🗣️ Speaking: Family and People (A1)
🗣️ SPEAKING CHALLENGE
STEP 1 DI 10
📌 Lesson Contents
🎂 Age: the “have” trap
In many languages you “have” an age (I have 30 years). In English, age is something you are (I am 30 years old). It describes your state, not something you keep in your wallet!
📌 Golden rule:
- ✅ Correct: I am 25 years old. (Or just: I am 25.)
- ✅ Correct: He is 40.
- ❌ Big mistake: I have 25 years. / He has 40 years.
👁️ Appearance: Eyes and Hair (No articles!)
Many languages use “the” when describing the body: “I have the blond hair and the blue eyes”. In English, the word “the” in these sentences disappears!
| When to use it | Correct ✅ (Without THE) | Mistake ❌ |
|---|---|---|
| Say your hair is short 💇 | I have short hair. | I have the short hair. |
| Say what colour your eyes are 👁️ | I have brown eyes. | I have the brown eyes. |
| Describe a girl’s hair 👩 | She has blonde hair. | She has the blond hairs. |
💡 Careful! The word “hair” is a singular uncountable noun. Never say “hairs” (that means single strands, like the hairs on your arm)!
👨👩👧👦 Family: “We are in 4” and Parents vs Relatives
There are two giant slips that learners make when talking about their family.
- “We are four in the family”: In English we don’t say “We are in 4” (that is a serious word-for-word mistake). To give the number of people in a group, use “There are…”.
➔ ✅ There are 4 people in my family. (Or: There are four of us.) - Parents vs Relatives: The English word “parents” means only mum and dad. If you want to talk about aunts, uncles and cousins, use the word “relatives”.
➔ ✅ I live with my parents. (mum and dad)
➔ ✅ At Christmas I visit my relatives. (aunts, uncles, cousins)
❌ Common mistakes (word-for-word traps)
Watch out for these word-for-word translations if you don’t want to scare the cat:
| When to use it | Correct ✅ | Mistake to avoid ❌ |
|---|---|---|
| Say how tall you are 📏 | I am tall. | I am high. (It means “I’m on drugs”!) |
| Say “my brother” 👦 | My brother… | The my brother… (Never put an article before a possessive word!) |
| Say a boy is nice and friendly 😊 | He is nice / friendly. | He is sympathetic. (It means “He feels sorry for other people”) |
| Say you look like your dad 👨 | I look like my dad. | I am like my dad / I resemble to my dad. |