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👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Module 1 · Family LifeLesson 1 / 306 exercises

Family Relationships

Is your family big or small? Who do you go to when you have a problem: your mum, your dad, a grandparent, a brother or a sister?

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Revise:📝 One-page summaryGlossary

العلاقات العائلية · Programme: Asking questions; Describing · Grammar: Question words; long / short adjectives

By the end of this lesson, I can:

  • I can ask questions with who, what, when, where, why and how.
  • I can describe family members with short and long adjectives.
  • I can understand teenagers talking about their family life.
  • I can write a short description of a family member (project step 1).

🖼️ Picture dictionary قاموس مصوّر

tap 🔊 to listen
🤝supportive مُساند / يدعمMy parents are very supportive when I have exams.
😠severe صارم / قاسٍOur maths teacher is severe, but he is fair.
😎easy-going مَرِن / هادئ الطبعMy uncle is easy-going: nothing makes him angry.
🦉wisdom حِكمةMy grandfather’s wisdom comes from a long life.
✅true حقيقي / صادقA true friend helps you when things go wrong.
✨magic سِحر / ساحرThere is a kind of magic in our family dinners.
🥊fighting الشِّجار / يتشاجرThe two brothers were always fighting over the remote control.
😢miserable تعيس / بائسSami felt miserable when his best friend moved away.
💔divorce طلاقAfter the divorce, the children lived with their mother.
🏢orphanage دار الأيتامThe volunteers visit the orphanage every Friday.
💰to afford يستطيع تحمّل التكلفةWe can’t afford a new car this year.
👪relative قريب (من العائلة)All our relatives come to our house for Eid.

📚 كلمات الدرس

9 كلمات من هذا الدرس في القاموس المدرسي: المعنى بالعربية والفرنسية، والنطق، ومثال.

كلّ كلمات الوحدة 1 في القاموس ←

📖 Read: Our families: three voices from the school magazine أقرأ

This month, our school magazine asked three pupils a simple question: What does your family mean to you?

👦
Yassine, 15My parents are very supportive. They help me with my school projects and they come to all my football matches. They can be severe too: no phone after nine o’clock on school nights! My grandmother lives with us. She is old and wise, and her wisdom helps us when there is a problem.
👧
Emma, 14A few years ago, my parents were always fighting. The house was noisy and I felt miserable. In the end, they decided on a divorce. It was hard, but now they are calmer and kinder to each other. I live with my mum and I spend every Sunday with my dad. We are still a family, just a different one.
🧑
Aziz, 16My father spent his first six years in an orphanage, because his mother couldn’t afford to look after him. Later, she found a job and took him home. Today he is a calm, easy-going dad. He often says: “A true family is not perfect, but its love is a kind of magic.”

Do you understand? أفهم

Answer in your copybook first, then check.

  1. Who lives with Yassine and his parents?
    Answer

    His grandmother lives with them.

  2. Why did Emma feel miserable a few years ago?
    Answer

    Because her parents were always fighting and the house was noisy.

  3. When does Emma see her father?
    Answer

    Every Sunday.

  4. Why did Aziz’s father live in an orphanage?
    Answer

    Because his mother couldn’t afford to look after him.

  5. How does Aziz describe his father today?
    Answer

    As a calm, easy-going dad.

🧩 Grammar القواعد

1. Question words (wh- words) ask for information. Each one asks about something different: who ➡️ a person, what ➡️ a thing or an action, when ➡️ time, where ➡️ a place, why ➡️ a reason, how ➡️ the manner. The word order is: wh- word + auxiliary (do / does / did / is / are / can…) + subject + verb: Where does your aunt live?

When who or what is the subject, there is no do / does / did: Who lives with Yassine? (not Who does live…)

2. Short and long adjectives. A short adjective has one syllable (kind, tall, strict, wise) or two syllables ending in -y (funny, happy). A long adjective has two syllables or more (patient, supportive, generous, miserable). An adjective never takes -s: kind parents, not kinds parents.

أدوات الاستفهام: who للشخص، what للشيء، when للزمان، where للمكان، why للسبب، how للكيفية. الصفة القصيرة مقطع واحد، والطويلة مقطعان أو أكثر، والصفة لا تُجمع.

Which wh- word?

Question wordIt asks about…Example
Who 🧑a personWho is your favourite relative?
What 📦a thing / an actionWhat does your father do?
When ⏰timeWhen do you visit your grandparents?
Where 📍a placeWhere does your cousin live?
Why ❓a reasonWhy are you sad? — Because…
How 🛠️the mannerHow does your mum go to work?
How old / How many / How oftenage / number / frequencyHow many brothers have you got?

Short or long adjective?

Short adjectives (1 syllable or -y)Long adjectives (2+ syllables)
kind, strict, wise, calmpatient, gentle, honest
tall, young, old, nicesupportive, generous, helpful
funny, happy, busy, lazymiserable, easy-going, wonderful
💡 Where does the adjective go?

Before a noun: a strict father. After be, look, seem: My father is strict. Use very or quite to make it stronger or softer: She is quite easy-going.

Describing a person: the order of ideas

  1. Who? My aunt Leila is 40.
  2. Looks: She is tall and slim, with curly hair.
  3. Character: She is generous and supportive.
  4. An example: She always helps me with my English.
✍️ Tip

Give a fact to prove each adjective. “She is patient” is good; “She is patient: she explains things again and again” is better!

💬 Useful expressions عبارات مفيدة

Asking questions about a family

How many people are there in your family? What does your mother do? Who do you get on with best? Where do your grandparents live? Why do you admire your uncle?

Describing people

He is tall and slim. She has got long black hair. My dad is strict but fair. My sister is very easy-going. He looks severe, but he is really kind.

🔊 Pronunciation النطق

/ə/ (weak sound)
mothersisteraboutdoctoragree
/ɑː/ (long sound)
fatheraunthardcalmlaugh

Worked examples أمثلة محلولة

Try first, then read the solution.

Example 1Ask about the underlined words

Write the question: My cousin lives in Bizerte.

Step-by-step solution
  1. The underlined part is a place ➡️ use where.
  2. The verb is in the present simple with he/she ➡️ auxiliary does.
  3. Put the verb back in the base form: lives ➡️ live.

✓ Where does your cousin live?

Example 2Subject question

Write the question: My uncle repairs our car.

Step-by-step solution
  1. The underlined part is a person and it is the subject ➡️ who.
  2. Who is the subject, so no does.
  3. Keep the verb with -s.

✓ Who repairs your car?

Example 3Short or long?

Sort: wise, generous, funny, patient, kind.

Step-by-step solution
  1. Count the syllables: wise (1), kind (1), fun-ny (2, ends in -y).
  2. gen-er-ous (3), pa-tient (2).

✓ Short: wise, kind, funny · Long: generous, patient

⚠️ Common mistakes أخطاء شائعة

❌ *Where your sister lives?*✅ Where does your sister live? — In a question, put the auxiliary before the subject and use the base form.
❌ *Who does help you at home?*✅ Who helps you at home? — When who is the subject, there is no do / does.
❌ *My parents are supportives.*✅ My parents are supportive. — Adjectives never take -s.
❌ *She is a girl very kind.*✅ She is a very kind girl. — The adjective comes before the noun.

⭐ Remember أحفظ

  • Who = person, what = thing, when = time, where = place, why = reason, how = manner.
  • Word order: wh- word + do/does/did + subject + base verb.
  • When who or what is the subject, there is no auxiliary: Who lives here?
  • Short adjectives: one syllable or two syllables ending in -y; long adjectives: two syllables or more.
  • Adjectives go before nouns or after be, and they never take -s.

Quick quiz اختبار سريع

4 questions · instant feedback

1. Which question asks about a reason?

2. Choose the correct question for: “My grandmother lives in Kairouan.”

3. Which adjective is long?

4. In the text, what does Emma’s family look like today?

✍️ Write: Project step 1: a portrait of a family member أكتب

Our module project is a class booklet called “Happy and Safe at Home”. In step 1, write a paragraph (80–100 words) to describe a member of your family: who he or she is, looks, character and what he or she does for the family.

Steps
  1. Choose the person and say who he or she is (name, age, job).
  2. Describe the looks with 2–3 adjectives.
  3. Describe the character with 2–3 adjectives and give an example for each.
  4. Finish with what you feel for this person.
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A model text to compare with (after writing mine)

My favourite relative is my grandmother, Hedia. She is 72 and she lives with us in Nabeul. She is short and a little round, with kind brown eyes and white hair. She is very patient: she listens to all my stories, even the boring ones. She is also wise. When my brother and I are fighting, she finds the right words and we stop at once. She is not severe, but everybody respects her. She cooks the best couscous in the world and she tells us old stories about her village. I love her deeply, and I want to be as wise as her one day.

One good example among many: compare, don’t copy.

😊 The lighter side استراحة

💡
Proverb

Blood is thicker than water.

🧩
Riddle

I am your mother’s brother’s son. Who am I?

Answer

Your cousin.

😄
Joke of the day

Teacher: “Why are you late?” — Pupil: “Because of the sign!” — “What sign?” — “The one that says: School ahead, go slow!”

✅ Exercises تمارين

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6 exercises on three levels, with new questions every time.

Level 1Warm-up
Level 2Practice
Level 3Challenge
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Practise: Family Relationships

True or false, complete, choose, classify and situations: instant correction with explanations.

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Pictures: Twemoji (CC-BY 4.0). Texts, explanations and exercises: Scolaire.tn.

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