MHENGLISH

MHE
ENGLISH FOR PROPERTY

PART ONE

DESCRIBING A HOUSE

The aim of this part if for you to be able to describe the location and attributes of a house.

At the end of this part, you’ll be able to explain the location of a house, what type of house it is, what rooms it has, and what is in the community/neighbourhood.

WHERE IS THE HOUSE?

First things first, your client wants to know where the property is.

We either use the following verbs:

To be LOCATED/SITUATED

The property/house/flat is located/situated in one of the most desirable neighbourhoods of the city

Or, more simply:

The house is on King Street

The house is in Islington (neighbourhood)

The house is in the centre/the suburbs

You can also say:

The location of the house is in Islington

but not

The situation of the house is in Islington

Other words we use to describe the location of a house are:

The house is near Traflagar Square

The house is close to Trafalgar Square

WHAT TYPE OF FLAT/HOUSE?

FLATS

FLAT/APARTMENT (uk/us)

GROUND FLOOR/FIRST FLOOR/SECOND FLOOR/TOP FLOOR FLAT/APARTMENT

DUPLEX

GARDEN FLAT/APARTMENT

STUDIO FLAT/APARTMENT

Houses

TERRACED house

SEMI-DETACHED house

DETACHED house

TWO/THREE-STOREY house (‘storey’ means ‘floor’)

When you speak about the date of the house, you say:

The house was built in the 1950s

OR

It is a 1950s house

Here are some examples of how you can describe a house:

It is two -floor, 1950s house

It is a new, ground-floor flat

We also introduce the number of rooms in this type of introductory description to a house:

It is a four-bedroom, two -floor, 1950s house

It is a new, two-bedroom, ground-floor flat

Notice how we use the number of bedrooms as an adjective:

A three-bedroom house

A two-bedroom flat

We add the location to these descriptions:

It is a four-bedroom, two -floor, 1950s house in Chelsea

It is a new, two-bedroom, ground-floor flat on Baker Street

WHAT ROOMS ARE IN THE HOUSE?

So, you can now introduce a house, explaining where it is and giving a quick description of its attributes.

Now let’s move on to what is inside the house in more detail: the names of the different rooms in the house.

To COMPRISES/CONSISTS OF/HAVE ...

The property comprises/consists of/has five bedrooms, a kitchen and bathrooms.

THERE IS/THERE ARE

We also ‘there is/there’ are to describe the room in the house:

There are five bedrooms, a kitchen and two bathrooms

THE ROOMS

LIVING ROOM

DINING ROOM

KITCHEN

BEDROOM

BATHROOM

EN SUITE BATHROOM

LAVATORY/WC (aseo)

WALK-IN WARDROBE/CLOSET (vestidor)

TERRACE

BALCONY

UTILITY ROOM (tendedero)

STORAGE ROOM (trastero)

ATTIC (buhardilla)

BASEMENT/CELLAR (sotano)

HALLWAY/CORRIDOR

CONSERVATORY/PORCH

STUDY

WHAT DOES THE COMMUNITY HAVE?

Here are some things the community might have:

The FRONT DOOR/ENTRANCE

The DOORMAN/PORTER/CONCIERGE

SWIMMING POOL

COMMUNAL AREA/GARDEN

WASTE AREA

INTERCOM (you buzz/ring the intercom)

STAIRCASE

The LIFT/ELEVATOR (UK/US)

FOYER (vestibulo)

GARAGE/CAR PARK (not ‘the parking’)

A PARKING SPACE

As an alternative to ‘have’ or ‘there is’, we often use the verbs ‘benefit’ to describe things the house/community has:

To BENEFITS FROM s/t

The property benefits from off-street parking

SERVICES/SUPPLIES

GAS

ELECTRICITY

WATER

COMMUNITY CHARGE

Specific to renting:

FURNISHED/UNFURNISHED

ADJECTIVES TO DESCRIBE THE HOUSE/ROOMS/LOCATION

SIZE

Small (Intimate /Compact)

Big/Large (Spacious / Roomy)

LIGHT

You can say the room has/gets a lot of light OR

The room is...

Luminous

Bright

Well-lit

AGE

A 19th / 20th-century house/flat

Modern

New (new build)

Brand new (not lived in yet)

ORIENTATION
Interior/exterior

South/north/west/east facing

LOCATION

Centrally-located

In the suburbs / On the outskirts

In x area/neighbourhood

DECORATION/FURNITURE

Furnished / Unfurnished

RENOVATIONS

Refurbished = to use new materials/completely

Renovated = to put new surfaces (more cosmetic)

CONDITION

In good/excellent condition