Key points about describing where people live
Vocabulary - Describing your house
Have a look at the image to see how to talk about different rooms in the house in French.
Click or tap on Show more to see a list of useful vocabulary for talking about rooms in the house.
| French | English | French | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| le bureau | office, desk | la cuisine | kitchen |
| la pièce | room, piece, play | le salon | lounge, living room |
| ma chambre | my bedroom | l’entrée | entrance |
| le mur | wall | les toilettes | toilets |
| la chambre de mes parents | my parents’ room | la fenêtre | window |
| la salle à manger | dining room | le jardin | garden |
| la chambre de mon frère | my brother’s room | la porte | door |
| la salle de bain | bathroom |
For example:
Dans ma maison, il y a huit pièces. - In my house, there are eight rooms.
Nous avons un bureau au sous-sol. - We have an office in the basement.
Remember that to show possession in French use the A preposition is a word such as 'at', 'for', 'with', 'into' or 'from' which is usually followed by a noun or pronoun. They are used to show where something is in place or time. de.
For example:
La chambre de ma sœur - My sister’s room.
Grammar - Possessive adjectives
Possessive adjectives show who something or someone belongs to.
Use a possessive adjective to show who something belongs to eg, my, your, our.
In French, the possessive adjective agrees with the All French nouns are either masculine or feminine. In French, objects such as a table or car, as well as people, have a grammatical gender. of the thing owned, not the owner.
| English | Masculine | Feminine | Plural (masculine and feminine) |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
| your (familiar singular) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
| his/her/its | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
| our | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
| your (formal/plural) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
| their | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. |
For example:
Je dois partager ma chambre. – I have to share my bedroom.
On a mangé dans notre jardin. – We ate in our garden.
Nous allons visiter leur maison demain. – We’re going to visit their house tomorrow.
Remember
Mon, ton and son are used instead of ma, ta and sa before a feminine word starting with a vowel or silent 'h'. This makes pronunciation easier.
For example:
C’est ton adresse ? – Is that your address?
Using possessive adjectives - Mini quiz
Choose the correct possessive adjective to complete the following sentences.
Press Start to begin the activity.
Find out more about using possessive adjectives in the Possessive adjectives in French.
Listening practice - My house
Listen to these students talking about where they live. Decide whether each person has a positive or negative opinion about where they live and note at least one reason why.
Student 1
Opinion - Positive
Reason - Big, with three floors
J’adore ma maison parce qu’elle est grande et il y a trois étages.
I love my house because it is big and there are three floors.
Student 2
Opinion - Negative
Reason - Shares room with sister
Ce que je n’aime pas, c’est que je dois partager ma chambre avec ma sœur.
What I don’t like, it’s that I have to share a room with my sister.
Student 3
Opinion - Negative
Reason - Room is very small, has a lot of books, so there isn’t much space.
Ma chambre est très petite et j’ai beaucoup de livres alors il n’y a pas beaucoup de place.
My room is very small and I have a lot of books so there’s not much room.
Student 4
Opinion - Positive
Reason - Own room, comfortable bed, walls are favourite colour, perfect.
J’ai ma propre chambre avec un lit confortable. Les murs sont bleus - ma couleur préférée. C’est parfait !
I have my own bedroom with a comfortable bed. The walls are blue – my favourite colour. It’s perfect!
Student 5
Opinion - Negative
Reason - Liked old flat better, house too far from friends.
J’aimais mieux notre ancien appartement. Notre nouvelle maison est trop loin de mes amis.
I liked our old flat better. Our new house is too far from my friends.
Vocabulary - Describing where you live
Useful phrases to help describe where you live include:
| French | English | French | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon adresse, c’est … | My address, is … | C’est un appartement moderne en ville. | It’s a modern flat in town. |
| Ma maison se situe près de … | My house is situated near … | C’est une vieille maison. | It’s an old house. |
| Ma maison est dans un village à la campagne. | My house is in a village in the countryside. | Nous avons des voisins sympas. | We have nice neighbours. |
| Nous habitons dans la capitale. | We live in the capital city. | Ma tante habite dans une ferme. | My aunt lives on a farm. |
| Nous sommes dans une rue tranquille. | We are on a quiet street. | Notre maison est sur la grande route. | Our house is on the main road. |
For example:
À l’avenir, je voudrais habiter à la campagne parce que c’est plus tranquille. In the future, I would like to live in the countryside because it’s quieter.
Est-ce que tu as rencontré nos nouveaux voisins? Have you met our new neighbours?
All Foundation Tier vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.
Reading practice
You receive an email from your friend who has just been to stay in a house that she loved. Read the text and answer the questions that follow.
Le weekend dernier, je suis allée dans les Alpes, dans le sud-est de la France, chez une copine française. Sa maison est ma maison idéale. Elle est énorme. Il y a six chambres et chaque chambre a une salle de bains. Chez moi, il y a seulement deux salles de bains pour toute la famille.
De plus, la plupart des chambres ont une vue étonnante sur la montagne. Au premier étage, il y a une grande cuisine moderne et un salon confortable mais assez petit. Cependant, au sous-sol*, il y a un cinéma où nous avons regardé un film et mangé beaucoup de popcorn, puisqu’il y a aussi une machine à popcorn.
Dehors, dans le jardin, il y a une piscine. Nous n’avons pas nagé, car il faisait trop froid, mais nous nous sommes assises dans le jacuzzi. C’était vraiment génial !
J’espère que je peux retourner chez ma copine bientôt.
Élodie
*au sous-sol - in the basement
- Whose house did Élodie go to last weekend?
Her French friend’s house.
She says: je suis allée chez une copine française – I went to my French friend’s house.
- How many bedrooms are there in the house?
Six.
She says: il y a six chambres – there are six bedrooms.
- How many bathrooms are there in her own house?
Two.
She says: il y a seulement deux salles de bains – there are only two bathrooms.
- What can you see from most of the bedrooms?
The mountains.
She says they have: une vue étonnante sur la montagne – an incredible view of the mountains.
- What is in the basement?
A cinema.
She says: au sous-sol, il y a un cinéma – in the basement, there is a cinema.
- Why didn’t they swim in the pool?
It was too cold.
Nous n’avons pas nagé, car il faisait trop froid – we didn’t swim because it was too cold.
Click or tap on Show more to read a translation of the email.
Last weekend, I went to the Alps in the south-east of France to the house of a French friend. Her house is my ideal house. It's huge! There are six bedrooms and each room has a bathroom. In my house there are only two bathrooms for the whole family.
What's more, most of the bedrooms have a stunning view of the mountains. On the first floor, there is a big, modern kitchen and a comfortable but fairly small living room. Meanwhile, in the basement there is a cinema where we watched a film and ate a lot of popcorn as there was also a popcorn machine.
Outside, in the garden, there is a swimming pool. We didn't swim as it was too cold but we did sit in the jacuzzi. It was really great!
I hope to be able to go back to my friend's house soon.
Élodie
Vocabulary sheet
Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful vocabulary to use when describing where people live.
Higher Tier - Vocabulary
Useful Higher Tier vocabulary includes:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| au premier étage | on the first floor |
| au deuxième étage | on the second floor |
| J’habite dans la banlieue de … | I live in the suburbs of … |
| Ils habitent dans une cité. | They live on a council estate. |
For example:
Ma maison se situe dans la banlieue de Manchester. My house is situated in the suburbs of Manchester.
La chambre de ma mère est au deuxième étage. - My mum’s room is on the second floor.
All Higher Tier vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.
Higher Tier - Vocabulary sheet
Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful Higher Tier vocabulary to use when describing where people live.
Now you have revised the important vocabulary and key grammar points for talking about where people live why not have a look at the Describing tourist attractions guide?
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