Talking About Family In English

Family is defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as, “parents and children; a group of individuals living together in one household or all the descendants of a common ancestor.”  In this lesson let’s explore how to describe your family in an everyday English conversation.

Vocabulary:

mother

father

brother

sister

husband

wife

grandfather

grandmother

aunt/auntie

uncle

children

parents

older brother/sister

younger brother/sister

middle child

small family

big/large family

natural family

extended family

Dialog:

Ko and her friend, Joann are in the library waiting for the members of their study group to arrive.  In the meantime, they decided to engage in small talk about each other’s family.  

Ko: How many people are there in your family?

Joann: There are 4 people in my family, including myself.

Ko:  You have a small family.  Are you the oldest or youngest child?

Joann: I am the oldest child in my family.

Ko:  Do you have a younger brother or sister?

Joann:  I have a younger brother.  How about you?

Ko:  There are 5 people in my natural family, living in my household, plus my grandma.  My grandma has been living with us since my grandfather died.

Joann:  Sounds like you have a busy household.  It must be great having your grandma living with you.

Ko:  Yeah.  It’s wonderful having grandma around.  She is a great support for all of us.

Joann:  We have to go out of state to visit our grandparents.  I wish they lived a lot closer to us.

Just them their friends entered and conversation ends…

Now Your Turn!

Take turns practicing the dialog below with a friend or family member.  Make sure you are talking about your own family; it will make the dialog more personable.  Try to use as much of the vocabulary words as you can. Have fun!

You: Do you have siblings (or a brother and sister)?

Your Friend: Yes.  I do.  I have (say how many).

You:  (Respond to statement above and keep the dialog going).

Great Job Today!