Speaking Boost · A1 · Lesson 11 of 50
Speaking Boost A1 · Block 3: Home

Where do people live in the world?

People live in big cities, in small villages and in the countryside. In this lesson you talk about places and homes. You use there is and there are.

1

Warm-up

5 min
1.1

Places and homes

Answer each question with 2–3 sentences.

  1. Where do you live?
  2. Do you live in a city or a village?
  3. Is your home a house or a flat?
  4. Is it noisy or quiet near your home?
  5. Is there a park near your home?
  6. Where do you want to live?
2

Words and phrases

12 min
2.1

New words

Read each word and the example. Then say one sentence with the word.

2.2

Which word?

Choose the word that fits.

  1. A very small town in the countryside is a .
  2. The is the land outside cities, with fields and trees.
  3. A home on one floor in a big building is a .
  4. A house, a school and a shop are each a .
  5. A place with flowers and trees next to a house is a .
  6. Fifty is of one hundred.
  7. 1,000,000 is one .
  8. A road in a city with houses and shops is a .
2.3

Opposites and pairs

Choose the right answer, then press Check answers.

  1. a village is
  2. the countryside has
  3. a flat is a home in a
  4. half = one of
  5. quiet is the opposite of
  6. most =
2.4

Useful phrases

Use these phrases to describe a place.

  • There is a...Є...There is a park near my house.
  • There are...Є (кілька)...There are two shops in my street.
  • There isn't a...Немає...There isn't a cinema in my village.
  • There aren't any...Немає жодних...There aren't any big shops.
  • There are a lot of...Є багато...There are a lot of cars in the city.
  • I live in a...Я живу в...I live in a flat in Kyiv.
  • It is a noisy city.Це галасливе місто.It is a noisy city, but I like it.
  • It is quiet here.Тут тихо.It is quiet here at night.
3

Read and react

8 min
3.1

Where people live

Read the text. Hover over the dotted words for help.

Where do people live in the world?

How many people live in the world? About eight billion. Where do they live? In 2007, for the first time, more than half of the people lived in cities. Today about fifty-seven people in a hundred live in cities. Most other people live in towns, villages and in the countryside.

There are a lot of big cities in the world. In some of them, there are more than ten million people. In Ukraine, about seven people in ten live in cities. In a city, there are a lot of buildings, shops and cars. There is a lot of noise, but there are also a lot of jobs.

In a village, there are fewer people. There are fields, gardens and quiet streets. There isn't a big shop or a cinema, but there are a lot of trees and flowers.

Where do you live? Is it a city, a town or a village?

3.2

True or false?

  1. More than half of the people in the world live in cities.
  2. There are no big cities in the world.
  3. There are a lot of jobs in a city.
  4. The text says there are many cinemas in villages.
  5. About seven people in ten live in cities in Ukraine.
3.3

What do you think?

  1. Is it better to live in a city or a village?
  2. What is good in a city?
  3. What is good in a village?
  4. Where do you want to live in ten years?
4

Grammar for speaking

10 min
4.1

Grammar for speaking

There is and there are

Use there is with one thing: There is a park. Use there are with more than one thing: There are two parks. We use there is and there are to say that something exists in a place.

There is a park near my house. There is a shop in the street. There are two schools in the village. There are a lot of cars in the city.

Negative and a lot of

The negative is there isn't a... (one thing) and there aren't any... (more than one). Use a lot of for many things.

There isn't a cinema in my village. There aren't any big shops. There are a lot of trees. There is a lot of noise.

Block 3 preview

Grammar you will use in this block.

there is and there are (L11) · questions with there is and there are (L12) · prepositions of place (L13) · this, that, these, those (L14) · review (L15)

Common mistakes: use there is with one thing and there are with more than one. ✗ There are a big park → There is a big park. ✗ There is two shops → There are two shops. ✗ It has a park in my city → There is a park in my city.

4.2

Choose the right form

  1. There
    a park near my house.
  2. There
    two shops in the street.
  3. There
    a school in the village.
  4. There
    a lot of cars in the city.
  5. There
    a cinema in my village.
  6. There
    any big shops.
  7. There
    three flats in the building.
  8. There
    a lot of noise in the city.
4.3

Fix the mistake

Each sentence has one mistake. Type the correct words.

  1. There are a big park. →
  2. There is two shops in the street. →
  3. There isn't any big shops here. →
  4. It has a park in my city. →
  5. There is a lot of trees. →
  6. There aren't a cinema here. →
4.4

Talk about it

Answer with full sentences. Use there is and there are.

  1. Where do you live?
  2. What is there in your street?
  3. Is there a park near your home?
  4. What is there in your city or village?
  5. How many people live in your town?
  6. What is there in your flat or house?
5

Three people and their homes, and a short talk

8 min
5.1

Three people and their homes

Three people tell about the place where they live. Compare them. Who lives in a big city? Who lives in a quiet place? Where do you want to live?

Person 1

Dmytro, 30

  • Lives in Kyiv
  • There are three million people in his city
  • There are a lot of cars
  • There is a park near his flat
Person 2

Hanna, 60

  • Lives in a village
  • There are fifty houses
  • There isn't a big shop
  • There are a lot of flowers in the gardens
Person 3

Leo, 25

  • Lives in a small town
  • There is a river
  • There are two schools
  • There aren't any big cinemas
5.2

Mini-talk: where I live

Your teacher will time you.

  1. Plan for one minute, then speak for one or two minutes.
  2. Part 1: say where you live (a city, a town or a village).
  3. Part 2: say what there is and what there isn't in your place.
  4. Part 3: say what you like and what you do not like.
2:00
6

Personal questions

10 min
6.1

Part I: Me

  1. Where do you live?
  2. Is your home a house or a flat?
  3. Is there a park near your home?
  4. Is there a shop in your street?
  5. What is there in your town?
  6. Is it noisy or quiet?
  7. How many rooms are there in your home?
  8. Do you like your place?
6.2

Part II: Other people

  1. Who lives in a village?
  2. Who lives in a big city?
  3. Who has got a garden?
  4. Who has got a flat?
  5. Who has got a big house?
  6. Who lives near you?
6.3

Part III: A bit deeper

  1. Is a big city good?
  2. Is a village boring?
  3. Is the countryside better than the city?
  4. Is a house better than a flat?
  5. Is it good to live near your family?
7

Roleplay

12 min
7.1

Describing a place

You

Speaker

A friend (your teacher) asks about your town:
  • say what town it is
  • say what there is
  • say what there isn't
  • say if you like it
Speak for at least 1 minute. Use there is and there are.
Your teacher

Friend

Says things like:
  1. Where do you live?
  2. What is there in your town?
  3. Is there a cinema?
  4. Do you like it?
7.2

Choosing a flat

You

Customer

You want a flat (your teacher is the agent):
  • say what you want
  • say how many rooms
  • ask if there is a garden
  • say if it is OK
You do most of the talking. Use: I want a flat. · Is there...? · There are...
Your teacher

Agent

Says things like:
  1. What do you want?
  2. There is a flat in the centre.
  3. There are three rooms.
  4. Is it OK?
8

Homework

at home

Your homework score

Do all four exercises, then press Check all homework. Correct answers will appear next to your mistakes.

– / 30
H1

Complete with a word

villagecountrysideflatbuildinggardenhalfmillionstreet
  1. A very small town in the countryside is a .
  2. The is the land outside cities, with fields and trees.
  3. A home on one floor in a big building is a .
  4. A house, a school and a shop are each a .
  5. A place with flowers and trees next to a house is a .
  6. Fifty is of one hundred.
  7. 1,000,000 is one .
  8. A road in a city with houses and shops is a .
H2

Choose the correct word

  1. There a park in my city.
  2. There two cafes in the street.
  3. There a cinema here.
  4. There any shops here.
  5. There a lot of cars.
  6. There three people in the room.
  7. There a flower in the garden.
  8. There a lot of trees.
H3

Correct or incorrect?

Decide if each sentence is grammatically correct.

  1. There is a park near my house.
  2. There are a park near my house.
  3. There are two shops in the street.
  4. There is two shops in the street.
  5. There isn't a cinema in my village.
  6. There isn't any big shops.
  7. There are a lot of cars in the city.
H4

Match the two halves

  1. There is
  2. There are
  3. There isn't
  4. There aren't
  5. There are
  6. I live
  7. It is

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© Yevheniia Kolesnykova, Academy of Languages. All rights reserved. No copying or reuse without written permission.