DESCRIBING A CITY/TOWN
…. is in the South/North/East/West of ……
…. is on the South/North/Esat/ West COAST of …
…. is a(n) big / small/ old ….(adjective) city.
…. is close to / far away / …kilometers from the sea.
In summer, the weather is hot /wet / humid/ dry…
In winter, the weather is cold / rainy …
…. is famous for …
The population/ Its population is ….
… is a small / big city with a population of ….
In … there is (isn’t) a(n)…..
In … there are a lot of /two/ three …..
In … there aren’t any …
ON THE STREET
… is ON/ IN …… Street.
… is OPPOSITE / NEXT TO / NEAR….
… is BETWEEN … and ….
LANGUAGE
VOCABULARY
BUILDINGS PEOPLE LIVE IN
apartment / living area within a building / My apartment building is on the fifth floor.block / area between two streets in a city / He lives two blocks from here.
apartment block / large apartment building / They live in an apartment block on 56th street.
block of flats (British English) / apartment building / We live in that block of flats over there.
bungalow / small one story house / We rented a bungalow on the beach for our last summer vacation.
cottage / small house / They bought a quaint cottage in the English countryside.
flat (British English) / apartment / Jeffrey bought a marvelous little flat in the center of London
floor on the ground / first / top floor / story or level of a building / They have a marvelous view from their apartment on the top floor.
house / residential building / We've finally bought a new house for our family.
detached house (British English) / separate residential building / After twenty years, we were finally able to afford an detached house all our own.
semi-detached house (British English) / residence with two homes / Many people live in a semi-detached house in the suburbs and commute to work by train from the suburbs.
terraced house / a home on two levels / They build a terraced house on the hill.
story - ten / multi-story building (British English - storey) / floor or level of a building / They live in a fifteen story building.
duplex (American English) / residence with two homes / Many people live in a semi-detached house in the suburbs and commute to work by train from the suburbs.
OTHER BUILDINGS
car park / an area where cars are placed while not in use / I left my car in the car park and caught the bus into the city.castle / a palace, usually antique building where kings and queens lived / We visited the castle overlooking the village on our trip to Brownsbury.
cathedral / a catholic place of worship, main church / They saw all the majestic cathedrals of France on their summer holiday.
church / a place of worship for Christians / He goes to church every Sunday.
office / a workplace in a building / I got to the office late this morning and my boss was very angry with me.
office block / a building of offices / The company rented space in that new office block on Main street.
park / public garden, play area / Let's go take a walk in the park.
post office / a public office responsible for sending letters by mail / Take this letter down to the post office and mail it immediately.
pub / a public establishment where one can buy alcoholic beverages / We went down to the pub for a pint of beer.
seafront / waterfront / Let's go take a walk on the seafront.
skyscraper / extremely tall building, usually in the city center / New York has over one hundred magnificent skyscrapers.
station / a stop for transportation; a base / I've got to go to the station to catch my bus.
bus station / a stop for transportation by bus or coach / I'm leaving at six from the bus station.
fire station / a base for the fire department where fire engines and firemen work / The alarm rang through the fire station at three in the morning.
police station / a base for the police department / We went to the police station to report the robbery of our bicycles.
railway station / a stop for transportation by train (British English / We need to be at the railway station by five o'clock.
town hall / the building which houses a community's governmental agencies / They went to town hall to pick up his voter's registration forms.
bar (American English) / a public establishment where one can buy alcholic beverages / We went to the bar after work to drink a few beers
shop / a place which sells various goods; store / Janet went out quickly to get some things at the shop.
baker's / SHOPS AND STORES
a shop which sells bread and pastries / Could you go to the baker's and get two loaves of whole-wheat bread
butcher's / a shop which sells various types of meat / I went to the butcher's and bought a few steaks.
department store / a large store which sells a number of items located in various departments / There are a number of department stores located at the mall in the suburbs.
dry cleaner's / a shop which cleans clothes / Can you take these trousers down to the dry cleaner's?
fishmonger's / a shop which sells fish (British English) / Why don't we go get some salmon at the fishmonger's for dinner tonight?
fish-shop / a shop which sells fish; fishmonger's / Oh, look at that fresh fish in the fish-shop's window!
greengrocer's / a shop which sells fruit and vegetables (British English) / I went out to get some fresh vegetables at the greengrocer's.
grocer's / a shop which sells various food items / Jack has just gone out to get some things at the grocer's.
ironmonger's / a shop which sells materials and equipment for building (British English) / I bought a new hammer at the ironmonger's.
hardware store / a shop which sells materials and equipment for building (American English) / I need to get some paint at the hardware store before I can begin redecorating the apartment.
stationer's / a shop which sells paper, pens and pencils and other writing materials (British English) / She bought three pens and some envelopes at the stationer's.
sweetshop / a shop which sells candies and various sweet goods (British English) / I bought a half-pound of chocolates at the sweetshop.
tobacconist's / a shop which sells tobacco goods such as cigarettes and cigars / He picked up three packs of cigarettes at the tobacconist's on his way to work.
COMMUNITIES
city / a living area with a large number of inhabitants / The city offers many advantages such as shopping, public transportation and a wide range of entertainment.capital city / the city where the headquarters of the state or national government are located / Olympia is the capital city of Washington State.
port / a town or city that is on the waterfront; a place where passengers go to catch transport by water / You can catch a ferry at the port every morning at eight o'clock.
resort / a holiday center or retreat area / We finally treated ourselves to a relaxing three day weekend at a local resort.
holiday resort / a center where people go to have a holiday or vacation / Big Horn is a wonderful holiday resort located high in the Rocky Mountains.
seaside resort / a center where people go to have a holiday or vacation by the seaside / Seaside resorts are popular with retired people as the fresh sea air does them good.
ski resort / a center where people go to have a skiing holiday or vacation / We went to Jack's Ski Resort for a wonderful weekend of skiing-
town / an urban center with a relatively low number of inhabitants / The town had three schools and ten churches.
village / a very small living center (not used for living areas in the United States) / Whittingshire is a beautiful village on the banks of the Dundy.
PART AND COMMUNITIES
area / a region / He lives in a beautiful area just outside the town.country area / a region in the countryside / They are looking for a house in a country area.
residential area / an area dedicated to buildings for living purposes; suburbs / She bought a wonderful house in a quiet residential area just five minutes from downtown.
rural area / an area in the countryside or outside the urban center / I'd really rather move to a rural area and not move back into the city.
urban area / an area in a city or town / Living in an urban area has a number of advantages, not least of which is the exciting nightlife it offers.
center / the middle of an area / I'd never live in the center of town! It's just too polluted.
city center / the middle of a city / Let's go to the city center and go shopping.
town center / the middle of a town / There are a few interesting stores in the town center.
district / region; area / Jack lives in the Wailing District.
outskirts / the edge of an urban area / We bought a house on the outskirts of town.
region / area; territory / The Finger Lakes region of New York State is quite beautiful.
suburb / residential area of a town or city / Jackson Creek is a suburb of Denver.
in the suburbs / located in the residential area of a town / Many people dream of buying a house in the suburbs where they can have a beautiful garden.
suburban (adj) / residential / I'd prefer something in an suburban area of town.
GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES
bay / indentation of the sea into the coast line / We have our boat docked at Johnson Bay.beach / area directly on a waterfront / We spent three weeks sunbathing on the beach last summer.
cliff / very steep rocky hill / The cliffs on the coast are spectacular.
coast / seashore / Let's go to the coast for the weekend.
on the coast / located on the seashore / Jane's B&B is a lovely place to stay on the coast.
countryside / rural area outside of the city / He spent the weekend relaxing in the countryside.
flat (adj) / having a planular surface / The Midwest US is amazingly flat!
forest / woods; area of land covered with trees / They went to the forest to camp for the weekend.
hill / high ground; slope / His house is in the hills behind Los Angeles.
hilly (adj) / having many hills; sloped surface / Tuscany is a very hilly region of Italy.
lake / inland small body of fresh water / We want water-skiing on the lake this past weekend.
mountain / very high hill / It takes about four hours to climb that mountain.
mountainous (adj) / having huge dimensions; very hilly / The Rocky Mountains is a mountainous region in the far west of the United States.
plain (n) / plateau; level area / The plain extends for over 300 miles to the west.
river / large stream of water / There are more than four major rivers in Oregon.
sea / large body of salt water / The sea is unusually warm for this time of year.
seaside / area beside the sea / We went for a picnic on the seaside.
shore / seaside; beach / The hotel was located directly on the shore with a wonderful view of the Pacific.
stream (n) / river / We went trout fishing in the stream that runs through the hills.
valley / low area of land located between mountains or hills / The valley is beautiful in fall when all the trees burst out in glorious reds, yellows and oranges.
wood / forest area / There are some extremely tasty mushrooms in the wood behind the church.
woody / wooded (adj) / covered by forest / I'm afraid it's too wooded to walk through easily.