really like modern houses.
6 The bathroom is upstairs.
7 Their house is really beautiful.
8 You always get problems with old houses.
Reading
Reading
1 17 Mandarin Gardens
bedrooms bathroom living room dining room kitchen extra toilet |
3 yes (upstairs) yes yes yes no |
house garden garage attic cellar |
quite modern yes (larye back [yarden/yard], smallpatio) yes no no |
2 10 Clifton Court
bedrooms bathroom living room dining room kitchen extra toilet |
3 yes yes no yes no |
house garden garage attic cellar |
brand new flat no (balcony) yes no no |
3 42 Morley Road
bedrooms bathroom living room dining room kitchen extra toilet |
4 yes (upstairs) yes yes yes yes (downstairs) |
house garden garage attic cellar |
old house yes (small back [yarden/yard], lots of flowers) no yes yes |
Listening
Listening 1
They decide to buy 42 Morley Road.
Listening 2