Relationships

Hello guys,

How are you doing?

First, close your eyes and listen to the music. Think of your family at home on a cold, snowy, winter Sunday evening. What can you see, hear, smell? How does it make you feel?

As you see, in today’s lesson we’ll talk about those people you’ve just been thinking about – your families and relatives.

And I’d like to introduce you my family. No doubt, it won’t take you much effort to complete the gaps in the description of my family.

Here we go!

But there are some other relatives that you might have in your family.

Listen to the texts. Use the words in bold to complete the definitions (1-3).

My great-grandmother, Julia, is ninety and she’s my grandmother’s mother. Julia was adopted.

I’ve got a little half-brother. He’s my father’s son from his second marriage.

I really like my stepsister. Some people say we are similar, although we aren’t really related by blood.

1. The prefix great- describes a family relative who is two generations away from you. Add an extra great- for each extra generation. We can use this prefix with other relatives too, e.g. great-aunt or great-uncle, great-grandson or great-granddaughter.

2. The prefix step- describes a brother, sister or parent who is related to you by marriage but not be blood.

3. The prefix half- describes a brother or sister who is related to you through one shared parent.

Have you got any relatives with these prefixes?

Now it’s time to practice the words. Let’s do a short quiz!

Choose the correct answers.

1. Who shares one parent with you, but not two parents?

a) your stepson                                 b) your half-brother

2. Who is your mother's mother?

a) your great-grandmother                 b) your grandmother

3. If your mother marries again, who is the man?

a) your grandfather                           b) your stepfather

4. Who is your father's grandfather?

a) your great-grandfather               b) your great-great-grandfather

5. If your father marries again and his new wife already has two daughters, who are they?

a) your half-sisters                            b) your stepsisters

Now listen to the comments of different people and write the family words.

1. Tom’s the same age as me and I really like him. His mum’s married to my dad now, but I’m only related to him by marriage, not by blood. He’s my stepbrother.

2. Elsie is my dad's mother, so she's my grandmother. She's nearly seventy, but she still does a lot of sport!

3. Lucy's the youngest in my family and she's my half-sister. We have the same mum, but we have different dads.

4. My mum died when I was quite young. My dad's got a new wife now, called Sara. I really like her, and I call her Mum, even though she isn't my real mother. She's my stepmother.

5. The oldest person in my family is Albert. He's eighty-nine and he's my mum's grandfather, so he's my great-grandfather.

Look at the cartoons. Guess the relationships between the people. Give reasons.

parent, stepparent and neighbour

parent, child and teacher

great-grandparent and great-grandchild

A. “Miss Parker, I’ve got something to tell you about my project. My dad helped me a bit. Any mistakes are his.”

B. Oh, they are not all our children! These are my nieces, Dora and Maggie. This is David’s son, Max, and these are Max’s friends Tim and Sara.

C. When I was your age things were different. We only had ONE screen, and the whole family gathered around to spend a lovely evening all together!

Who would you like to spend a day with?

your grandfather, grandmother, teacher, neighbour, aunt, uncle or any other relative?

What are your relationships with these people?

We’re going to revise the most common and useful words and word combinations for you to answer the question.

Listen and choose the correct word.

1. My grandmother is always involving / interfering in things that don’t concern / worry her.

to involve in something – вовлекать, втягивать

to interfere with something – мешать, служить препятствием

2. My cousin really gets/puts on my nerves!

to get on somebody’s nerves – действовать кому-либо на нервы

3. Sally is always showing / telling off and saying how good she is at everything.

to show off – похваляться, рисоваться

4. It’s usual / typical of him to put the fault / blame on others.

typical of something or somebody – типично/характерно для чего-либо/кого-либо

to put the blame on somebody – возложить вину на кого-либо

5. Emma is very popular/famous with her friends.

famous – known or recognized by many people – знаменитый;

popular – liked by many people – популярный, распространенный;

6. Our mum takes / gives good care of us. We’re close to her.

to take care of sb/sth – заботиться о ком-либо/чем-либо

7. I’ve got a great connection / relationship with my brother. We never have/ make arguments.

relationship – отношения

connection – связь, соединение

to have arguments – спорить

8. When Sam makes / gives a promise he never takes / breaks it.

to give promise – давать обещание

to break promise –нарушить обещание

9. He always depends / relies on his family for help and support.

to depend on – зависеть от кого-либо/чего-либо

to rely on – полагаться на кого-либо/что-либо

10. Her grandparents don’t approve / agree of the way she dresses.

to approve of – одобрять

to agree on smth – договориться о чем-либо; about something – согласиться на что-либо.

11. His parents are really pleased / enjoyed with his progress.

pleased (adjective) – довольный

to enjoy – получать удовольствие, наслаждаться

Use the phrases to discuss your relationships with various family members, friends or neighbours. Use the ideas from the previous task.

I think a lot of …

I have a really good relationship with …

… supports me no matter what.

…is always on my side.

…is very special to me.

I’m not very close to …

I have my ups and downs with …

I often argue with my …

We have almost nothing in common.

We don’t often see eye to eye.

There are people,

whose lives are so special,

whose friendship and love mean so much!

And somehow you know,

that wherever you go

In thought you’ll never lose touch!

Well, guys, that’s all for now. Never lose touch with your families and … us! Join us at videouroki.net.