Hi all! The best way significantly enrich your English vocabulary to communicate in an American way, it is to learn to describe all the objects and objects in your environment or just seen in the picture. Thanks to the previous audio lessons, you have already learned how to describe different types of people. And the topic of our today's lesson "Description of buildings" on English language. Roosevelt Towers: Building Exterior Description in English
The description of buildings or, in other words, the exterior is very useful skill especially in a foreign country. So, if you need to find a building, and you don’t know where it is, then you need to name its main signs so that passers-by tell you where it is. Therefore, today we will replenish our vocabulary and phrases, learning to give external characteristics various buildings.
Remember and repeat Learning to describe others
So, Martin Lerner found himself in one of the unfamiliar American cities, but he really needs to find one building. The description of the signs of the building will help him navigate in a foreign city and find what he is looking for:
receptionist:Do you see that tall glass building? Do you see this tall glass building?
Martin: The round building? — round building?
receptionist:Yes, that round building. Yes, round.
Martin:The blue glass building? “A blue glass structure?”
receptionist: no. That's the Carter Building. Roosevelt Towers is near there. - Not. This is the Carter building. The Roosevelt Towers are nearby.
Martin:I can't see it. - I do not see them.
receptionist:No, you can't see it from here. It's behind the Carter Building. No, you can't see them from here. This is behind the Carter building.
By rereading several times a fragment of the conversation between Martin and the registrar, train your reading skills in English and the ability to perceive visual English text. Then, while listening to the audio lesson, work on your fluent American listening and listening skills. American pronunciation: /wp-content/uploads/2014/10/russian_english_042.mp3
American is the most common, used and popular variety of English. The American language is the language of youth, computer, innovation, international communication, art, film and music. Of course, the British version is cleaner and more correct, but be that as it may, American English is used much more often today. Join now!
Description of the exterior in English
When describing buildings, we, first of all, pay attention to its general appearance - the number of floors, the color of the walls, what material it is made of. Therefore, today we will study mainly nouns and adjectives, since it is with the help of the words of these grammatical categories we call attention the characteristics of buildings, that is, the exterior. A handy table with the appropriate vocabulary will help you remember a lot of new information.
| Building Description | |
| Phrases | |
| It (the building) cannot be overlooked/impossible to miss | You can't miss it |
| What is it (building)? | What does it look like? |
| I can't see it | I can't see it |
| Nouns | |
| quarter | block (in the city) |
| church | church |
| corner | corner |
| floor, floor | floor |
| Insurance Company | insurance company |
| side | side |
| floor/floors | story/stories (of a building) |
| tower | tower |
| yard, street | outdoors |
| Registrar (person) | Receptionist |
| Verbs | |
| Build, build | to build |
| see | to see |
| Adverbs | |
| also, also | either |
| often | often |
| Preposition | |
| beside | next to |
| Adjectives | |
| average | average |
| brick | brick |
| glass | glass |
| Lost | lost |
| another | other |
| round | round |
| stone | stone |
| square | square |
| wood | wooden |
Apply knowledge in practice: train the ability to describe various surrounding objects in English using words from the table.
A building is a surface building structure with premises for living (housing) and (or) activities of people, locating production, storing products or keeping animals. The building includes engineering networks ... ... Wikipedia
building- An above-ground structure with premises for living, human activities, storage of raw materials or products, or keeping animals. [Terminological dictionary for construction in 12 languages (VNIIIS Gosstroy of the USSR)] building Ground building structure with ... Technical Translator's Handbook
building- Construction, structure, construction; extension, services (barn, bathhouse, tower, booth, guardroom, pantry, stable, glacier, human, cellar, laundry, shed, gatehouse, closet, outbuilding; threshing floor, barn, barn, mill). Library, factory, barracks, theater, ... ... Synonym dictionary
BUILDING- BUILDING, buildings, cf. (book). 1. Construction, architectural building. Beautiful building. Government building. 2. trans. Structure, system, structure (rhetoric.). The working class shook the edifice of capitalism. Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov. D.N. Ushakov. ... ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov
building- BUILDING, architecture, house, building, building, structure ... Dictionary-thesaurus of synonyms of Russian speech
Building- (see House, building a house, see Palace ... bible encyclopedia Brockhaus
BUILDING- BUILDING, I, cf. architectural structure, building, house. Public buildings. | reduce building, a, cf. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov
BUILDING- cf. (from small, church building), large building, house, domina, mansions, chambers, palace; temple: barracks, factory, etc. Building a church. create, create, build. Builder, nitsa, creator, builder of a church, monastery, etc. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. IN AND.… … Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary
Building- - a surface construction structure with premises for living and (or) activities of people, locating production facilities, storing products or keeping animals. [Construction control. Toolkit. Edited by V.S. Kotelnikov. M... Encyclopedia of terms, definitions and explanations of building materials
building- 5 building Above ground building structure with premises for living and (or) activities of people, location of production facilities, storage of products or keeping animals Source: GOST R 52086 2003: Formwork. Terms and definitions original document ... ... Dictionary-reference book of terms of normative and technical documentation
building- , ia, cf. building, building large sizes. / / Peren. == Light (greatest) building of socialism (communism). == Communist building (house). pathet. ◘ greatest building socialism erected in our country is worthy ... ... Explanatory Dictionary of the Language of Soviet Deputies
Books
- , M. Taranovskaya. The monograph of the candidate of architecture M. Z. Taranovskaya is the second part of the study dedicated to the remarkable ensemble of K. I. Rossi (the first part is about the central structure of the ensemble - ... Buy for 2925 rubles
- The building of the Public Library and the pavilions of the Anichkov Palace, M. Taranovskaya. 1957 edition. The book reveals creative process design and construction of the library building and pavilions and methods of work of architects E. T. Sokolova and K. I. Rossi. Detailed…
The description of the house in English can include a description of the structure of the house, the number of floors, the location and the number of rooms. Let's see what we can say about the structure itself and what the different parts of the house are called. When describing the appearance, we can also mention its color and other external features.
House structure and appearance
To get started, check out following vocabulary, with its help we will make brief description at home.
- Wall - wall.
- Thick - thick (about a thing, material).
- Sturdy - stable.
- Window - window.
- Door - door.
- Fence - fence.
- Gate - gate.
- Garage - garage.
- Storey - floor.
- Balcony - a balcony.
- Roof - roof.
- Attic - attic.
- Basement - basement.
- Chimney - chimney.
- Skylight - skylight.
- Backyard - backyard.
- Garden - garden.
- To store - store.
After we are armed with the most necessary vocabulary, you can write a short text-description of the house.
Text
My house is a two-storey building. last year the iron fence was put around the house, there are also a gate which leads to the front door of the house and the back door which leads to the backyard. The walls are quite thick so the house is sturdy. The walls are painted in yellow color and the roof is green. There is a chimney on the top of the roof and a skylight, through which the light penetrates to the attic. There is a basement, where I store all my old stuff. There are also two balconies. And I forgot to mention a small garden where my mom grows different plants. Oh yes, and there is a garage, my dad keeps in it his car and I keep my bicycle.
My house is a two-story building. Last year it was surrounded by an iron fence, there is also a gate that leads to the main entrance to the house and a second door that leads to the backyard. The walls are quite thick, so the house is stable. The walls are painted yellow and the roof Green colour. Also on the roof there is a chimney and a window through which light seeps into the attic. There is also a basement where I store all my old things. There are two balconies. I forgot to mention small garden where mom grows various plants. Oh yes, there is also a garage, my father keeps his car there, and I have a bicycle.
Tip: to make your text more diverse, add various little things to the description, tell what is in a particular room instead of just mentioning its existence.
Description of the house - description of the house
Rooms and home furnishing
Let's see what words will be simply necessary when describing the rooms of the house and their location.
- On the first / second floor - on the first / second floor.
- Stairs - stairs.
- Upstairs - on the top floor.
- Downstairs - on the lower floor.
- Living-room (sitting-room) - living room.
- Bedroom - bedroom.
- Kitchen - kitchen.
- Bathroom - bathroom.
- Toilet - toilet.
- Study - study.
Please note: the words floor and storey denote the floor (the first value of floor is the floor), however, when specifying total floors, it is better to use storey, and when specifying a specific floor - floor.
So that the story is not dry, we can also describe what is in the rooms.
- Bed - bed.
- Chair - chair.
- Sofa - a sofa.
- Table - table.
- TV - TV.
- Mirror - a mirror.
- Desk - desktop.
- Computer - computer.
- Lamp - lamp.
- Clock - hours.
- Wardrobe - closet.
- Carpet - carpet.
- Curtains - curtains.
- Shutters - blinds.
- Bookcase - bookcase.
- Bedside-table - bedside table.
- Picture - a picture.
- Telephone - telephone.
Here are a few more words that we will need to compose the following text.
- To watch - watch.
- Movie - movie.
- News - news.
- To decorate - decorate.
- To remind - remind.
- To go to sleep / bed - go to sleep.
- A lot of - a lot.
- Necessary - necessary.
- To relax - relax, rest.
- To switch on - turn on.
- Items - items.
- To let - allow.
Disposition of rooms - the location of the rooms
Text
Let's see how you can write a description of your house in English. AT following example we will pay more attention to the rooms in the house.
The living-room and kitchen are on the first floor. The stairs lead from the living-room to the second floor. There are bedroom, bathroom and study upstairs. I like to sit on the sofa and watch news or movies on TV in the living room after work. The big clock on the wall reminds me when it is already late and when I have to go to bed. I have decorated walls of the living-room with a mirror and some pictures. Before going to sleep I like to read some books lying in the bed. I have a lot of book in my bookcase, I keep on the bedside table those which I read. In the morning I take a shower and check my e-mail. My computer is on the desk in my study. The study is not very big but it has all necessary items for my work. The window faces the garden and when my eyes are tired from computer I look at the trees and let my eyes relax. I switch on the lamp on the desk when it is still dark in the morning. Then I usually go to the kitchen and open the fridge where I always keep apple or orange juice.
The living room and kitchen are on the first floor. Stairs from the living room lead to the second floor. On the top floor there is a bedroom, a bathroom and an office. I like to sit on the sofa and watch TV in the living room after work. Big clock on the wall remind me when it's late and when it's time for me to sleep. I decorated the living room walls with a mirror and some paintings. Before going to bed, I like to read books while lying in bed. I have a lot of books in my bookcase, the ones I read I keep on my bedside table. In the morning I take a shower and check my e-mail. My computer is on the desktop in the office. The cabinet is not very big but has everything necessary items for my work. The window overlooks the garden and when my eyes get tired from the computer, I look at the trees and let my eyes rest. When it's still dark, I turn on the lamp on the table. Then I usually go to the kitchen and open the refrigerator, where I always keep apple or orange juice.
With this video, you can practice your pronunciation by naming the rooms and parts of the house:
Hello again! I am glad to welcome you to the next lesson of the conversational audio course “So they say in America”. If you clearly follow the logic of learning and have consistently studied and mastered all the lessons of the first part of the course, then today's lesson will be for you a repetition of what you learned earlier and an extension vocabulary on the topic "Description of buildings" in English. That is, during this lesson using the example of a concert hall, you will learn to understand and give descriptions different objects, their size, color and shape. Description of buildings and other objects in English
Being able to describe various objects, the interior and exterior of buildings, or being able to understand descriptions in English is a very important skill when you are abroad. You will probably need to meet someone at a building or object, and here you will need to understand the description if you are assigned a meeting, or be able to describe the object to an English-speaking interlocutor if you are making an appointment in a place you know well.
Therefore, today we will replenish our vocabulary and phrases, learning to give external and internal characteristics various objects and buildings. We will learn to understand and give descriptions of different objects using a simple dialogue as an example. Martin Lerner visited the concert hall today. A reporter listens to a concert and during the intermission talks to his wife on mobile phone. Later, a journalist interviews the conductor, asking him about the size, color, and shape of the concert hall:
Martin:What makes a good concert hall? What makes a good concert hall?
Dr. Barzily:sound and comfort. It has to make the orchestra sound very good. — Sound and comfort. This should make the orchestra sound very good.
Martin:And what about comfort? - What about comfort?
Dr. Barzily:You know some musical pieces are very long. The audience and the players must be comfortable. — You know that some musical parts are very long. The audience (audience, listeners) and players (musicians, artists) should be comfortable
Martin:Do you like the colors? — Do you like color(s)?
Dr. Barzily: I like different colors for different music. — I like different colors for different music.
Remember and reinforce the lesson again Exterior of buildings in English
By rereading several times a fragment of the conversation between Martin and the conductor of the orchestra, train your reading skills in English and the ability to perceive the English text visually. Then, while listening to the audio lesson, work on your fluent American listening and listening skills. English pronunciation: /wp-content/uploads/2014/11/russian_english_079.mp3
Use the audio lesson to learn how to name external and internal signs of buildings in English, describe various objects or answer questions about the interior and exterior of a building in English.
Description of buildings in English
When we describe various objects and buildings, we first of all pay attention to its shape, color and size. Therefore, today, using the table, we will mainly study nouns and adjectives that are used to describe these characteristics of various buildings. A compact table with relevant vocabulary will help you remember a lot of new material.
| Description of objects and buildings | |
| Phrases | |
| What is it (building)? | What does it look like? |
| The hall can accommodate 300 people | The hall holds 300 people |
| Nouns | |
| audience, spectators | audience |
| balcony, balconies | balcony/balconies |
| Hall | hall |
| intermission | intermission |
| lighting | light |
| orchestra, first rows of stalls | orchestra |
| armchair, chair, seat | seat |
| space, place | space |
| technique, technology | technology |
| finishing | trim |
| row | row |
| behind the scenes | backstage |
| artistic dressing room | dressing room |
| rehearsal | rehearsal |
| gold | gold |
| wine | wine |
| Adjectives | |
| bright | bright |
| convenient, comfortable | comfortable |
| cream | cream |
| deep | deep |
| filthy | dirty |
| elegant | elegant |
| modern | contemporary |
| ugly, ugly, ugly | ugly |
| square | square |
| light coloured | light |
| Verbs | |
| describe | to describe |
| conduct | to conduct |
| think, believe | to guess |
| accommodate | to hold |
Using words and expressions from the table, train the ability to describe various surrounding objects in English.
Repeat also useful audio lesson Sadness and bad mood
And now get Homework (Homework):
- Read the fragments of the dialogue in the concert hall. Try acting out a similar conversation with your friends.
- Make sentences with the following words: dark and dirty / cold and ugly / warm and elegant / not very big / comfortable and light.
- Translate these expressions into English and write down:
- This concert hall is not very big
- It accommodates 270 people
- Three years ago this hall was cold and ugly
- Now it is very comfortable and light.
- This concert hall is convenient for the audience
- It is also convenient for the orchestra
- This is a very beautiful concert hall.
Practice more and more, describe in English the various objects and buildings around you. And I wish you a successful day and Have a good mood! See you later!
Since we are talking about houses, the first thing I would like to note is a couple of words: house and home. Both children and adults make gross mistakes when they use this word in the same sense. Almost everyone has this problem since school. Many remember that house- this is the house, the word home taken as a synonym. In school, kids just don't get corrected when they say things like: "I go to the house after school".
In fact, both words are translated the same way, but let me clarify that.
House- house: building, building.
Home- home: the place where you live.
We are confused by the same translation. How to distinguish which word to use?
House is what you see on the street. It can be a residential building, an office building, an abandoned house. Not every house is inhabited by people. In other words, house- not always someone home.
This is a new house. It was built last year. - It new house. It was built last year.
I saw a lot of beautiful houses in Prague. - I saw a lot of beautiful houses in Prague.
Home - the place where you live. It can be anything. If you live in an apartment, then this is your home. If it so happened and you live in a tent or in a penthouse - you call it all a word home.
I will stay at home at the weekend. - I'll stay at home at the weekend.
He had his birthday party at home. - He celebrated his birthday at home.
In addition, the word home can mean:
Motherland, the place where you were born
I live in Russia but Ukraine is my home. - I live in Russia, but I was born in Ukraine.
family, home
Many young girls dream of united and loving home. - Many girls dream of a friendly and loving family.
Skyscraper ["skaɪˌskreɪpə]- skyscraper. The purpose of a skyscraper can be different: a high-rise residential building, administrative, office building, business or shopping center.
A penthouse- a very expensive apartment on the top floor of a high-rise building or skyscraper. Usually occupies the entire floor. May have its own elevator and separate entrance.
Tower block ["tauə blɔk]- modern high building divided into apartments or separate offices. This term is used mainly in British English.
block of flats - apartment house. American English uses the name apartment building.
high rise building- multi-storey building.
Multi-storey building [,mʌltıˈstɔːrı "bɪldɪŋ]- multi-storey building.
low rise building- a building with a small number of floors.
Detached house- detached house. Such houses can be found in the suburbs, countryside. Usually there is a garden around.
Semi-detached house [ˌsemɪdɪ"tæʧt]- a house with two apartments separate entrances. The apartments have an adjacent wall and most often have a mirror layout. Sometimes such houses are called "house for two owners."
Terraced house ["terəst]- a row of identical or very similar houses adjacent to each other, with separate entrances to each apartment. This type of building (linear building) is typical for European cities.
Bungalow ["bʌŋgələu]- residential one-story house, cottage. Distinctive feature of this type of housing is that all living quarters are located on the ground floor.
Castle ["kɑːsl]- lock.
Palace ["pælɪs]- castle.
Mansion ["mæn(t)ʃ(ə)n]- mansion, luxurious separately standing house owned by a wealthy family.
Manor house ["mænə]- mansion, manor house. In Britain it was called main house estate where the owner's family lived.
Maisonette [ˌmeɪz(ə)"net]- a small house or duplex apartment.
Villa ["vɪlə]- villa, detached large Vacation home with a garden. Villas are often rented out to vacationers.
Country house ["kʌntrɪ]- Vacation home. Almost the same as mansion. The English aristocracy preferred to live in the city, and periodically go to a country house. it large building including many rooms.
Cottage ["kɔtɪʤ]- a small country house. It usually has one floor and an attic. Cottage can be found in the countryside, in the village.
Caravan ["kærəvæn]- trailer on wheels, van on wheels. American English uses the word trailer ["treɪlə].
Mobile home ["məubaɪl]- unlike the previous type of dwelling, mobile home- this is a trailer that is taken off the wheels, always stands in one place and serves its owners only as a home.
log cabin- a log house, a house made of logs. These houses are usually built without the use of nails.
Houseboat ["hausbəut]- a house on the water, a vessel adapted to serve as a dwelling. Equipped with necessary furniture. Some of these boats do not have motors because they stay in one place all the time.
Igloo ["ɪgluː]- a domed house built from ice blocks. The traditional dwelling of the Canadian Eskimos.
