UNIT 5

TALKING ABOUT FAMILY

By Anam Sutopo and Nurhidayat
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Picture 1

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Picture 2

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Activity 1
Talking About Family

Conversation 1
Read and practice the following conversation between Marcos and Mei.
They talk about their families.

Marcos : How many brothers and sisters do you have, Mei?

Mei : Actually, I’m an only child.
Marcos : Really?
Mei : Yeah, most families in Chinna have only one child
nowadays.
Marcos : I didn’t know that.
Mei : What about you Marcos? How many people are there in
your family?
Marcos : I come from a big family. I have three brothers and two
sisters a father and mother.
Mei : Wow! Is it typical of Peru?
Marcos : Not really. A lot of families are smaller these days. But big
families are great because you get lots of birthday
presents!

Questions:
1. Where is Mei from?
2. How many brother/sister does Mei have?
3. How many people are there in Marcos family?
4. Where does Marcos come from?
5. What is the benefit of having big family according to Marcos?

Conversation 2
Read and practice the following conversation between Rita and Sue.
They talk about Sue’s brother amd sister.

Rita : Tell me about your brother and sister, Sue.

Sue : Well, my sister works for the government.
Rita : Oh, what does she do?

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Sue : I’m not sure. She’s working on a very secret project right
now.
Rita : Wow! And what about your brother?
Sue : He’s a wildlife photographer.
Rita : What an intersting family! Can I meet them?
Sue : Uh, no. My sister ‘s away. She’s not working in the United
States this month.
Rita : And your brother?
Sue : He’s traveling in the Amazon.

Questions:
1. What does Sue’s sister do?
2. Where does she work?
3. Who works as wildlife photographer?
4. Where is Sue’s sister now?
5. Who is travelling to Amazon?

Examples of request/question for exploring family:

1. How many sisters and brothers do you have?

2. Can you tell me about ....?
3. What is your parents’ profession/job?
4. How many people are there in your family?
5. Where does he/she work?
6. How tall is your .....?
7. How old is he/she?
8. What is his/her hobby?
9. What is his/her favorite food/beverage/color/….?

Words List on family

Family Member Marital Status Appearance

Grand Mother Married Tall
Grand Father Single Handsome
Father Engaged Beautiful
Mother Divorced Good looking

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 Husband Widowed Pretty
Wife Serious
Daughter Nice
Son
Brother
Sister
Uncle
Aunt
Nephew
Niece
Step mother
Brother in law
Note: We can extend to relatives.

Activity 2
Work in pairs. Use the following incomplete conversation based on
your own family.
Your friend : Welcome to our school.
You : Thank you.
Your friend : Where are your parents living now?
You : ....
Your friend : What about the rest of your family?
You : Well, my...... and I are living........
Your friend : Do you have aunts and uncles?
You : I have/ don’t have....

Grammar Focus

The simple present of the verb to be

The verb to be is the most important verb in the English language. It is

difficult to use because it is an irregular verb in almost all of its forms.
In the simple present tense, to be is conjugated as follows:

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Affirmative forms of the verb to be

Subject Pronouns Full Form Contracted Form

I am 'm
you are 're
he/she/it is 's
we are 're
you are 're
they are 're

Interrogative forms of the verb to be:

Am I?
Are you?
Is he/she/it?
Are we?
Are you?
Are they?

Negative Forms of the verb to be:

Subject Pronouns Full Form Contracted Form

I am not 'm not
you are not aren't
he/she/it is not isn't

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 we are not aren't
you are not aren't
they are not aren't

Examples:
• Is this your brother?
• No, he isn't. He's my cousin.
• What about Angelina Joli? Is she your sister?
• Yes, she is.
• Are you and Angelina Joli twins?
• No, we aren't
• She is 20 years old.
• He is a student.

Remember:
• I, you, he, she, it, you, they are subject pronouns (also called
personal pronouns, a term used to include both subject and
object pronouns.)
• am, are, is are forms of the verb to be in the simple present.
• 'm, 're, 's are short (contracted) forms of am, are, is
• 'm not, aren't, isn't are short (contracted forms) of am not,
are not, is not.

Activity 3

Make 5 sentences by using simple present tense.

1. ………………………………………………………………
2. ………………………………………………………………
3. ………………………………………………………………
4. ………………………………………………………………
5. ………………………………………………………………

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The present continuous tense

The verb to be (in the simple present) verb + ing

The affirmative forms of the present continuous

am
I
’m
are
You, we, they eating.
’re
is
He, she, it
's

The interrogative forms of the present continuous

Am I
Are you, we, they eating?
Is he, she, it

The negative forms of the present continuous

am not
I
’m not
are not
You, we, they eating.
aren't
is not
He, she, it
isn't

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The use of the present continuous tense

The present continuous is used to talk about actions happening at the

time of speaking.

Example:
Where is your sister? She is working overseas.
Where are you wroking now? I’m not working. I need job.
The present continuous can also be used when an action has started but
hasn’t finished yet.
Example:
I am reading a book; it’s a nice book. (It means = I am not necessarily
reading it; I started reading it but I haven’t finished it yet
Special verbs
There are verbs which are normally not used in the present continuous.
Examples:
be, believe, belong, hate, hear, like, love, mean, prefer, remain, realize,
see, seem, smell, think, understand, want, wish
It's not correct to say:
He is wanting to buy a new car.*
You must say:
He wants to buy a new car.
Activity 4
Make 5 sentences by using present continuous tense.
1. ………………………………………………………………
2. ………………………………………………………………
3. ………………………………………………………………
4. ………………………………………………………………
5. ………………………………………………………………