My family (Моя семья)

A family… What is it a family? Everybody understands this concept differently. One has a mother and a father and they are his or her family. One has the only child and they both make a family.

I must say, this all is not about me. My family is big. And I am really proud of this fact. My friends say that sometimes they even envy me. When my family gets together during the Christmas season, there is no room to swing a cat.

I have an extended family, which consists of 17 people. Everything starts from my grandparents. Their names are Dana and Petro. They are now rather old and retired. My granny is 75 and grandpa is 84. They live in a small flat in a lovely small town in western Ukraine. My grandparents have three children: my aunt Maria, my uncle Vladimir and my mother Olga. And each of their children made their own nuclear family.

So, let’s talk about my aunt. When she was 18, she married a young and handsome military officer named Vladimir. They moved houses very often but at last they settled in Belarus where their son, my eldest cousin, was born. His name is Vladimir. Now he is married and has his own family. His wife is Oksana and they have a son called Aleksey. Unfortunately, my aunt’s husband died about ten years ago and I really miss him.

The family of my uncle Vladimir is rather big, too. He married his classmate Raisa and they have two children: two boys Anatoliy and Peter. Anatoliy married Nataly and they have two daughters: Raisa (named after her grandmother) and Yana. My youngest cousin Petro is a student and he lives in Lvov.

My family consists of four people: my parents, my sister and me. My parents went to the same school and after my dad had come back from the army they married. Then my sister was born and I was born four years later. You know, I am a schoolgirl and my sister is a student in Chernovtsy. She is going to be a lawyer. My mother is a librarian and my father is a taxi-driver. So, as you can see we are a typical Ukrainian family and we never get bored on holidays. 

Список слов к топику на тему «Моя семья» ("My family") на английском языке:

• concept - понятие

• only child – единственный ребенок

• be proud of – гордиться

• no room to swing a cat – посл. Негде яблоку упасть

• extended family – расширенная семья

• envy - завидовать

• retire – выходить на пенсию

• nuclear family – маленькая семья

• cousin – двоюродный брат или сестра

• uncle - дядя

• to get married – жениться или выходить замуж

• husband - муж

• unfortunately – к сожалению

• named after – назван в честь

• get bored – скучать

Грамматика, которая будет полезной для топика «Моя семья» ("My family") на английском языке: Present Simple, Past Simple.

Эти вопросы пригодятся Вам, если Вы захотите сами составить топик (тему) по английскому языку на тему «Моя семья» (“My family”):

1. What does “family” mean for you?

2. How many people are there in your family?

3. What do you know about your grandparents?

4. Do you have uncle/aunt? Tell about their families.

5. Do you have cousins?

6. What relationship do you have with your relatives? How often do you meet?