Life Events (A2 Vocabulary)

Your birthday is the day you were born. Your childhood is the years when you are a child. You grow up in the place where you live as a child.

be born, grow up, childhood

• Try it: Liam: These cats are so small! How old are they? Matilda: Only one week. They ___ last Monday. Choose what Matilda says. (graduated / were born / retired) Answer: were born — The cats are one week old, so they were born last Monday.

Word	Pronunciation	Example
be born		I was born in a small town.
grow up		Children grow up so fast.
childhood		I had a happy childhood.

School, work and home

You graduate when you finish school. You get a job when you start work for a store, a bank or an office. You leave home when you stop living with your parents.

• Try it: Matilda: Why is your friend so happy? Liam: He finally ___ at the hospital! Today is his first day. Look at the picture. Choose what Liam says. (got a job / graduated / had a baby) Answer: got a job — Today is his first day at the hospital, so he got a job there.

Word	Pronunciation	Example
graduate		My brother graduated last week.
get a job		She got a job at a bank.
leave home		Many young people leave home at eighteen.

Big changes

Two people get married and become husband and wife. When you have a baby, you become a mother or a father. You retire when you are older and stop your work.

• Try it: Liam: Where's the man from the shoe store? I never see him now. Matilda: He ___ in May. His son has the store now. Choose what Matilda says. (got married / was born / retired) Answer: retired — He stopped his work and his son has the store now, so he retired.

Word	Pronunciation	Example
get married		Two of my friends got married.
have a baby		My sister had a baby last night.
retire		My teacher retired at sixty-five.

More family

Your mother's mother and your father's mother are your grandmothers, and their husbands are your grandfathers. The children of your parents' brothers and sisters are your cousins.

• Try it: Liam: Who's the old man with the little boy? Matilda: That's the boy's ___. He's eighty, and he takes the boy to school every day. Choose what Matilda says. (cousin / grandfather / brother) Answer: grandfather — An eighty-year-old man in the boy's family is his grandfather.

Word	Pronunciation	Example
cousin		My cousin and I are good friends.
grandmother		My grandmother makes great soup.
grandfather		My grandfather tells great stories.