Explanations » A1 Writing Explanations » A description of my house – A1 English writing
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Describing your home

When you write about your home you can write about:

  • where it is
  • the different rooms in your home
  • what is in each room

 

Vocabulary

Check some vocabulary related to rooms and furniture or appliances before writing the essay. Here you can see some useful words:

Vocabulary about the house: rooms and furniture

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Prepositions

Use these prepositions and phrases to describe where you live. You should review prepositions of place before writing this essay.

  • I live in a small house/big apartment.
  • The house is in/on a quiet street.
  • It’s near/not far from the train station.
  • There’s a garden behind the house.
  • It’s a ten-minute walk to/from the town centre.

Note that when we say a ten-minute walk, a twenty-minute walk, etc. we use a number + a hyphen () + the word minute in the singular.
 

There is/are

Use there is/are to write about the things in or near your home.

Use there is with singular nouns. Use a before the singular noun. The negative form is there isn’t.

  • There is a bus stop near the apartment.
  • There isn’t a bath in the bathroom.

You can shorten there is to there’s.

  • There’s a single bed in the guest bedroom.

Use there are with plural nouns. We often use some or a number before the noun.

  • There are two bedrooms in the flat.
  • There are some books on the shelf.

In negative sentences, we use any, NOT some.

  • There aren’t any towels in the guest bedroom.

 

Has/Has got

You can also use has or has got to write about what is in the house. The negative form is doesn’t have or hasn’t got.

  • The flat has WIFI. The flat doesn’t have WIFI.
  • The house has got a garden. The house hasn’t got a garden.

 

Just/Only

You can use just or only when there are a small number of things. Look where just and only go in a sentence.

  • There’s just one bedroom. / There’s only one bedroom.  
  • The flat only has one bedroom. / The flat just has one bedroom
  • The house has only got a shower, not a bath. /   The house has just got a shower, not a bath.

 

With

Use with to add extra information about a home, room, or piece of furniture.

  • I live in a small house with a big garden.
  • There’s a kitchen with three chairs.
  • There’s a cupboard with five shelves.

 

Some useful adverbs

Start your sentence with one of these adverbs to talk about different parts of your home.

  • Upstairs, there are three bedrooms.
  • Downstairs, there is a kitchen and a living room.
  • Inside, there are five rooms.
  • Outside, there is a garden.

 

Lists

When we write about our homes we often include lists. Look at the list below.

  • In the living room, there is a sofa, two armchairs and a television.

Look how

  • we use there is because the first item on the list (a sofa) is singular.
  • we use a comma (,) between the first items on the list. Before the last item, we write and.

To contrast between positive and negative things in a list, use but.

  • The bathroom has a bath, a toilet and a washbasin, but it doesn’t have a shower.
  • There’s a microwave, a washing machine and a fridge-freezer, but there isn’t a dishwasher.