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This page has the online practice materials for:
LearnEnglish Elementary Podcast Magazine No. 07
Section 1 - Conversations in English

You can listen online or download the podcast at Podcast 07 Home
You can also get print versions of the practice materials below in our Podcast 07 Support Pack (pdf file - 372 KB)
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Section 1 - Conversations in English
"Your mum and dad live in Brighton now, don’t they?" – Talking about family
This section starts at the beginning of the audio file, immediately after the Introduction, e.g. when the counter on your audio player is on 00mins.20secs

Section 1 is based on the Introduction. This section looks how to talk about both your and other people's families.

Suggestion: One way to use this is to read the transcript, and then look at Tom's tip in this section. You can then do some exercises to help you to learn the common phrases. A good idea is to practise these with a friend who speaks English or is also learning English.

Transcript

Tess: … What’s the party?
Ravi: It’s my dad’s fiftieth birthday. My mum’s organised a surprise party for him.
Tess: Oh, brilliant. What a nice idea. Your mum and dad live in Brighton now, don’t they?
Ravi: Yes. They moved down there a couple of years ago. My big sister’s still in Manchester though.
Tess: How many brothers and sisters have you got again? I can never remember.
Ravi: I’ve got one older sister and two younger brothers. Hang on a sec. That’s them there.
Tess: You keep a picture of your family in your wallet? How sweet.
Ravi: Yeah. Course I do. That’s Asha, my big sister, there. She’s 3 years older than me.
Tess: She’s really pretty. It’s a shame our listeners can’t see this. You do realise that Ravi, don’t you.
Ravi: I know I know – but it’ll only take a minute. That one’s Deepak – he’s at university in Bristol and that’s Vikram. He’s still at school.
Tess: Hey, your brothers are both really good-looking. What happened to you?
Ravi: I knew you were going to say that.
Tess: Only joking Ravi. Anyway, we’d better move on – we’ve got a lot to get through.

Talking about family
Tess: How many brothers and sisters have you got again? I can never remember.
Ravi: I’ve got one older sister and two younger brothers. Hang on a sec. That’s them there.
Ravi: Asha's my big sister. She’s 3 years older than me.
Ravi: Deepak's my middle brother – he’s at university in Bristol.
Ravi: Vikram's my little brother. He’s still at school.

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These are words we can use to talk about our brothers and sisters:

	if you have one brother or sister, you can say if you have two or more brothers or sisters, you can also say if you have no brothers or sisters, you can say (informal –> formal) big – older – elder little – younger (informal –> formal) big – oldest – eldest middle – older - younger little – youngest other sister/brother I haven't got any brothers or sisters I'm an only child

Tom’s tip

We can use ‘elder’ and ‘eldest’ when we are talking about people in families. ‘Elder’ means the same as ‘older’ and ‘eldest’ means the same as ‘oldest’.  We use ‘elder’ and ‘eldest’ in more formal situations.

These are words we can use to talk about our parents:

	My mother and father live in London My mum and dad live in Scotland My parents are separated My parents don’t live together My mother/father/mum/dad died a few years ago* My mother/father/mum/dad died when I was (eight)* Tom’s tip: ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ are informal words for ‘mother’ and ‘father’. If you say both together, you always say 'My mum and dad' and not 'My dad and mum'. The same is true for 'mother and father'. *Tom’s tip: You should always respond with 'I'm sorry to hear that' in a sympathetic but not emotional way

Practice materials: Exercise 1
Talking about family

Practice materials: Exercise 2

1. Describe your family to a friend.

2. Describe your family in a more formal situation.

Note: if you wish to write your answers down you can download and print our Podcast 07 Support Pack (pdf file - 372 KB)

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Next:
Continue to: Practice materials: Section 2: I'd like to meet
Return to: Elementary Podcast 07 Home Page

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