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Learning English - The Flatmates

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Small ads vocabulary - accommodation

Tim and Helen looking over Alice's shoulder as she types the advert on the laptop

Small ads are short advertisements which are found in local and national newspapers, and sometimes on notice boards in shops, colleges etc. In newspaper and magazine adverts, each word and/or letter has to be paid for, so to make them cheaper, people often use short forms and abbreviations, and some non-essential words are not used.

This worksheet will focus on the language used to advertise accommodation.

Advertisers often state what type of person they are looking for. They generally do this by using adjectives, such as clean, quiet, etc. but nouns and compound nouns may be used too.

professional / prof. (adj/n)
somebody who has a job.
Examples:
Rooms available: professionals only.
Prof. male required for shared house.

mature (adj)
this word is used to describe an older, quieter, more responsible person.
Example:
Mature lady wanted for single room.

easy-going (adj)
friendly and relaxed.
Example: Easy-going guy wanted for student house.

n/s (adj/n) non-smoker
Example:
n/s prof. lady wanted for single room.

landlord / landlady (n)
The person who owns the accommodation. A landlord is male, a landlady is female.

tenant (n)
The person who pays rent to live in the accommodation.

lodger (n)
A person who lives with his / her landlord.

mixed (adj)
This means that both men and women are living in the accommodation.

flatshare / houseshare (n)
This refers to the situation of sharing a house or flat with people who are not your family.
Example:
Alice says: 'bright, sunny room in mixed flatshare.'

bedsit (n)
A type of accommodation where you live and sleep in the same room. The bathroom and kitchen may be shared with other people who live in the same building.
Example:
Bedsit to let: suit student or young professional.

self-contained (adj)
Self-contained accommodation means that the kitchen, bathroom and other rooms are not shared with anyone else, and the accommodation has its own door which is not used by anyone else.
Example:
Self-contained single flat to let.

studio flat /apartment (n)
A flat or apartment which does not have a separate bedroom and/or kitchen, but it has its own bathroom.
Example:
Clean, quiet studio flat. Reasonable rent.

(fully) furnished / part furnished / unfurnished (adj)
Advertisers often say how much furniture is provided.
fully furnished = all the necessary furniture is provided.
part furnished = some of the necessary furniture is provided: the tenant might have to buy some additional furniture.
unfurnished = no furniture is provided.

single room / double room
A single room is suitable for one person; a double room is suitable for two people.
Example:
Single room avail. end March.

bed
Bedroom.
Example:
3 bed flat avail. Dec. Reasonable rent.

all mod cons
'mod cons' means 'modern conveniences' - things like a telephone, washing machine, dishwasher etc.
Example:
2 bed flat avail. Dec. Reasonable rent.

close to all amenities
amenities are shops and services that people like to have close to their houses - such as schools, banks, doctors, stations etc.
Example:
3 bed house avail. Dec. suit family. 5 mins from schools & amenities.

reasonable rent:
Advertisers do not always write the exact cost of the accommodation in the advertisement. 'Reasonable' usually means that the rent is not too expensive, or that it is the same as the rent for other similar accommodation in the same area.

negotiable / negot.
This means that the landlord is willing to talk about the rent and agree on a price that is acceptable to both the landlord and the tenant.

pcm
per calendar month. Sometimes rent has to be paid every 4 weeks, but pcm means that the rent is payable on the same date each month, often the 1st.
Example:
Bedsit to let. £500 pcm.

incl.
Inclusive - the rent includes the cost of gas, electricity etc.
Example:
Wanted: young prof. for studio flat. Rent £200 pcm incl.

deposit / dep. (n)
This is an amount of money which the tenant pays to the landlord / landlady when s/he moves in to the accommodation. The landlord / landlady gives the money back to the tenant when s/he moves out.
Example:
3-bed flat avail. end Dec / beg. Jan. £500 pcm + £500 dep.

avail.
Available

end
At the end of

beg.
At the beginning of

to let
Available for rent

suit
Suitable for (a particular type of person)
Example:
To let: 2 bed flat. avail. beg. Jan. Suit n/s prof.

from the top
repeat from the beginning

mixed
both men and women are living in the same house

close to all amenities
amenities are shops and services that people like to have close to their houses - such as schools, banks, doctors, stations etc.

allergy
an unusual sensitiveness of the body which causes certain people to be affected in a bad way by something usually harmless

all mod cons
'mod cons' means 'modern conveniences' - things like a telephone, washing machine, dishwasher etc.

small ads
short advertisements which are found in local and national newspapers, or on notice boards in shops, colleges etc.

go with
choose, decide

The Gazette; The Courier
These are typical names for newspapers.