Family

There are many different kinds of families. Images courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A single parent family. What are some reasons for being a single parent? Image courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Divorce Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The divorce rate in America for first marriages is 40-50%. Do you think that the divorce rate for a second marriage goes up or down?

The divorce rate in America for second marriages is about 60%. Do you think that the divorce rate for a third marriage goes up or down?

The divorce rate in America for third marriages is about 70%.

After a person gets divorced the former wife is the ‘ex-wife’, the former husband is the ‘ex-husband’. You can just say ‘My ex’ for a former wife/husband, girlfriend/boyfriend.

A widow Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A widower Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A widow/widower doesn’t say ‘my ex’. They would say ‘my wife/husband’. If they remarry they can say ‘my first wife’ or ‘my first husband’.

They live together (not married) Image courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Grammar lesson: My aunt married a divorced man. I want to marry him. NOT: XXX ‘I want to marry with him’ XXX NO ‘marry with’

Western Culture: In the West more and more people wait until they are older to have children. Also people have less children now. The average family has two children.

An only child Image courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A family with an adopted child. In the West most people know that they were adopted. Image courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A step family Images courtesy of photostock, stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A step family Images courtesy of photostock at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Half brother or half sister Images courtesy of stockimages, stockimages, imagerymajestic, stockimages, and stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A brother and two sisters Do they have the same parents? Image courtesy of imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For Westerners if you say ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ you have the same parents. We say ‘cousin’ if it’s your uncle or aunts child. We say ‘friend’ if it’s a close friend.

Westerners call our brothers and sisters by name, we don’t call them ‘brother’ or ‘sister’. This includes older brothers or sisters.

Most people also don’t say ‘uncle’ or ‘aunt’, they call them by name. Or some say ‘aunt’ or ‘uncle’ with the first name. For example, ‘Uncle Bill’, or ‘Aunt Rose’.

Ask each other these questions. 1. Chris is a single parent, he has two sons. He is divorced. Why did he get a divorce? 2. Susan has three children but isn’t married. She just lived with a man before. Why did they not get married? 3. Susan adopted Jill. Why did Susan adopt her? 4. Does Jill know that she is adopted? Should she know? 5. Frank is Jill’s uncle, what does she call him? What is their relationship like? 6. Kelly is a widow. Kim is her daughter. How did Kelly’s husband die? What does Kim remember about her dad? Chris SusanFrankKelly Betty Kim Jack Jill LindaJerry 7. Betty is Kim’s grandma. Betty’s son was Kim’s father. What do Betty and Kim do when they spend time together? 8. Betty has been divorced twice. What problems did she have with her two ex-husbands? 9. Jack is a widower. He wants to remarry. What kind of wife is he looking for? 10. Susan is Jack’s daughter. Jill is his granddaughter. They don’t want him to get remarried. Why not? 11. Jerry and Linda are married. They don’t have any children. Why don’t they have children? 12. Jerry is Linda’s second husband. Her first husband had three children, they were Linda’s stepchildren. Linda and her first husband divorced. What is her relationship with her stepchildren now? 13. Chris was dating a woman with a child. They broke up recently. Why did they break up? 14. Jill’s ex-boyfriend still contacts her a lot. Why does she not want to get back together with him? 15. Kim is an only child. Why does she want a younger sister or brother? 16. Kelly and Susan are half-sisters. What is their relationship like? 17. Jill and Kim are cousins. Jill is 8 years older than Kim. They don’t have much in common but what do they like to do together on the weekends? 18. Betty wants to live with Kelly. Kelly is worried there will be problems, what problems could there be?