Family - questions

What is nuclear family?

- A nuclear family si normally a mother, father, brother/sister/siblings. - It is sometimes called your immediate family

How big is your (immediate) family?

- My (immediate) family is small. - I have a big family. - I wish I had a bigger family. - My family is big (but we don't / we rarely / we seldom see each other, because...).

What do you do together as a family?

- During the week my parents work so I don't see much of my family. - We ... only see each other at the weekends/visit grandparents/go away for the weekend/ hang out together at home. - We normally spend time together ... during the holidays/in the summer/at Christmas. We go ... skiing/to the mountains/to museums/shopping/to the cinema/on day trips/to our cottage/hiking.

How important is your family to you?

- Family is very important to me. It's the most important thing to me. My family is everything/my support. I don't know what I would do without my family. If there is an emergency or I need my family they are always there for me. - I don't get on with my family. They don't help me. We are not close. My friends ... are more like my family/feel like family.

What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of coming from a big family?

- Having a big family means there are more people to share your joys and troubles with / to rely on (as long as you get on well with each other). - The advantages of coming from a big family / having a lot of siblings are that you have lots of people for company / to help you with... - The disadvantages are that... you have to share your things / if you're younger you have to wear hand-me-downs / there are more siblings to fight with... - If you have a big family, you are never alone, which can be an advantage but also a disadvantage, for example, when... you want to talk to somebody on the phone / you need to study...

How well do you get along with your siblings?

- I (don't) get along very well with my brother / sister... we (don't) have a lot in common. - My older brother/ sister picks on me / used to pick on me quite a bit... - I get along with my siblings much better now that we are all adults. / I get along with my brother/ sister very well, we often spend time together.

Do you get on with your parents?

- I have a good/bad relationship with my parents. We are very close family/get on/don't get on well/fight a lot. My parents are like my friends. - I don't live at home because .. they don't treat me well/mistreat me/abuse me. - I don't see my dad because .... he's never at home/he works a lot/my parents argue a lot. - My parents are really kind/generous/open-minded/supportive. - I can talk to them about anything/tell them everything.

What can you tell me about your family?

- I have a mother / mum (BrE) / mom (AmE) and father / dad. It's only me, my mother and father. - My parents are divorced. My mother / father is remarried/ has a new husband / wife. I have a step-mother/ step-father / step-brother(s) / step-sister(s). - I have no siblings / I am an only child. - I have a younger/ older brother / sister. - I have two brothers / sisters./ I have a twin brother / sister. / I am one of triplets/ quadruplets. - Both / All of my grandparents are in good health. / Unfortunately, one of my grandmothers / grandfathers died / passed away when I was... - I only have one grandmother. I have no / a few/ many/ plenty of / two aunts / uncles / cousins. - My brother / sister (is married and) has a child/ son / daughter, so I also have a brother-in-law/ sister-in-law and a nephew / niece.

Do you have any siblings and do you get on with them?

- I have an older brother who... is always bossing me around/ looks after me. - We get on well/always argue/are not close/don't get along. - I have a younger sibling and he/she always annoys me. I have to babysit/ look after him/her. - My siblings are my best friends. - I hate my siblings. We don't have anything in common. - I have a fraternal/identical twin. I'm one of a set of triplets. - There is a big age gap. - We are close in age.¨ - I'm an only child.

Can you something about your family?

- I live with my mum/stepmother/dad/stepfather/brother/sister/half-brother/half-sister/I'm an only child. - We have/I come from a large/small family. - My parents are still together/divorced/separated. My father/mother has remarried/ has a new husband/wife. I have a stepmother/stepfather. I am adopted/ I live with my foster parents.

Who do you take after more, your mother or father?

- I look more like my father, but share more character traits with my mother. - I am a lot like my father in many ways, we are both tall and thin / athletic / interested in sports... and we both have dark / curly... hair / long legs / the same sense of humour. - My mother / father and I both have the same colour of hair... My mother/ father and I both share the same... - I'm a bit more like my grandmother / grandfather (on my mother's/ father's side) than either of my parents. - I inherited my mother's / father's / grandmother's / grandfather's sense of humour / musical talent / green eyes...

How would you describe a typical family?

- I think it's still most/not as common to have a mum, dad, brothers and sisters in a family. - Some couples are not the same nationality/race so they are called international/interracial. - Families with only a mum/dad/one parent, but not both are called single-parent families. Many parents get divorced so we have stepbrothers/stepsisters/stepparents. - I don't think there is "traditional" family. Families have changed.

What household chores / work do you do? How much or how often do you help around the house?

- I usually take out the trash / do... the washing up (BrE) / the dishes (AmE) / ironing / dusting / laundry / shopping / hoovering (BrE) / vacuuming (AmE)... - I try to help out as much as possible so I... - To tell the truth, I avoid housework whenever I can.

What are the advantages or disadvantages of being an only child?

- I would like to be an only child because ... I would get more attention/ my parents could spend more time with me/you ... are more independent/ get more love. - The advantages of being an only child include more privacy. I ... could have my own bedroom/wouldn't have to share things. - I wouldn't like to be an only child. The disadvantages are that you don't have someone to ... speak to/ play with/be friends with. You can feel lonely.

What kinds of things do you and your family (like to) do together?

- My family and I go skiing / hiking / on trips... together. - I like to discuss things with my parents / help my parents / father / mother in the garden / train our dog... - We don't spend much time together nowadays, but when I was younger / smaller, we used to sit around the fire / go to the cinema / spend at least a week by the sea... together. - My parents are very busy but they always find some time... to ask me about my studies / social life / hobbies / interests / to spend time with me at weekends / on holidays...

Do you have any influence on family matters? Which ones?

- My family is quite democratic, we all have an equal say in family decisions. - My parents discuss / askmy opinion on most / many matters, for example, which school I wanted to go to / where we will go on our next holiday... - I have no influence whatsoever on anything... / I have / get no say in (almost) anything. My parents often ask my opinion, but never seem to take it seriously.

How well do you get along with your parents?

- My parents are more like friends to me, I can tell them (almost) anything / share secrets with them. - My parents are a bit hard on me, they're always... criticising my choice of friends / telling me how disappointed they are with me... - My parents have (quite) high expectations of me, and the pressure is sometimes unbearable. - My parents pretty much ignore me, so I can get away with almost anything.

Who do you take after?

- People say that I look like my mum/dad. - I have my mum's/dad's ... eyes/smile/hair/nose/build. - I look exactly like/nothing like my mum/dad/brother/sister/grandfather. - I don't look like my parents but I have similar interests. I don't think I look like my parents at all. - I'm adopted so I don't look like my parents.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of being an only child?

- The advantages of being an only child are that you get all your parents' attention / love. You have... everything to yourself / more privacy and time/ more space to yourself... You don't have to share your things. - The disadvantages are that you can be lonely / you can feel alone / you miss out on the support from having siblings...

What are he advantages/disadvantages of a big family?

- The advantages of living in a big family are that... you always have someone to ... talk to/share things with/do things with. You are never lonely. It's always busy and active. You can ... help each other if there is a problem /rely on others to help. - The disadvantages are that you have no space/no room/no privacy. You have to share everything.

Can you tell me about your extended family? How extensive is your family?

- my extended family consist/is made up of my grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins/in-laws. - My grandfather/grandmother/grandparents ... is/are still alive. - My grandparents live ... with us/nearby. - I don't have/ have lots of/many aunts/uncles/cousins. - My brother/sister is married so I have brother-in-law/sister-in-law. They have a baby so I'm ... an aunt/uncle/ I have a nice/nephew.