Inmy family, there are four people: my father, my mother, my little brother and me. My father is one who brings money home and is also responsible for organizing and planning family trips. My mother is the one who is in charge for making meals and makes sure everyone eats at the appropriate times. My little brother is the pet of the family. Im going to tell you about my family. I live with my little sister, mum, and dad. We live in London, although I grew up in Lancaster, a beautiful city in the North of England. My dad's name is Pierre. He's from France, and he speaks English and French. When he was young, my mother went to France on a student exchange, and they met there. MyFamily. My father was born in Bandung, and my mother is from Surabaya. There are eight children in my family, seven sons and me. I have two married brothers, and each brother has a daughter. My oldest brother is a civil engineer, and my other brother is an agronomy engineer. Also, I have two brothers studying in a technical college in Bandung. Myfamily always eats breakfast and dinner together. We talk. We laugh. Then my sister washes the dishes. At night dad likes to listen to music. Mom works on the computer. I watch television. And my sister reads. Soon we go to bed. My parents go to bed late but my sister and I go to bed early. I'm ready to go to sleep but my sister wants to keep reading. . Donate a coffeeLog in/RegisterEnglish ESL WorksheetsReading ComprehensionReading for detail deep readingFamilyZmarques1194091869102511/1 403 ERROR The Amazon CloudFront distribution is configured to block access from your country. We can't connect to the server for this app or website at this time. There might be too much traffic or a configuration error. Try again later, or contact the app or website owner. If you provide content to customers through CloudFront, you can find steps to troubleshoot and help prevent this error by reviewing the CloudFront documentation. Generated by cloudfront CloudFront Request ID MMbN8fWzNC2BxHZD9nU9DmGl3Pmb5QO-eiJrgTBuuvXYOZAJiCTxPg== TranscriptSarah Hello and welcome to Everyday English. I'm Sarah. Jack And I'm Today we're going to be talking a bit more about families and how to describe our family Sarah, you've got two siblings. Is that right? Sarah I do! I've got two younger brothers, Daniel and Luke. I'm the oldest and then there's Daniel. He's the middle child. And Luke is the youngest. Sarah Now when you have a number of siblings like me, you often list them in order of birth. You can use the superlative adjective oldest to describe the firstborn child. And youngest to refer to the child that was born last. The youngest in your family can be also be called your baby brother or your baby sister. Or little brother or little Older and younger are comparative adjectives. When we're making comparisons, we usually use the word than. For example, I'm younger than Shh, don't tell them that!Sarah We often use comparative and superlative adjectives to talk about our family members and compare them to others. For exampleMy brothers are taller than thinks he is more intelligent than his likes ice cream better than stepbrother is the shortest in the James is the most patient of all my Make sure you use the right plural form when you're talking about more than one family member. ExamplesUncle becomes unclesSister becomes sistersBrother becomes brothersJack If a word ends in 'y', you add "ies". For example, 'baby' becomes 'babies'. Sarah If you wanted to provide more information about your family members, then you could talk about where they grew up, their schooling, careers, relationship status or hobbies. You could also mention how they're related to Let's listen to some people talk about their family Is this your family?Charlotte Yeah so this was taken at my cousin's wedding. That's my cousin there, the bride, and then here's my Is he the tall one?Charlotte No, no that's my uncle. My dad's the shortest one of the family. He's here. And then oh, my two Oh! I didn't realise you had sisters. Are they younger or older?Charlotte They're both younger so I'm the oldest of the family and then there's Teagan who's the middle child and then Sophie who is the youngest but she's the tallest of the family too so she's amazing at I bet you're the loudest Yeah I Um who's that?Charlotte That's my cousin, Emma. So she was born in Darwin and grew up on a property in the Northern Territory with my aunty and uncle and her brother, Joe. Joe's actually a mining engineer so he works on a mine near Alice Springs and Emma moved to Canberra to study at ANU and she studied a Masters in Archaeology. Nic Oh wow, that's She actually married an anthropologist and they love history and they actually went to Egypt in March last Are you catching up with them soon?Charlotte Yeah I'm actually seeing them this weekend on Sunday at Oh awesome!Sarah Now when we're talking about the lives of our family members we often use In, on and at are prepositions of time and place. You can use them to talk about places. For exampleShe was born in grew up on a studies at the Australian National And you can also use them for talking about went to Egypt in see them on meet at Here's an easy way to remember when to use each preposition. We use in for something general and at for something very Now you might also want to talk about your family, or other families, in a more general way. For example, is your family big or small? Are you closer to your immediate family or your extended family? Or, is there any such thing as a normal family? What do you think, Jack?Jack There's definitely no such thing as a normal family! Families come in all shapes and sizes but they're always interesting to talk Well that's it from us for now. We'll see you later!For daily English language lessons and tips, like our Learn English Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, or subscribe to our YouTube 24 May 2018Thu 24 May 2018 at 500am, updated 24 May 2018Thu 24 May 2018 at 502am Finding the right words to describe family members in different situations is never too easy. In fact, you could fail to find a proper word even with a dictionary in front of you. If you are looking to get words to describe family members, we have a few below that will fit the task accordingly. 01Close “I consider the relationship between my family and I to be very close. We talk on the phone every week and sometimes, every day. I also inform my parents and siblings of all of my major decisions before I make them.” The word close is great to use because it immediately suggests a tight-knit situation. It is also easy to understand. Photo by Jonathan Borba on unsplash 02Love-hate “It’s rather hard to categorize my relationship with my family. They are flying over to surprise me for my birthday. I found out! However, you wouldn’t believe that it was the same family that threw me out last year for smoking marijuana. It’s the most bizarre love–hate relationship ever.” When you can’t find any other word to describe your family relationship, love-hate is a perfect alternative. 03Detached “Claire and Ben never really talk to their family during the year. Their relationship with their family is so detached that they don’t call their parents at all. They meet with the family for major events, but that’s about it.” Detached is great to use because it captures the way in which you may not have contact with your family. It’s between full-on hate and full-on love. Not many other words can describe your relationship in this way. Photo by Ketut Subiyanto under pexels license 04Strained “When I was younger, my parents and I had a terrific relationship. Ever since I left home for New York, our relationship has changed and become strained. My parents are still angry with me, so I fear that it may never recover.” The word strained is commonly used in speech and conversation, so anyone could understand its meaning easily. 05Compliant “As someone grows older, his/her relationship with the immediate family is bound to become strained or compliant. The latter is obviously the better choice if you want to have some peace of mind.” It is classy and uncommon, but it sums up the relationship perfectly. 06Fraught “I don’t always mention it, but my relationship with my family is so fraught these days. Every new day is characterized by a lot of unnecessary tension and emotional manipulation.” Fraught sounds like a word that carries weight when you pronounce it in a sentence, and it helps capture the sense of the relationship; for the listener/reader, he/she can understand that it’s not easy. Photo by Ketut Subiyanto under pexels license 07Difficult “One time, I told a social worker in my town that I didn’t know where my parents lived. She looked very surprised. The truth is that my relationship with my family is a difficult one, unfortunately. I couldn’t care less where they lived to be honest.” The word difficult is good to use because it is easy to understand and can be placed in any sentence that describes a tense family relationship. 08Loving “Every time I think about that summer in 2006 when I broke my leg, only one thought pops into my head. I couldn’t have healed or recovered without a family as loving and as patient as mine.” This word is good to use because it is quite common; it is easy to understand that relationship is good. It is also very positive in nature. Photo by Elly Fairytale under pexels license 09Illustrious “When we go out to events, my family is often described as illustrious and modern. I didn’t realize what it meant until I was older, and now I know that it is a compliment in the best sense. I guess that I could consider myself as lucky to have my family.” This word paints your family in a very positive light while making you sound classy when you use it. 10High-achieving “Is it better to grow up in an everyday family or a high achieving one? Both have their positives, and some come with some negative aspects too. At least a high-achieving family is guaranteed to make something out of you.” This is another word that makes your family sound well-educated and smart. It is also quite easy to understand. 11Tight-knit “Our family is what I’d call a tight-knit family in the best sense. We hang out together a lot, despite living in separate states and being a composed family. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” For a family that is very close, this is one way to describe the relationship positively. Tight-knit is not too hard to understand either. Photo by Elly Fairytale under pexels license 12Extraordinary “As an only child, I feel lucky for a few things in my life; my family is one of them, without them I would be lost. They are extraordinary human beings; not to mention, my wife is a truth-teller, and my close friends are just the best.” This is the easiest word to use when describing your family positively. It is both simple and easy to use when you want to describe your family positively. 13Estranged “James’s family was tight-knit once, then his mother died. His sister married and moved to Rhode Island. James grew to dislike his father’s guts, and he fled to New York. The family is still estranged today.” The word estranged can only trigger ideas of broken relationships, damage, and nothing else. In other words, it is perfect for this purpose of describing a family negatively. Photo by August de Richelieu under pexels license 14Dysfunctional “Most children within the foster home system, in this state, have a history of living in dysfunctional families from a very young age. All that confusion messes them up, and some of the children end up on the street.” The word dysfunctional is great to use because it is commonly used to refer to families that are not functioning well. Therefore, it’s easy to understand when trying to describe a family negatively. 15Tumultuous “They say that all families have their problems. Mine must have all of the world’s worst problems combined because it is extremely tumultuous. There is never a dull moment in the house nor one of silence and introspection.” Derived from the word “tumult,” this word easily paints a picture of a family that experiences arguments and disarray regularly, which makes it easy to understand that the family is a source of negativity. Photo by Retha Ferguson under pexels license 16Malicious “I am sorry if this sounds rude, but my family members are not the nice, kind people you think they are. They are a malicious lot, intent on owning everything, giving back nothing, and hurting others whenever necessary.” People associate malicious with negative energy, so this word works perfectly when describing your family in a negative light. 17Annoying “I love my family, but they are so annoying. I can’t count the number of times they’ve embarrassed me in front of my friends or made random decisions about my life without my input.” This is one of the best words to negatively describe your family. The word is so easy to understand that you can’t go wrong by using it. Photo by ArtHouse Studio under pexels license 18Truth “One of the biggest deals in our house growing up was our family values, and the biggest one that our parents emphasized was the truth. As I’ve grown older, I see why the truth was/is so important to pass on.” Truth is easier to understand as a word than its synonyms, which makes it the best option to use in a sentence. Photo by Taras Chernus on unsplash 19Compassion “Growing up, Mary’s family volunteered a lot in her community while helping out at charities and in soup kitchens. Her parents always took her along, instilling in her compassion as one of the family’s main values.” This is a good value to use because unlike others, like integrity and truth, it’s not commonly brought up. It adds a unique touch to the sentence. 20 Hard work “Honestly, I feel like some parents today over exaggerate the concept of hard work as a family value. Times are changing, and the hardest workers aren’t necessarily the happiest or most financially well-off.” Using the term hard work helps you sound relatable; it is a word that everyone can understand easily and immediately. It is also a very respected family value, so it works well when used in a sentence. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio under pexels license 21Respect “I can’t help being courteous to everyone I meet. It is something that I grew up; it’s the product of being trained in the art of respect from a young age. Respect was one of our main family values, and we swore by it.” The term respect can fit in any sentence or speech when describing family values because it is a common word; not to mention, anyone can understand it, and respect is common family value. 22Generosity “One of the best traits for any family to have is generosity. A giving family is a blessed family; any preacher at the stand will tell you. Families ought to add generosity to their list of family values.” Generosity is known to be a common family value, so it will be easy to understand when used to describe your family’s charitable habits. 23Joyous “When the Smith family organizes a family reunion, it is always a joyous event. They always have a band present, and they play loud music all night long. They sing and dance; the grandmother, father, and grandchildren dance all together, like it’s summer camp at home all over again.” If the family reunion is a high-spirited affair with lots of happiness, joyous is the perfect word to describe it. It suggests joy and happiness to the reader/listener, and it can easily be inserted in any conversation. Photo by fauxels under pexels license 24Fun-filled “I live next door to a large campsite, and this one big family has a reunion there every year. There are so many of them, and their reunion sounds so fun-filled every time. They even hire a clown to perform at the reunion. Once, they lit a bonfire that got out of control, and we had to help them put it out.” Most family reunions have a lot of fun activities planned, so fun-filled is always a great word to use. Photo by Craig Adderley under pexels license 25Cheerful “The one thing I remember about the last family reunion that we all had before Gammie’s death was that it was so cheerful. It was a good day of sun, and we were out in the park. We cut a cake, and we shared champagne; all of us danced around in circles till we were spent.” An even easier word to describe a family reunion is cheerful. Everyone knows it means brightness and happiness, so you will not lose your audience. The best words to describe family are sometimes the simplest words that we ignore. If you are currently looking for ideas for the best words to describe family members, you can use our list of words above to get some ideas. Each word is used in a sample and dissected to analyze its effectiveness.

description text about my family