Describing family relationships

Children often quarrel with each other, and these arguments – or squabbles – are often quickly resolved. In fact, sibling rivalry (the competition between brothers and sisters) is quite common.

More seriously, if arguments continue into adulthood, family feuds can develop where both sides can end up hating each other and even trying to hurt or destroy each other.

A person who no longer speaks to a family member is estranged from his / her family. Often estrangement is voluntary. However, if parents decide they no longer want anything to do with their children, they cut them off (= break off communiation), or even disinherit them. (Decide not to leave them anything when they die.)

Most people feel loyalty to their family, and will defend family members saying "He / She's family". There's also a saying "Blood's thicker than water" which means that your family ties are stronger than any other relationships.

Dialogue 1

Family Relationships

Carl: Hi. My name's Carl. Nice to meet you.

Pancho: Nice to meet you, too. My name is Francisco.

Carl: What?

Pancho: Francisco, but all my friends and family back in Peru call me Pancho.

Carl: Okay, Pancho. So, tell me about your family?

Pancho: Well, I have seven brothers and six sisters.

Carl: Wow. That is a big family. So are you the oldest, Pancho?

Pancho: No. I'm the second oldest in my family.

Carl: So, what do your parents do?

Pancho: My father is a taxi driver in Lima, Peru. It's a hard job, but he works hard to support the family.

Carl: How about your mother?

Pancho: She helps run a small family store with some of my older brothers and sisters.

Carl: What kind of store?

Pancho: We mainly sell food, like bread, eggs, soft drinks, rice, sugar, and cookies. Things that people buy every day.

1. Where is Pancho from?
A. Paraguay
B. Peru
C. Portugal

2. How many brothers and sisters does Pancho have?
A. 11
B. 12
C. 13

3. What is his father's job?
A. taxi driver
B. dentist
C. police officer

4. What does his mother do?
A. She owns a beauty salon.
B. She runs a small family store.
C. She works at a bread shop.

5. Which thing does Pancho NOT say?
A. His brothers and sisters help his mom.
B. His mom sells food like eggs and sugar.
C. His mother enjoys her job very much.

Here's some useful vocabulary for describing people and talking about physical appearance. Remember that you need to be quite careful when you're describing people. At the bottom of this page are some tips for being tactful.

Age

If you're old you might have a pension, so you're an old age pensioner, or a senior citizen. An old person might be 65 years old and over.

Before you're old (around 55, for example) you can be middle-aged. If you have children when you're this age, they can be young adult (20-25 years of age) or teenager. (13-19).

There are other words for younger children. For example, a toddler is around 1-3 years old, while a baby is from 0-12 months old.

Build

People are built in all shapes and sizes. There are those who are fatand overweight. Some people are extremely overweight and are obese. Other people are naturally slim, but others look have absolutely no fat on them and are thin, or skinny.

Other words for describing people and build are:
stocky = small, but well-built
tall
short
lean = with very little fat
wiry = quite thin, but muscular
athletic
well-proportioned.
curvaceous (for a woman) / an hour-glass figure (Like an 1940's film star!)
fit = healthy / active. To be fit you should take plenty of exercise.
flabby = when your muscles go soft

Colouring

You can describe someone as an English rose if they have fair hair and fair skin. Someone with this complexion doesn't tan easily and has to be careful in the sun. You can also be blonde, with a fair complexion.

You are born with a colour – white or Caucasian, black or Asian. People whose parents are of different ethnic origin are mixed-race. Southern Europeans are sometimes described as Mediterranean.

Other words for describing skin colour:
freckles = small brown dots on your face and arms from the sun
dark-skinned = a dark complexion which allows you to tan easily

Face

Faces, like build, vary a lot. Some people have oval faces – their foreheads are much wider than their chins. Other people have heart-shaped, square or round faces.

Here's some more vocabulary for describing features:
bushy eyebrows = lots of thick hair on your eyebrows
a hooked nose = a prominent nose (but not a wide nose)
high cheekbones = prominent cheekbones
a broad nose = opposite of a narrow nose
a snub nose = a nose which goes up at the end.
even or regular teeth = teeth which are straight
crooked teeth = you need to wear a brace to make them straight
rosy cheeks = red cheeks
dimples = when you get little hollows in your cheeks or next to your mouth when you smile

Describing hair

long, curly hair
short, straight hair
fine hair = it doesn't weigh very much, vs thick and heavy hair
wavy = between straight and curly
losing your hair / going bald = when men start to lose their hair
a receding hairline = when you lose your hair from your forehead
a red-head = with red hair

Here are some ways you can describe hair styles:
cut in a bob = a short hair style, where the hair comes down to your chin
a fringe = where it is cut horizontally across her forehead
a shaved head = where your hair is shaved off
a ponytail = where you tie (long) hair behind your head, so it falls down like a horse's tail
a Mohican = a punk style where your hair is shaved on the sides, but long and spiky in the middle

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