Housing think and talk about: - in the UK - in the Czech Republic - my house / flat

-general information:types of the houses types of the ownership typical English / Czech house -living in the country / town / city (advantages / disadvantages) -place where you live (DON´T speak about your town here!) - describe the location - what you like about it - things you don´t like about it -describe your house / flat (and its nearest surroundings) - what does it look like? - what is your dream house like? -describe your room in as many details as you can BE CAREFUL: use the expression There is/are and correct place prepositions

Houses in the UK -most people in the UK live in urban areas -many people (about two thirds) buy their own houses these people usually pay for their houses with a special loan called a mortgage (they must repay it, with interest, over a long period of time, usually 25 years) -the others live in houses or flats that they rent from a private landlord, the local council, or housing association -most houses in England are made of stone or brick from the local area where the houses are built -there are many types of homes, in large cities, people often live in flats, for suburbs the different types of houses are typical

-main types of houses: detached (a house not joined to another house) semi-detached (two houses joined together) terraced (several houses joined together) block of flats (AmE: apartments) A B C D

-other types you can find in the UK bungalow – only one floor, no stairs, may be joined to another bungalow or may stay alone oast house – were once built for something else than a home, were parts of farm buildings where hops (a plant from which beer is made) were layed out and dried. -houses come in all shapes and sizes and vary from one part of the country to the next. There are houses which are more than 500 years old as well as brand new houses.

words and phrases you might like to use -furnished – partly-furnished – unfurnished -spacious – roomy – small – tiny -in the house: balcony, downstairs – upstairs, staircase, cellar, attic, fence, basement, garage, gate, front/back garden (door/yard), lawn, garden, flowerbed -verbs: to decorate, to do housework, to fix, to leak, to mend, to paint, to redecorate, to commute, to feel homesick, to move house, to move in / out, to stay in -renting/ buying a home: accommodation, bill, flatmate/roommate, landlady/landlord, to pay the rent, to let (a flat, a house) = to rent (AmE), to share, take out a mortgage