How do you talk about family and friends in English? It can be a little difficult sometimes. However, in this PPT I demystify the topic and teach appropriate and up-to-date vocabulary. This was made for my IELTS students but should work for younger kids as well. It includes information about adoption, remarrying, divorce, and death so maybe keep it away from the very young... This was taken from http://www.ted-ielts.com/family-friends-ielts

1. Essential IELTS Vocabulary

2. Going beyond the basics

5. Be aware of variations on the same word:
Granny = Grandmother
(informal) (formal)
Dad = Father
(informal) (formal)

6. Don’t just express the basic relationships.
Think in terms of different relationship types:
Step-family:
 Step-brother or step-sister
 Step-mother or step-father
A step-relative is related legally but not
biologically.

7. Marriage will make a family larger and also
more difficult to describe.
 Spouse = a husband or wife
 In-laws = your spouse’s family
Example:
A: My mother-in-law is really annoying. She
always criticizes me.
B: That’s a shame. My in-laws are really nice. I
play golf with my father-in-law all the time.

8. You know “husband” and “wife.” But what
about these?
 Fiancé = a man to whom a woman is engaged
 Fiancée = a woman to whom a man is
engaged

9. Not all marriages last forever.
 Divorced = when a marriage is ended
 Separated = when a couple is apart but the
marriage is not legally ended
 Ex-wife/ Ex-husband = the former partner
Example:
My parents were separated for a year before
they got divorced.
She’s still friends were her ex-husband. Can
you imagine that?!

10. Sometimes a marriage doesn’t just end in
divorce.
 Widow = a woman whose husband has died
 Widower = a man whose wife has died

11.  Only child = the one child in a family
 Nuclear family = a couple and their children
 Twins = two children born of the
same birth
 Bachelor = an unmarried man
 Adoptee = a child who has been
adopted

12. Talking about your friends

13. English is changing every day. We have some
new but common words:
 BFF = “best friends forever”
 Bestie = short for “best friend”
Example:
Sarah and Carol are BFFs.
I’m going to the cinema with my bestie
tonight.

14. Another new development is “friend”
becoming a verb. It means to add someone on
social media.
 I friended her on Facebook last week.
 After the party, he was friended by 23
people he could barely remember.

15. What do you do with your friends? If you just
spend time together and do different things,
you can use these expressions:
 Hang out
 Chill
Example:
At the weekend I like to hang out with my
friends. We just chill at someone’s house and
talk.