Essential English Vocabulary for Family and School Life
Family Vocabulary
- Immediate Family: Mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband, daughter, son, child, parents, partner, twin.
- Extended Family: Aunt, uncle, grandmother, grandfather, granddaughter, grandson, niece, nephew, cousin.
School Terminology
Key School Items and Concepts
- Class, exam, book, teacher, homework, notes, exercise, laboratory, room.
- PE (Physical Education).
Home and Location Vocabulary
Objects and Rooms
- Furniture: Table, chair, sofa, lamp, desk, picture, chest of drawers, bookcase, mirror, bed, wardrobe.
- Appliances: Washing machine, microwave.
- Rooms: Kitchen, dining room, living room, bedroom, bathroom.
- Fixtures: Bath, cupboard.
Prepositions of Place
- Next to, in front of, near/close, under, on.
Live Events and Milestones
- Be born, buy a house, win a competition, go to school, get a job, do an exam, get married, graduate, leave school, have a child, become a professional, grow up, leave home, move.
Descriptive Adjectives
A wide range of adjectives to describe people and things:
- Emotions/Personality: Scary, fun, friendly, serious, horrible, funny, upset, lonely, strange, cute, exciting, angry, boring, naughty, happy, nervous, shy, positive, negative, ambitious, mean, generous, patient, impatient.
- Qualities: Tasty, artistic, intelligent, wild, heavy, rare, fast, slow, aggressive, practical, stupid, light, domesticated.
Action Verbs and Phrasal Verbs
Movement and Action
- Put on, take off, fall off, climb down, swim across, cycle through, walk under, jump into, jump over, run around, climb up.
Landscape and Geography
Natural Features
- Lake, river, desert, forest, valley, ocean, sea, falls, mountains.
Professions and Roles
- Painter, writer, dancer, cook, composer, player, winner, singer, loser.
Time Expressions
Units and Quantities
- Decade, a second, a hundred, a dozen, a few, a couple, a half, an hour, a minute, a week, a month.
Question Words
- When, where, why (because), who, how, what.
Sports Vocabulary
Roles and Activities
- Roles: Loser, finalist, champion, journalist, owner, supporter, sponsor, trainer, manager, captain, referee, player, fan.
- Activities: Football, tennis, basketball, golf, athletic, cycling, table tennis, swimming, skiing, rugby. (Note: *Maths* is often considered an academic subject, not a sport.)
- Items/Concepts: Trophy, competition, team, stadium.
- Injuries: BRUISE (bruised) – darse un golpe; SPRAIN (sprained) – torcerse el tobillo.
City and Urban Life
Urban Elements and Issues
- Traffic, security, camera, noise, public transport, bin, park, pollution, sign, graffiti, street lights, litter.
- Youth club, crime, open spaces, vandalism, police, volunteers, monuments.
- Locations: A village, city, river, some mountains, a beach, a restaurant.
Useful Expressions and Commands
Safety and Movement Commands
- Animals: Watch out for the animals (cuidado con los animales); run over the animals (atropellar a animales).
- Helmet Use: Put on your helmet (ponte el casco); take off the helmet (quitate el casco).
- Driving/Speed: Slow down, there are children here (Cuidado hay niños aqui); speed up or you will be late (Date prisa o llegarás tarde).
- Skateboarding: Get on your skateboard (súbete a mi skateboard); get off your skateboard (bájate de mi skateboard).
- Litter: Put down the litter (tira la basura); pick up the litter (coge la basura).
- Access: Go into this place (ven a este lugar); stay out of this place (permanece fuera de este lugar).
Personal Statements and Discourse Markers
- I am a big fan of (soy un gran fan de).
- I spend a lot of time (paso mucho tiempo).
- I am interested in learning (estoy interesada en aprender).
- Hurry up, don't panic (date prisa, no entres en pánico).
- My favourite room is (mi habitación favorita es).
- In my opinion.
- I think.
- I am sure.
- First.
- Finally.
- As soon as he saw.
- Which; when, where, who.