Vocabulary Lessons

Renting an apartment or taking out a home mortgage loan to buy a house are major decisions in one’s life. In other cases, students might live in dormitories on campus or even stay with a homestay family, which can give them opportunities to interact with native speakers.

Listen to the words below. Write a sample sentence for each word to practice how it is used in context. You can use the internet to find such sentences.

Listen to the recording to hear how the words are pronounced.

• apartment (noun): a room or set of rooms for living in, usually within a larger building
  – They rented an apartment near downtown.
• property manager (noun): a person responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of a rental property or building
  – The property manager helped us set up our mailbox when we first moved in.
• carport (noun): a covered structure for parking a car, usually open on the sides
  – He parked his car under the carport during the storm.
• condominium (noun): a privately owned unit in a building or complex where common areas are shared with other owners
  – They bought a condominium on the third floor with a view of the lake.
• dormitory (noun): a large building with many rooms for sleeping, especially for students at a school or university
  – She lived in a dormitory during her first year of college.
• down payment (noun): an initial payment made when buying something, with the rest to be paid later
  – They saved for two years to make a down payment on their first house.
• duplex (noun): a building divided into two separate living units, each with its own entrance
  – The family rented the lower unit of a duplex in a quiet neighborhood.
• furnished (adjective): containing furniture and basic household items provided by the landlord
  – The furnished apartment already had a bed, a couch, and a kitchen table.
  unfurnished (adjective): not containing any furniture, requiring the tenant to provide their own
  – They chose an unfurnished unit so they could decorate it with their own furniture.
• gas / power / water bill (noun): a monthly charge for gas, electricity, or water used in a home
  – The gas bill was higher than usual because of the cold winter.
  – She forgot to pay the power bill and the electricity was shut off.
  – They split the water bill equally between the two roommates.
• housing (noun): buildings or accommodations where people live
  – The city built new housing for low-income families.
• landlord (noun): a person who owns and rents out property to tenants
  – The landlord came by to fix the leaky faucet.
• mortgage payment (noun): a monthly payment made to a bank or lender to pay back the loan used to buy a home
  – Their mortgage payment is due on the first of every month.
• parking space (noun): a marked area designated for parking one vehicle
  – Each tenant is assigned one parking space.
• rent (noun): money paid regularly to a landlord for the use of a home or property
  – The rent for the one-bedroom apartment is eight hundred dollars a month.
  (verb): to pay money in exchange for the use of a home or property
  – They decided to rent an apartment while they saved money to buy a house.
• roommate (noun): a person with whom one shares a room or apartment
  – My roommate and I split the rent evenly.
• security deposit (noun): money paid in advance to cover possible damages, returned when the lease ends
  – The security deposit was equal to one month’s rent.
• tenant (noun): a person who rents and occupies property from a landlord
  – Every tenant must follow the building’s rules.
• townhouse (noun): a multi-story home that shares one or more walls with neighboring units
  – They moved into a townhouse that had a small patio out back.
• utilities (noun): essential services such as electricity, gas, and water provided to a home
  – The rent includes utilities, so they don’t pay separate bills for water or electricity.
• yard (noun): an outdoor area of land next to or surrounding a house
  – The kids played in the yard while their parents grilled on the patio.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in an apartment or owning a house (e.g., cost, amount of privacy, etc.)? Also, imagine that you are looking for a two-bedroom apartment in your area. Use the internet to locate a place that meets your needs and provides the conveniences you want.