Families

 

I love spending time with my family. We always have a good time and we do so many things! But my family is pretty large - there are five people in my family, my mother, my father, my older sister, my younger brother, and me. But my uncle recently got married and my new aunt had three children, so now we have almost thirty cousins! My grandmother was very happy because she likes to have a lot of grandchildren around. She has three daughters and four sons. Because there are so many people, we have to find large places to get together, like parks, or restaurants. So you can see, we usually have a lot of fun because there are always so many people around!

 

What are some things you like to do with your family?

 

Key Vocabulary:

• Family (noun): a unit of people that lives together and is related to one another. There are many types of families.
• Mother (noun): the female head of the household, who has children.
• Father (noun): the male head of the household, who has children.
• Sister (noun): a child in a family that is a girl and is a sibling to other children.
• Brother (noun): a child in a family that is a girl and is a sibling to other children.
• Uncle (noun): a man in a family that is a sibling of a mother or father.
• Aunt (noun): a man in a family that is a sibling of a mother or father.
• Cousins (noun): the children of aunts and uncles who are related to you, but not your brothers and sisters.
• Grandmother (noun): the mother of your mother or father.
• Grandchildren (noun): children who belong to a family with grandparents.
• Daughter (noun): a child in a family that is a girl.
• Son (noun): a child in a family that is a boy.

Vocabulary Activity:

 Match the vocabulary with its correct definition:

Family		a man in a family that is a sibling of a mother or father.
Mother		a child in a family that is a girl and is a sibling to other children.
Father		a man in a family that is a sibling of a mother or father.
Sister		a child in a family that is a boy.
Brother		the children of aunts and uncles who are related to you, but not your brothers and sisters.
Uncle		a child in a family that is a girl.
Aunt		the mother of your mother or father.
Cousins		the male head of the household, who has children.
Grandmother		the female head of the household, who has children.
Grandchildren		a child in a family that is a girl and is a sibling to other children.
Daughter		children who belong to a family with grandparents.
Son		a unit of people that lives together and is related to one another. There are many types of families.

Grammar Point:

In English, word order is very important. Otherwise, sentences will not make sense! The typical word order in English is Subject-Verb-Object. Every sentence should have a subject, but not all sentences will have objects. For example, "I ate" is a complete sentence, but "I food" is not. Likewise, "ran the race" is not a complete sentence, but "She ran the race" is ("She" is the subject, "ran" is the verb, and "the race" is the object). If you mix up word order, the sentence will contain all of the necessary parts, but it will not make sense. For example, "Tree the bird sat in" sounds a bit odd, right? Or "sleeping is she" - you need to change the word order so that it sounds less awkward (The bird sat in the tree, she is sleeping).

 

Grammar Activity:

Using the words above, fix the sentences so they are in the correct word order:

 

1. your there are in many people How family?
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2. my family. cousins in There fifteen are
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3. you have? many do brothers How
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4. many aunts are your in How family?
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5. you Are married ?
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6. daughter? have a Do son a you or
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7. your grandmother does live? Where
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8. sisters? Have got you any
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9. uncle your married? Is
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10. grandchildren? have any you Do