DESCRIBING FAMILY
How to Describe Your Family?
When you are asked to describe your family, you can start by describing each person of your family one at a time. Remember, the shorter, the sweeter! Describe the key members in your life, your immediate family. Let’s take a look at one example to give you a brief gist of which direction you should expand in.
Example:
My family consists of my mother, father and my little sister.
Beginning with my mother, she is like any other mom. Loving, caring, and concerned yet when she is angry you will definitely know. She’s artistic and seeks to do things that revolve around art. She loves to cook and is extremely innovative even in that aspect. She is the anchor of our house and is definitely the driving force for our family!
My father is the cornerstone of our family. He is rigid yet flexible. He is responsible for all the discipline in our house. Possessing the love for gardening, he invests a lot of his time in innovative gardening techniques. He loves all of us and holds himself responsible for our family’s well being. My inspiration, my dad.
The mischievous, little one in our family is my little sister. Being the youngest, luck is always on her side. She is blessed with a smile of an angel, she too has got the artistic touch of mom. Art and Crafts hold her attention for the longest time throughout the day. Filling our house with a frequent set of frowns and smiles, she is indeed the little demon of our house.
TERJEMAHAN
Keluarga saya terdiri dari ibu, ayah dan adik perempuan saya.
Dimulai dengan ibu saya, dia seperti ibu lainnya. Mencintai, peduli, dan peduli saat marah Anda pasti akan tahu. Dia artistik dan berusaha melakukan hal-hal yang berkisar seputar seni. Dia suka memasak dan sangat inovatif bahkan dalam aspek itu. Dia adalah jangkar rumah kami dan jelas merupakan kekuatan pendorong bagi keluarga kami!
Ayah saya adalah pemimpin keluarga kami. Dia kaku namun fleksibel. Dia bertanggung jawab atas semua disiplin di rumah kita. Suka berkebun, dia menginvestasikan banyak waktunya dengan teknik berkebun yang inovatif. Dia mencintai kami semua dan bertanggung jawab atas kesejahteraan keluarga kami. Inspirasi saya, ayah saya.
Yang nakal, anak kecil di keluarga kami adalah adik perempuanku. Menjadi yang termuda, keberuntungan selalu di sisinya. Dia diberkati dengan senyum malaikat, dia juga telah mendapat sentuhan artistik dari ibu. Seni dan Kerajinan menarik perhatiannya selama sepanjang hari. Mengisi rumah kami dengan cemberut dan senyum yang sering, dia memang setan kecil rumah kami.
Read through the above example and make a few pointers.
Rule #1: While you’re describing a member of your family, be clear in describing the role played by that particular member in your household.
Rule #2: Spell out the personality of the person you’re describing. Be descriptive and analytical.
Rule #3: Talk about that person’s interests and hobbies, likes and dislikes.
Rule #4: Never oversell. Keep your description grounded to reality rather than just spluttering a set of irrelevant adjectives.
Rule #5: Be positive. While attempting to describe someone always make it a point to give your description the ‘positive tilt’.
Having been born and brought- up among those members, describing them must be the easiest task. Ensure you make use of basic English speaking terms and add a touch of applicable adjectives to improve your spoken English and go through this task efficiently.
You could also sign up for online English speaking courses that are known to improve English vocabulary as well as enable you to learn English speaking fluently.
Tip:
While describing your family, make sure there is a flow. Use your descriptions to move the story forward. Do not list things; make sure your description assists what you narrate . Being descriptive is an art and an art is something you pick up after dedicated practice.
LESSON 10
TALKING ABOUT YOUR HOBBIES IN ENGLISH
When you want to get to know someone, ask about their hobbies and interests. Talking about hobbies means you can share details about yourself – and discover shared interests and free-time activities.
Here are some phrases you can use:
Questions you can ask
What do you like doing?
What sort of hobbies do you have? What do you get up to in your free time?
How to reply
In my free time I…
When I have some spare time I… When I get the time, I…
I relax by watching TV / listening to music, etc. My hobbies are bird-watching / playing sport, etc.
I’m interested in (+ noun / gerund) I’m keen on (+ noun / gerund)
I’m into (+ noun / gerund) I enjoy (+ noun / gerund)
You can add “really” or “quite” after “I’m…” for emphasis. “I’m really keen on football.”
“I’m really into geneaology.”
Talking about hobbies in more detail
You can give more information about your hobbies and interests:
“I like arts and crafts. I’m a creative / practical person, and like doing things with my hands.”
“I’m an outgoing person, and like socialising / hanging out with friends.”
“I enjoy being physically active, and spend a lot of time playing sports and team games.”
Saying why you like your hobby
You can also explain why you spend time on your hobby to make the conversation longer and more interesting.
“I really enjoy going to the gym because…”
…it keeps me fit.
…it gets me out of the house, you know!
…it’s sociable. I’ve met lots of new people.
…it gives me something interesting to do with my time.
…it’s not very expensive, and anyone can do it! “My hobbies are all creative…”
… I’ve always enjoyed painting and drawing.
… Because my job is technical, it’s good to spend time doing something completely different.
… I enjoy spending time making things like clothes. More words that you can use to describe your hobbies:
creative fascinating practical cheap enjoyable relaxing different unusual
Like doing vs like to do
We use like + gerund (ing form) to talk about general likes: I like fishing.
We use like + infinitive to talk about more specific likes: I like to go fishing at the weekend.
