Where Do You Live? Part 2
2023-03-24
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1Imagine a teacher says the following to you during an English speaking test:
2Tell me about where you live. Can you describe your living space?
3Today's report will explore ways to answer such a question.
4We will talk about nouns, verbs, and prepositions that can help us give a detailed, clear answer - and earn a good score on the test!
5Let's start with some important terms and ideas.
6In an earlier Everyday Grammar report, we explored how you can talk about where you live in general terms.
7We learned about how to talk about a neighborhood or a part of a city.
8In today's report, we will explore how to talk about the exact place where you live.
9When we talk about where we live, a number of nouns, verbs, and prepositions become important.
10The nouns are limited in number.
11There are three important nouns we often use to talk about living spaces: house, apartment, and room. We will explore more about these nouns later.
12In terms of verbs, we often describe living places in two ways.
13We use verbs to show how we pay for the living space. Important verbs related to finances include own, rent, or share.
14So, we might say, "They own their house," or "she rents her apartment," or "we share an apartment."
15We also use verbs to describe the contents or objects of the living space.
16Important verbs related to objects or contents include have.
17So, for example, a person might say, "The apartment has three rooms."
18We can also talk about the exact objects in a room with have.
19For example, a person could say, "The bedroom has a bed, a fan, and a desk," or "The bathroom has a shower, a sink, and a toilet."
20Finally, we arrive at prepositions. These are short words that place nouns in space.
21When we talk about living spaces, the preposition "in" is probably the most important.
22We say, "I live in a house," or "I live in an apartment," for example.
23When we talk about objects or locations, we often say, "...in the kitchen..." or "...in the bathroom..." or "...in the bedroom..."
24So, a person might say, "The stove is in the kitchen," or "A sink is in the bathroom."
25So, we have three important ingredients for talking about our living spaces - nouns, verbs, and prepositions. How do we put all of them together?
26Let's start with something we heard at the beginning of our report:
27Tell me about where you live.
28You could respond to this by saying, for example:
29I live in a house.
30Or
31I live in an apartment.
32Or
33I rent a room in a house.
34Or
35I share an apartment.
36Or you might say:
37I own a house.
38Now consider how might you answer the following:
39Tell me about where you live. Can you describe your living space?
40You might say:
41I live in an apartment. The apartment has four rooms: two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living room. I share a room with my sister.
42Or you might say:
43I rent a room in a house. The room has a bed, a desk, a closet, and a bookshelf.
44Today, we explored some ways to describe a living space.
45There are, of course, many other ways to do so. You might use other nouns, verbs, or prepositions.
46But as a starting point, the small set of nouns, verbs, and prepositions we talked about today can be very useful.
47Let's end this report with a homework assignment. Write to us about a living space. It can be either real or imaginary.
48Try to use some of the terms that we explored today - but be sure to use some new ones too!
49You can send your work to learningenglish@voanews.com .
50I'm John Russell.
1Imagine a teacher says the following to you during an English speaking test: 2Tell me about where you live. Can you describe your living space? 3Today's report will explore ways to answer such a question. We will talk about nouns, verbs, and prepositions that can help us give a detailed, clear answer - and earn a good score on the test! 4Let's start with some important terms and ideas. 5Nouns 6In an earlier Everyday Grammar report, we explored how you can talk about where you live in general terms. We learned about how to talk about a neighborhood or a part of a city. 7In today's report, we will explore how to talk about the exact place where you live. 8When we talk about where we live, a number of nouns, verbs, and prepositions become important. 9The nouns are limited in number. There are three important nouns we often use to talk about living spaces: house, apartment, and room. We will explore more about these nouns later. 10Verbs 11In terms of verbs, we often describe living places in two ways. 12We use verbs to show how we pay for the living space. Important verbs related to finances include own, rent, or share. 13So, we might say, "They own their house," or "she rents her apartment," or "we share an apartment." 14We also use verbs to describe the contents or objects of the living space. Important verbs related to objects or contents include have. 15So, for example, a person might say, "The apartment has three rooms." 16We can also talk about the exact objects in a room with have. For example, a person could say, "The bedroom has a bed, a fan, and a desk," or "The bathroom has a shower, a sink, and a toilet." 17Prepositions 18Finally, we arrive at prepositions. These are short words that place nouns in space. 19When we talk about living spaces, the preposition "in" is probably the most important. 20We say, "I live in a house," or "I live in an apartment," for example. When we talk about objects or locations, we often say, "...in the kitchen..." or "...in the bathroom..." or "...in the bedroom..." 21So, a person might say, "The stove is in the kitchen," or "A sink is in the bathroom." 22Putting it all together 23So, we have three important ingredients for talking about our living spaces - nouns, verbs, and prepositions. How do we put all of them together? 24Let's start with something we heard at the beginning of our report: 25Tell me about where you live. 26You could respond to this by saying, for example: 27I live in a house. 28Or 29I live in an apartment. 30Or 31I rent a room in a house. 32Or 33I share an apartment. 34Or you might say: 35I own a house. 36Expand 37Now consider how might you answer the following: 38Tell me about where you live. Can you describe your living space? 39You might say: 40I live in an apartment. The apartment has four rooms: two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living room. I share a room with my sister. 41Or you might say: 42I rent a room in a house. The room has a bed, a desk, a closet, and a bookshelf. 43Closing thoughts 44Today, we explored some ways to describe a living space. There are, of course, many other ways to do so. You might use other nouns, verbs, or prepositions. But as a starting point, the small set of nouns, verbs, and prepositions we talked about today can be very useful. 45Let's end this report with a homework assignment. Write to us about a living space. It can be either real or imaginary. Try to use some of the terms that we explored today - but be sure to use some new ones too! 46You can send your work to learningenglish@voanews.com . 47I'm John Russell. 48*house itself is very general and can refer to anything from a very small, simple structure to something that is very large. 49_______________________________________________________________ 50Words in This Story 51shower - n. a device that produces a spray of water for you to stand under and wash your body 52sink - n. a wide bowl that has a faucet for water and a drain at the bottom and is usually positioned in a counter or on a pedestal 53toilet - n. a large bowl attached to a pipe that is used for getting rid of bodily waste and then flushed with water