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English for Everyday Living
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In the Living Room

(Living Room Pictures)

Living rooms in United States homes are used for different purposes by different families.  In some homes, the living room is a formal room containing the best furniture and is only used to entertain formal guests.  These homes will have separate rooms for watching television, playing games or doing school work.  It is more common for the living room to be the center of family life: the place where children play games or do school work, the place where the family watches television, the place where conversations with guests take place.  Many times, all these activities occur at the same time, which can be rather confusing.

Expressions used in the living room:

  • "Come in and have a seat."
  • "Come sit beside me on the couch."
  • "Don't take a nap on the sofa; it ruins the cushions."
  • Couch and sofa are different names for the same thing.
  • "Every time I sit back in the recliner, I fall asleep."
  • "Paul and Alice, I want you to help me clean the living room."
  • "Alice, you dust and polish the tables."
  • "Paul, you can run the vacuum cleaner."
  • "Be sure to clean in the corners and under the tables."
  • "Pick up all the toys before you run the sweeper."
  • You will find a piano or an organ in some living rooms.
  • A living room table set is made up of one or two end tables and a coffee table.
  • A sofa table is tall and narrow and sits behind the sofa.
  • In many homes, the television set in the living room is the center of family entertainment.
  • "There's a good program on TV tonight."
  • "Mom, Judy won't give me the remote!"
  • "If you can't behave, I'll turn the TV off and nobody will watch it!"
  • "Come sit beside me on the couch, Johnny."
  • "Why do you have every light in the living room on?"
  • "You kids are going to ruin your eyes by watching television in the dark."
  • "Help me hang the drapes at the living room window."
  • "Help me rearrange the furniture."
  • "Do you like the new table lamps I just bought?"
  • "The new lamps don't go with those old end tables."
  • "I don't like glass coffee tables because they show everybody's fingerprints."
  • "You children shouldn't roughhouse in the living room."
  • "Children, stop wrestling on the couch!"
  • "Sit still and be quiet; I'm trying to listen to the news."
  • "Tommy, don't put your shoes on the sofa."
  • "Mark, please don't prop your feet on the coffee table."
  • A two-piece living room suit consists of a sofa and a matching chair.
  • A three-piece living room suit has a matching loveseat, as well.
  • A sofa usually has three cushions while a loveseat only has two.
  • Many living rooms will also have a wing chair or a recliner.
  • "Come on in and sit down, Jack."
  • "Do you have to have the TV so loud?"
  • "Do you like the new drapes in the living room?"
  • "We should put the desk and book shelf in that corner."
  • "Arnold, would you like to watch that TV special with me tonight?"
  • "Be quiet now, kids.  The movie's ready to start."
  • "Oh, Dad, that's only a commercial."
  • Some living rooms have wall-to-wall carpeting on the floor.
  • "I prefer a living room with a fireplace."

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Exercise A, Verbs used in the living room: Write a meaning for each of the verbs in the list below that has something to do with a living room.  Make up a sentence using each verb.

VERB MEANING SENTENCE
watch, -es, -ed, -ing, -ed    
help, -s, -ed, -ing, -ed    
behave,-s,-d,-behaving,-d    
clean, -s, -ed, -ing, -ed    
vacuum, -s, -ed, -ing, -ed    
find, -s, found, finding, found    
have, has, had, having, had    
rearrange, -s, -d, rearranging, -d    
dust, -s, -ed, -ing, -ed    
read, -s, read, -ing, read    
recline, -s,-d, reclining, -d    
run, -s, ran, running, run    
wrestle,-s,-d, wrestling, -d    
snack, -s, -ed, -ing, -ed    

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Exercise B, Nouns used in a living room: Write a meaning for each noun below that has something to do with a living room.

NOUN MEANING NOUN MEANING
living room   recliner  
sofa   TV stand  
wing chair   VCR  
recliner   remote  
couch   cushion  
ottoman   throw pillow  
hassock   coffee table  
carpet   end table  
fireplace   floor lamp  
curtain rod   sleeper sofa (sofa bed)  
drapery hook   drapes  
vase   book shelf  
mantle   sectional  
arm   throw rug  
TV   hardwood floor  
video   doily  
furniture   upholstered  

Exercise C: Fill the blank spaces in the following sentences with the correct nouns from the list above. There may be more than one correct answer for some of the blanks.  You may have to make some nouns plural.

1. When Uncle Dave visits us, he sleeps on the _________________.

2. The living room chair has a matching _______________ where you can put your feet.

3. The boy and girl sat together on the _______________ watching ______________.

4. They had put a ______________ in the ____________ so they could watch a movie.

5. In our living room, the ____________ has a _______________ in front of it and an ____________ at each end.

6. Some people prefer a ______________ made of oak in their living room, but then they cover part of it with a ______________.

7. You can use ________________ to hang ______________ at the living room windows.

8. A ________________ is usually made up of several matching pieces that fit together in the corner of a living room.

9. Children will often use a _______________ as a weapon when they fight in the ____________.

10. Older people often use _____________ to protect the back and __________ of their upholstered _____________.

Answers:

1. sofa (sofa bed, sleeper sofa)

2. ottoman (stool)

3. sofa (couch) (loveseat)

4. video, VCR

5. sofa (couch), coffee table, end table

6. hardwood floor, throw rug

7. drapery hooks, drapes

8. sectional

9. throw pillow, living room

10. doilies, arms, furniture

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