Word list about family

In addition to names associated with culture, you might also find that you use family words from your

. This is specifically clear with words describing parents, grandparents, and cousins.

• IELTS-style questions on the topic of the family

• Sample answers

• A list of common family vocabulary with definitions & sample
  sentences

• Links to online reading and listening resources

Part 1

1) How
many people are there in your immediate family?

Four people make up my immediate family – my dad, my sister and my two bothers.
They all live close to me except for my youngest brother who moved away because
of his work.

2) Do you
get along well with your family?

Most definitely. I used to argue with my brothers and sister a lot when we were. It
was sibling rivalry I guess
but we get on really well
now.

3)
Which member of your family are you closest to?

I’d have to say my sister but we’re a close-knit family and we
all get along just great.

4) How
much time do you spend with your family?

We used to go to my parent’s house for Sunday tea every few weeks but since my mother died, my oldest brother, my sister and I take turns to spend time supporting our father.
This means that we don’t all get together so often. However, we still have family gatherings on special
occasions.

5) When did you last have a family
party?

Just a few
weeks ago. It was for my father’s
birthday. We had a get-together
at his house and we all took along cakes and snacks to share.

Part 2

One of the
most memorable family events
of recent years was my father’s
80^th birthday. We wanted to have a special celebration for him but
decided to keep it a secret so as to surprise him on the day.

My youngest brother, who lives two and a
half hours drive away from the rest of my immediate
family, told Dad that he’d come down with his family so we could all go out for a meal together. What we actually
did was to invite members of our extended
family to come as well without my father
knowing. Most of them live a long way away, like in London or Scotland, so we
don’t see them very often. They came down the day before and stayed in local
hotels.

There was a
lot to arrange and it was difficult to sort everything without Dad guessing
what we were up to. There were several times when I thought he must know
something was going on but was just playing along and pretending he didn’t.

We booked a
table at a local restaurant and on the day, my sister decorated it with balloons and other party bits and
pieces. It looked amazing. It was a very long table as in the end there were
more than twenty family members
at the meal. So, as well as my parents
and my siblings, there were also
nieces, nephews, aunts,
uncles and cousins. I think it was probably
the biggest family gathering
we’d ever had.

We arranged
for Dad and Mum to be the last to arrive so that everyone else could be seated
at the table waiting for them. I’ll never forget Dad’s face when he walked into
the restaurant. He hadn’t guessed what we were arranging and it was a real
surprise to him to see everyone there.

We had a
lovely meal together but the best thing was spending time with all our relatives. It made me realize
what a close-knit family we
are even though we don’t see each other very often. I think that Dad enjoyed it
too and I hope it showed him how much he means to our whole family.

Part 3

1) In what ways can people in a
family be similar to each other?

Both immediate
and extended family members
often have a lot of similarities. For example, they can look alike. My brother
Steve is the spitting image
of our cousin Peter, while my sister takes after our mother
in the way she both looks and talks.

Also, relatives
may be good at the same things or do similar types of work. Most of my extended family are either
teachers or scientists.

Specific interests often run in the family. In my family, we all love the outdoors and nature, particularly the
older generation. Younger family members do like to go out
walking as well but now that my nieces
and nephews are all teenagers, they spend a lot of
time on their electronic gadgets.

The final way that people in a family can be alike
is in their personality, and especially in their sense of humour.

2) In terms of personality, are
people influenced more by their family or by their friends?

In my
opinion, personality is mostly hereditary.
I think that the main traits of a person’s character are passed down from parents to their offspring. Some people are more
like their father, others
more like their mother but
most of us can recognise characteristics of both parents in our own personality. For example, I’m quiet like
my dad and have my mum’s creativity.

How children are raised
also affects the way they think, feel and behave as they grow up. Kids from a
happy, stable family background generally
have a normal personality. However, an unhappy childhood, which may include some form of abuse, will
definitely affect a child’s mental development and their character later in
life.

This suggests that personality can change so it’s probably
true that the people we spend time with as friends and colleagues also
influence the way we think, feel and behave. However, I don’t think that they
alter our deepest character.

So in conclusion, I’d say that an understanding of
personality is quite complex and involves both hereditary and social factors.

3) How has the role of elderly people in the family changed
in recent times?

In the past,
the older generation was
highly respected in most cultures. They were considered to be wise because of
all the things they’d learnt in their long lives. Elderly family members would have been family leaders, teachers and spiritual guides to the younger generation. They helped
to maintain the structure and stability of the family.

One of their
most important roles was to pass on the old traditions and to maintain
traditional culture. The other vital job they did, especially the grandmothers, was to provide childcare for their grandchildren. They would
certainly have played an important role in their upbringing.

In my
country, most of this changed when it became normal for adult children to move
away to study and get better jobs. Family
ties are no longer so strong and elderly people aren’t respected as
they once were. Grandparents
aren’t the people we usually go to for advice these days. To be honest, many
elderly people don’t have a significant role in most families any more.
However, many do still look after
the grandchildren if they
live close to them.

Click this link to get a PDF download of these practise questions & sample answers.

• Do not try
  and learn this list of family vocabulary.

• Identify
  the vocabulary you find useful for answering practise questions about the family.

• Record
  these in your vocabulary notebook and practise using them regularly.

Family Vocabulary Set 1: Types of Family

family – a
group of people who are related to each other

— Mohit
was very nervous when he met his girlfriend’s family for the first time.

immediate family –
your closest relations, such as your parents, children, husband or wife

— My
immediate family are my dad, mum and
two sisters.

nuclear family –
parents and their children

—
The average nuclear family in the US
is made up of parents and two children.

extended family – a family unit that includes grandmothers,
grandfathers, aunts, and uncles, etc. in addition to parents and children

— I have a large extended
family with many nieces, nephews and cousins.

dysfunctional family – a family that is not behaving or
working normally, where there is conflict, misbehaviour, etc.

— Cynthia came from a dysfunctional family and could often be
seen wandering the street on her own when she was young.

Family Vocabulary Set 2: Family Members — General Terms

family member – someone
who belongs to a specific family

— I have family members
living all over the world.

to be related to – to belong to
the same family as

— I’m related to many people in my village as my family has lived here
for generations.

a relative – someone
who is part of your family

— We are going to visit
relatives who live on the coast for our holiday this year.

blood relative – someone you are related to
through birth rather than marriage

— Aunty Sylvia is my blood relative but Uncle George, her
husband, is only related to me by marriage.

distant relative – generally, a relative who
is a third cousin or greater, or a great aunt or uncle, especially when you
have little or no involvement with him or her.

— A member of my family died last
week but they were a distant relative
and I didn’t know them very well.

next
of kin – the person or group of people you are most closely related to

— When you apply for a passport, you have to name your next of kin in case there is an
emergency while you are away travelling.

descendants
– a
person who is related to you and who lives after you, such as your child or
grandchild, and all future generations

ancestors
– family members from past generations

— I’m writing my autobiography so
that my descendants will know what
life was like for one of their ancestors.

household – all
the people who live in one house

— There
are now only three people in my household as my older brother has gone
away to university.

Family Vocabulary Set 3: Immediate family

father – a man in relation to his child or children

mother – a  woman in relation to her child or children

parent – father or mother

husband – the male partner in a marriage; a
married man

wife – the female partner in a marriage; a
married woman

spouse – a husband or wife

son – a person’s boy child

daughter – a person’s girl child

brother – a male who has the same parents as another person

sister – a female who has the same parents as another person

big
brother / older brother (or sister) – older
than you

little
sister / younger sister (or brother) – younger
than you

— I
have two younger sisters but I do
wish I had an older brother.

sibling – a brother or sister

— I have three siblings,
two brothers and a sister.

twin – either of two children born to the same mother on the
same occasion

— My sister has just given birth to twins, a boy and a girl.

identical
twins – twins
who look exactly the same

— I
have an identical twin brother and
even our parents find it difficult to tell us apart.

an only
child – a child who doesn’t have any brothers
or sisters

— It can be lonely being an
only child as you don’t have siblings to play with.

Family Vocabulary Set 4: Extended family

uncle
– the brother of your
mother or father

aunt
– the sister of your mother or father

nephew
– the male child of your
brother or sister

niece
– the female child of
your brother or sister

cousin
– a child of your uncle
or aunt

grandparents – the parents of your parents

grandfather – the father of your mother or father

grandmother – the mother of your father or mother

grandchildren – the children of your children

grandson – the son of your son or daughter

granddaughter – the daughter of your son or daughter

Family Vocabulary Set 5: In-laws

in-laws – the relatives of your husband or wife

—
When we were first married, we couldn’t afford a place of our own so lived with
the in-laws.

mother-in-law
– mother of your spouse

— Many people don’t
get on with their mother-in-law but
mine is really nice.

father-in-law
– father of your spouse

— My father-in-law offered me a job in the
family business so he is also my boss.

son-in-law – the husband of your daughter

— I didn’t like Amir
when I first met him but he’s a great son-in-law
and helps me out whenever I need it.

daughter-in-law – the wife of your son

— We are very happy
that our son has decided to marry Zehra and look forward to her becoming our daughter-in-law.

brother-in-law – the husband of your sister

— My brother-in-law is lazy and not a
very good husband to my sister.

sister-in-law – the wife of your brother

— I often help my sister-in-law to look after my baby
niece.

Family Vocabulary Set 6: Stepfamilies

step –
in the context of family relationships, ‘step’ means that you are related to
the person because of one of your parents
marries one of their parents

stepmother
– the wife of your
father, but not your biological mother

stepfather – the husband of your mother, but not
your biological father

stepson –  the son of your new wife or husband, but not
your biological son

stepdaughter – the daughter of your new wife or
husband, but not your biological daughter

stepsister – the daughter of your stepmother or stepfather

stepbrother – the son of your stepmother or
stepfather

half-brother – a brother you have only one parent in
common with

half-sister – a sister you have only one parent in
common with

Family Vocabulary Set 7: Parenting

parent – a person’s father or mother

—
I’m glad that my parents live close
by as it’s easy to visit them.

motherhood – the
state of being a mother

—
I’d like to have children one day but I’m not ready for motherhood yet.

fatherhood –
the state of being a father

— Sakda
is taking the responsibilities of fatherhood
seriously and now only goes out drinking with his friends once a month.

to start
a family – to have
children

—
Billy and I are planning to start a
family as soon as we get married.

to give birth – to have a baby

— It was a special moment in Cesar’s
life when he saw his wife giving birth
to their first child.

offspring
– a
person’s child or children

— My two sisters are coming over
later with their offspring so the
house is going to be very noisy.

family
man – a man who enjoys
being at home with his wife and children

—
Deepak used to love partying but now that he has kids he’s become a real family man.

family
life – the
kind of life a person normally leads when they are married and
have children 

— My
husband and I enjoy doing lots of activities with our children and we all have
a great family life together.

to raise (a child) – to take ​care of a child until they become an adult 

— It’s a big responsibility raising children but I love being a
parent.

to bring up (a child) – to raise a child

— When Jae-min’s husband died, she
was left to bring up the children on her own.

upbringing – the way in which you
are treated and educated when young, especially by your parents

— I was fortunate to have a good upbringing but not all children have
caring parents who look after them well and teach them the right way to behave.

to support (a
family) – to have enough money to be able to look
after a family

—
Egor earned very low wages and had to work two jobs to support his family.

breadwinner – the
member of a family who earns most of the money that the family needs

— In many countries, men are expected to be the breadwinner in a
family.

dependant – someone who depends on you for financial support,
such as a child or family member who does not work

— I‘m working hard to get a promotion and earn more
money now that I’m a husband and a father and have dependants who rely on me.

to adopt – to legally
take another person’s child into your own family and take care of them as your
own child

— Paul and Siri were unable to have children of their own and
decided to adopt a baby.

to
foster – to take care of someone else’s child, usually for a limited
time, without becoming the child’s legal parent

— Even though I’m an only child, I always had other boy’s and
girl’s to play with when I was growing up as mum and dad often used to foster other children.

over-protective parents – a parent who protect their child too much

— Overprotective parents can
prevent their children from building confidence
and independence.

spoilt child – a child who shows bad behaviour because they have
been allowed
to do or have anything they want

— I don’t like playing with the
girl next door because she’s a spoilt child and gets in a temper if I don’t let her win all the games.

single parent – a person bringing up a child or children
without a partner

— My sister is a single
parent now that her husband has left her.

stay at home parent / stay at home mum – a parent who stays
at home to take care of their children rather than going
out to work

— These days, it’s far more usual
for men to be a stay-at-home parent
than when I was young when it was always the mother who looked after the kids.

to look after – to take care of

— I’m going to look after my daughter’s children on Saturday while she has a
day out with her friends.

childcare – the care of children,
especially by a crèche, nursery or childminder while parents are working

— Childcare is a big problem for many
working parents and they are lucky if their own parents can help out.

strict – strongly limiting someone’s freedom to behave as
they wish, or likely to severely punish someone if they do not obey

— My
parents are very strict with
me and I have to finish all my homework before I’m allowed to play or watch TV.

authoritarian – demanding that people obey completely and refusing
to allow them the freedom to act as they wish

— My father was very authoritarian when I
was growing up and I was terrified of him.

Family Vocabulary Set 8: The Generations

generation – all the people of about the same age within a society
or within a particular family

— It’s hard to believe how much everyday life has changed for
my grandparent’s generation.

older generation –
people of middle-age and older

younger generation – young
adults, teenagers and children

— The
older generation are often stuck in
their ways, while the younger generation
welcome change.

generation gap – a
difference of opinions between one generation and another regarding
beliefs and attitudes, often leading to a lack of understanding between them

— It’s a skilled politician who can bridge the generation gap.

teenager – a person aged between 13 and 19 years

— My lovely little boy turned into a rebellious monster when
he was a teenager but now he’s a
lovely young man.

adolescent – a young person who is developing
into an adult

— Many adolescents develop emotional problems as they try to find their place in the world.

Family Vocabulary Set 9: Other vocabulary

sibling
rivalry – the feeling of
competitiveness that often exists between brothers and sisters 

— There was huge sibling rivalry between my two brothers
and they were always fighting but they are the best of friends now that they’re
adults.

run
in the family – a
common feature in a family; something which is passed from parents to children

—
Artistic ability seems to run in the family.

hereditary – passed from the genes of a parent to a child

—
Diabetes is hereditary in our family so I make sure that I eat healthily and
keep fit to lessen my chances of getting it.

childhood – the time when someone is a child

— Many children in the world do not have a happy childhood.

family background – the details of a
person’s family regarding education, social status, etc.

— We want our son to marry a girl from a good family background.

family gathering / family get-together – an
informal event where family members meet up

— We’re having a family get-together to celebrate my mother’s
birthday.

close-knit – involving groups of people in which
everyone supports each other

— We’re a close-knit
family and know that we can rely on each other when one of us needs help.

family ties – the sense of connection between
family members

—
Family ties aren’t as strong as they
used to be in my country because relatives often live many miles apart and even
in different countries.

to care for – to provide the things someone needs,
especially someone who is young, old, or ill

— In my country, sons and daughters
are expected to care for their
elderly parents.

a widow – a woman whose husband has
died

— Her
husband died young and she has been a
widow for almost thirty years now.

a widower – a
man whose wife has died

— My
mother died last year so my father is now a widower.

to desert – to leave someone without help or in a difficult situation and
not come back

— My father deserted us when I was young and my mother has brought me up on her
own.

Family Vocabulary Set 10: Idioms

There
are many idioms about the family but I’ve chosen just a few that might prove a
useful addition to your family vocabulary. Pick only one or two to learn and
make sure that you know how to use them 100% or they won’t make sense.

If
you’re unsure about them, give them a miss rather than risking sounding silly.

get
on with / get along with – to
like someone and have a friendly relationship with them

— I
used to fight with my siblings when we were young but I get on with them really well now that we’re adults.

to
fall out with / to have a falling out – to have a disagreement which ruins a
relationship with that person

— I fell out with my sister when she
started dating my boyfriend.

—
The two brothers had a falling out
over the broken toy.

on
speaking terms – friendly enough to talk

— My parents had a big argument and
are not on speaking terms at the
moment.

to
look alike – to look very similar to someone
else

— My twin sister and I look alike and people often call us by
each other’s names.

to take after (someone)
– to be very similar to an older family member

—
Mila was excellent at drawing. She took
after her mother who was a famous artist.

a
chip off the old block – the person is very similar (in
character and personality) to one of their parents

—
Sanjay is always cracking jokes, just like his father. He’s a real chip off the old block.

to
follow in someone’s footsteps – to do the same thing as someone else did previously,
especially someone in your family

— I want to follow in
my father’s footsteps and become a
doctor like he is.

spitting
image – to look extremely
similar to someone

— Cher is the spitting image of her mother.

wears
the trousers – to
be the person in a family who holds the authority and makes decisions

— My
dad likes to thinks that he’s in charge but it’s my mother who wears the trousers in our house.

black
sheep (of the family)– someone
who brings shame to their family by being different or doing something wrong

— My
brother first started getting into trouble with the police when he was a
teenager and he’s become the black sheep
of the family.

Click this link to get a PDF download of this list of family vocabulary.

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Таблица 1.