General English Lower Intermediate Level
Lesson 3
People
1. Watch the video
Expressions to work on
- I live and work in London but I’ve got friends and family in Asia and America
- I often meet her at a dinner at the weekend
- Where do you live?
- Do you live on your own, or with your friends or family?
- I live with my family; we live together in a flat
- I live in an apartment
- I live on my own
- How often do you see your friends and family?
- I see my friends daily
- Quite often, there is quite a big community near here, I see my friends quite a lot
- I try to see them every day
- Mostly, I see them at the weekend
- I see my friends every day at the University
- Don’t see my family very often, maybe once a year
- I see my family every day, because I live with them
- I see my friends twice or three times a week
- My mother doesn’t live in the same city, so I don’t see her very often, once a month
- What do you like doing with your friends or family?
- With friends, I like going to the beach, I like playing games
- I like going out, socializing, going to the cinema, eating together
- We like to go for a meal or to the cinema
- I and my family, sometimes we go on holiday
- I actually like cooking with my friends and some usual stuff, going to the cinema, going to the parks
- I like having family meals with my family
- I like making music, most of my friends are musicians, we like and enjoy making music, just having conversations about our lives
2. Questions to speak about
- Where do you live?
- Do you live on your own?
- How often do you see your family and friends?
- What do you like doing with your friends and family?
3. Activity 1
What's it like where you live?
Now it's time to join Emma as she meets four people on the streets of London.
Their names are Milly, Paul, Mariska and Katie.
Emma asks them:
- Where are you from?
- What's it like there?
- What do you like about it?
Transcript
Here we are on the streets of London… It's an international city, full of people from all over the world. So, let's go and meet some of them!
- Emma
- Hi Milly. Nice to meet you. Whereabouts are you from?
- Milly
- East Grinstead in West Sussex – probably about 50 minutes south of London.
- Emma
- And what's it like there?
- Milly
- I guess it's kind of a countryside town, so a lot different than London. Quite green and nice. I like it.
- Emma
- What do you like the most about it?
- Milly
- I think you go down the high street and everyone tends to know one another. It's homely, you feel safe there. It's friendly.
- Emma
- Hello, what's your name?
- Paul
- Hi, I'm Paul.
- Emma
- Hi Paul, nice to meet you. Whereabouts do you come from?
- Paul
- I come from London, just down the river here.
- Emma
- And what is it like?
- Paul
- The best way I can answer that is to tell you what I'm going to do today. I'm going to meet a friend, have a coffee, then we're going to see a play at the Globe Theatre, and afterwards there'll be plenty of places open so we'll find somewhere for a late supper.
- Emma
- What is it you like most about London?
- Paul
- I think there are so many things that go on in the city, so many people and types of people who live here, it's just exciting and wonderful.
- Emma
- Hello, what's your name?
- Mariska
- Hello, my name is Mariska.
- Emma
- Hello Mariska, nice to meet you. Where are you from?
- Mariska
- I'm from Holland.
- Emma
- What's Holland like?
- Mariska
- Holland is a small country, very flat, with beaches.
- Emma
- What do you like about Holland?
- Mariska
- I like the place where I live. It's a little town near the beach. And I like the sun and the quiet. It's really quiet.
- Katie
- My name is Katie.
- Emma
- Hello, nice to meet you. And where are you from?
- Katie
- I'm from Canada.
- Emma
- Wow, what is it like there?
- Katie
- It's really cold there.
- Emma
- What do you like about it?
- Katie
- I like how big it is.
- Emma
- So, now you've met some of the people in London. See you next time.
Activity 2
'Like' for preference and description
Meaning and use
The word like can be used in a number of different ways. In this unit we look at two of these:
- Like can be used as a verb to express a preference or interest in a person, place or thing.
- I like your earrings. Where did you get them?
- Like can also be used as a preposition to ask for a description of a person, place or thing.
- Emily: What’s your English teacher like?
- Bob: She’s kind and intelligent.
Form (as verb)
We use like as a verb in this way: subject + like + object
- Emily: I like sports. Do you like playing football?
- Bob: Yes, I do. I also like fishing. Do you like fishing?
- Emily: No, I don’t.
- I like shopping.
- Bob likes playing football.
- I don’t like sports.
- Emily doesn’t like reading.
- Do you like horror movies?
- Does Bob like cartoons?
Form (as preposition)
We use like as a preposition in this set phrase: what + to be + noun/noun phrase + like?
- Andrea: What’s California like?
- Jamie: It’s hot and sunny.
Take note: Is the question asking for preference or description?
When asking for preference, we use like with do or does in the question.
- Do you like playing tennis?
- What sports do you like?
We don’t use do or does when asking for a description. Instead, we start the question with what and end with like.
- What is she like?
- What’s London like?
- What was your weekend like?
Take note: Time and place
We can specify time and place when asking for a description by using a phrase at the end of the question.
- What will the weather be like next weekend?
- What are the beaches like in Barcelona?
Spoken English
In formal speech (or writing), each word in a question usually appears separately.
- What is your new house like?
However, we usually use contractions in informal speech (and writing).
- What’s your new house like?
Practice
| 1. What’s your new music teacher like? | a. No, I don’t. They’re so scary! |
| 2. What was your weekend like? | b. They’re really friendly. I like them a lot. |
| 3. Do you like watching horror movies? | c. Yes, I do. I like them a lot! |
| 4. What are your new neighbours like? | d. It’s sunny and warm. |
| 5. What movies do you like? | e. He likes football and baseball. |
| 6. What sports does your brother like? | f. Horrible! He’s so strict. |
| 7. Do you like your new shoes? | g. I like action movies. They’re exciting! |
| 8. What’s the weather like? | h. It was fun! We went swimming. |
Activity 4
Meet Ginger
So, let us introduce you to Ginger, a cat who's ginger... in colour!
Listen to Ginger's owner and try the activity.
My cat Ginger is 5 years old. He's ginger in colour, of course, and quite big and strong, and very independent.
He likes running in the house and fighting with other cats. He loves catching birds, and sometimes frogs. But he still likes cat food the most.
In fact, he's hungry now. He's always hungry. Ok, Ginger, I'm coming!
Read each sentence. This will test if you've learnt the difference between 'What's (someone/something) like?' and 'What does (someone/something) like?
Activity 5
Describing cats
Do you like cats?
Now let's meet those cat lovers! They describe why they love their pets so much. Which words do they use?
Watch the video and complete the activity
Describing cats
The thing I love about cats is that they're very independent but very loving. You can play with them… they're comforting… they're furry…
When he's out I get lonely, when he's in, fine, I'm alright…
You can see how lovely it is to have him near me and be able to stroke him.
Cats are…? Which words did the cat owners use to describe their pets?
Using adjectives
The cat (pets) lovers we just watched used some useful adjectives to describe their pets.
But do you know what they mean? In the next activity, try to match the words with their meanings.
Complete the activity
| Selfish | soft and making you want to put your arms around it |
| Aloof | behaving like a king or queen |
| Furry | making you feel less worried or sad |
| Cuddly | showing affection |
| Independent | not friendly and not wanting to be involved in things |
| Regal | not controlled by other things, free |
| Comforting | only thinking about yourself |
| Loving | covered in soft hair (used about animals) |
1. Learn the topic vocabulary
2. It's time for 6 Minute Grammar. Sophie and Finn explain different meanings of the word like.
3. Vocabulary Reference
General vocabulary from Unit 3
- loving - showing affection
- independence - the state of not being controlled or helped by others
- independent - not controlled by other things, free
- fur - soft hair (used about animals)
- furry - having a lot of soft hair (used about animals)
- comforting - making you feel less worried or sad
- comfort - a nice feeling of being relaxed and not in pain
- stubborn - not changing your attitude or opinion, even if there is a good reason to.
- tolerant - accepting opinions of others, or able to put up with difficult conditions or treatment
- hunt - chase and kill another animal for food
- shrew - a small, mouse-like animal with a long nose and tiny eyes
- doesn't go much further - doesn't go beyond this distance
- plenty - more than enough
- supper - evening meal
- homely - simple and comfortable like at home
- countryside - natural or farm land outside towns and cities
- friendly - pleasant and helpful
- tends to be - is usually
- trapped - unable to move or escape from a place / stopped from leaving a place
- scratched - cut or damaged the surface of something (for example, skin)
- aggressive - behaving in an angry and violent way
- domestic - if an animal is domestic, it lives with people
6 Minute Vocabulary: Prefixes
Prefixes and some examples of their use
- unhappy - not happy - The football fans were very unhappy when their team lost.
- uncooked - not cooked - You can't eat these uncooked apples. They are very sour.
- unclean - not clean
- intolerable - cannot be tolerated or accepted - This heat is intolerable. It's making me feel ill.
- inexpensive - not expensive; cheap - The shop sells inexpensive second-hand computers.
- inactive - not active - He's put on weight because he is so inactive. He should join a gym!
- disagree - to not agree - I disagree with my sister about everything.
- disgrace - something to be ashamed of - Your table manners are a disgrace.
- disgusting - so horrible that you feel sick - There's a disgusting smell in the bathroom - open a window, quickly!