📙 Part 2: Describe an important old thing that your family has kept for a long time

This episode's vocabulary

Heirloom (noun) – a valuable object that has belonged to a family for several generations. → The antique clock is a family heirloom passed down from my great-grandfather.

Portrait-style (adjective) – relating to a picture or photograph showing a person's face and shoulders. → We commissioned a portrait-style painting of our parents for their anniversary.

Hang on to (phrasal verb) – to keep something rather than throwing it away or selling it. → We've hung on to these old letters because they have sentimental value.

Continuity (noun) – the state of continuing over time without interruption. → Family traditions provide a sense of continuity across generations.

Show someone in a good light (idiom) – to make someone appear favorable or attractive. → The interview showed her in a good light by highlighting her achievements.

Ornate (adjective) – highly decorated with complex patterns or designs. → The mirror has an ornate gold frame with intricate carvings.

Cornerstone (noun) – something of great importance that everything else depends on. → Education is the cornerstone of a successful society.

Monetary value (phrase) – the worth of something in terms of money. → The painting has little monetary value but great emotional significance.

Sentimental value (phrase) – the importance of something because of personal memories or emotions. → My grandfather's watch has tremendous sentimental value to me.

Necessitate (verb) – to make something necessary or unavoidable. → The broken heating system necessitates immediate repair before winter.

Keepsake (noun) – an object kept as a reminder of a person or event. → She gave me a keepsake to remember our friendship by.

Pass down (phrasal verb) – to give something to younger family members through generations. → The recipe was passed down from mother to daughter for centuries.

Artifact (noun) – an object made by humans, typically of historical or cultural interest. → The museum displays artifacts from ancient civilizations.

Cherish (verb) – to hold something dear; to care for lovingly. → We cherish the memories of our time together as a family.

Legacy (noun) – something handed down from an ancestor or predecessor. → The jewelry collection is part of her grandmother's legacy.

Download the full-resolution file from the attachments.

Questions and Answers

Maria: You should say what it is, how when your family first got this thing, how long your family has kept it, and explain why this thing is important to your family.

Rory: Oh, I think we have a tonne of heirlooms in the house, to be honest with you, but the one that stands out the most for me is a portrait-style photograph of my late grandmother, which we must have had for decades now. When it comes to when we first got the thing, honestly, I have no idea. It's been with us almost as long as I can remember, and it's always been in our dining room next to the kitchen.

In terms of why we've hung on to it for so long, well, family is pretty important, obviously, so having pictures of past and present family members is important for a sense of continuity if nothing else. To tell you a bit more about what it looks like, I know I said it's a photograph, but it's also a very nicely done one, with good use of light that highlights all the features of my grandmother's face. You might even say it shows her in a good light. The frame of the thing is very ornate, and made with a sort of polished material that almost glows in the light of the room itself. It's like it's not just a picture, it's also a cornerstone of the decorations in the room itself, and everything on the walls is structured around it. I'm not sure it has much monetary value, but the sentimental value should be obvious, at least. It's also worth mentioning the material it's made from. I don't think it's like the normal celluloid or whatever photos are usually made from. It's like it's been pieced together from different parts when you look closely. You can make out these fine lines between the smaller segments that make it up. You would think that would make it look odd, but as long as your face isn't pressed up against it, then it's still a great photo, at least I think so. It's A4 size, so it's bigger, and maybe that necessitates something different, but I'm not really in the know about that sort of thing, I'm no photographer.

If we didn't have the portrait hanging in the house, I think we'd have missed out on a real connection to the past, as well as something that draws the room design and decoration together. It's really nice to have there, it's like a sign of home now.

Discussion

Maria: So, dear listener, you need to choose an important old thing. If you don't have this thing, then you imagine it. Usually it's a photograph, or it's something like a painting, a book, a piece of jewellery, a diamond. Imagine anything important and old, but you should be able to describe it, because it's difficult to describe a piece of jewellery, for example. But a photo could be okay, or a book, right? Don't say something like, oh, a yacht is an important old thing that my family has kept for a long time, a helicopter.

Rory: Well, unless you're millionaires,

Maria: So you can start off with, um, we have a tonne of heirlooms in the house, heirloom.

Rory: Things we have inherited.

Maria: A valuable object that has been given by older members of a family to younger members. So if Rory's grandma has given him this book or a ring, this is an heirloom. Usually kind of jewellery, right? A ring, a diamond, a necklace, right? Some old photographs or... Well, but furniture, yeah, and also cups, glasses.

Rory: Well, anything you inherit that's got value.

Maria: Yeah, but very common, like jewellery.

Rory: Yes.

Maria: So I have a lot of heirlooms in the house, but the one that stands out the most for me is a portrait-style photograph of my late grandmother. So something that stands out is, like, I remember this one particular object that is memorable for me. So you can just remember the whole phrase. We have a lot of heirlooms, we have a tonne of heirlooms in the house, but the one that stands out the most for me is blah-blah-blah. We must have had it for decades. So we probably have had it for a long time. We must have had it for decades. We started having it, we've had it for a long time, and we still have it. Dear listener, are you okay with this structure? Are you with me? We must have had it for decades, for years, for a long time.

Rory: Logical deduction. Oh, yes, very advanced.

Maria: We change the topic when it comes to when we first got the thing. So as for when we first got it, I have no idea. Or we got it 20 years ago, or just imagine something. But use present perfect. It has been with us for a long time. So it's been with us, it has been with us, present perfect because you have kept it for a long time.

Rory: And all the time until now.

Maria: And you can also say, it's been with us as long as I can remember. So it's always been in the dining room. Or it's always been in the kitchen. We change the topic again and now use in terms of. In terms of why we've had it for so long is because blah-blah-blah. Which verb did you use here, Rory?

Rory: Oh, we hung on to it. It's a phrasal verb. You hang on to something.

Maria: But the verb is hang, right?

Rory: Oh, yes, well, we've, we have hung on to it.

Maria: Hang, hung, hung. And it's pretty important for our family because like pictures of the past and present family members are important. A sense of continuity. What does it mean?

Rory: Oh, God, like connection to the past and into the future, I suppose, is the best way to talk about it.

Maria: To tell you more about what it looks like, it's a photograph. It's a very nicely done photograph. And it shows all the features of my grandmother's face. So our faces have certain features, facial features. The photograph shows my grandma in a good light. So like she looks really pretty in this photo, in the photo, dear listener, okay? So you see my family in the photo. The frame. Photographs usually, are usually put in a frame. So the frame is also very ornate. What does it mean ornate?

Rory: It just looks nice. It's decorative.

Maria: Decorative. The frame is made of polished materials and glows. So it has this light. It doesn't have any monetary value. So it's not expensive, right? But it has sentimental value. And Rory, do I use an article? Do I say like, this photo has a sentimental value, or the photo has sentimental value or the sentimental value?

Rory: I would say it has sentimental value. But I suppose you could say it has a sentimental value, and it would be okay. But I think you're more likely to have it without the article.

Maria: Mm-hmm. It's worth mentioning that, so it's important to mention that, it's also worth mentioning that it's made of wood or leather or gold.

Rory: But if you don't know what the material is, don't worry, because I didn't know either. I guessed at it. I was like, I don't think it's like celluloid. And then I said, or whatever photos are normally made from, because I don't know what the word is. I think it's celluloid. Am I right? Are photos made from celluloid?

Maria: Oh, I have no idea.

Rory: Oh, Maria.

Maria: Yeah, you can also mention the size of a photo, like it's A4, it's an A4 sized photo. So Rory, the photo is hanging on the wall, right?

Rory: Yes. Do you doubt that?

Maria: No, no, no. I'm just curious. So usually like we hang a photo on the wall, right? Or if a photo is standing, what can I say? The photo stands on my desk or the photo, I don't know, stands on the shelf.

Rory: Yeah. If it's freestanding.

Maria: Yeah. So this photo helps us to keep this connection to the past, right? So it's kind of symbolises the connection to the past, to my grandmother. It's really nice to have such a photo, like a sign of home. Oh, nice, cute and cuddly.

Rory: I think my home would feel very different without that.

Maria: Yeah, dear listener. So don't pick any crazy objects. So a photo, a book, a piece of jewellery. But if you choose jewellery, then you need to be able to describe it, right?

Rory: I would say so, yes. But I didn't describe that. I described a picture. But what things could we use in my description to talk about other things? For example, heirlooms, usually an old thing. And then, well, it could be when we first got the thing that could be used to talk about anything. It's always been in our home, I would imagine. Then talking about old things, they were hanging on to them. Probably all of them are important for a sense of continuity. So we can keep that too. Then we could talk about it's also very nicely made or very well made. And it will also be worth mentioning the material it's made from. And then you could say, I think it's this or whatever these things are made from. And of course, with a conditional, if we didn't have this thing in our house or if we didn't have this thing, it would be a shame. So all of these structures and phrases and words could be used to describe any old thing, not just a picture, anything.

Maria: Rory, do you have photos of you in your house?

Rory: In my house that I live in now?

Maria: Yeah, like portraits of you.

Rory: I have pictures of my friends and I. I don't have individual pictures of me. I think that's a bit narcissistic. Do you have pictures of yourself?

Maria: No. I have got photos of my brother and of my family, my parents. Oh, yeah, I have a picture of my brother and me on the fridge.

Rory: Oh, well, that's OK. That's like two people.

Maria: I don't have many photos. Hmm. Yeah, but I will talk about, you know, if I were to talk about it. I would talk about a diamond ring that my grandmother gave to my mother. So kind of like I've got a mother. She had a mother. So my mother's mother gave the ring to her. So originally it was my grandmother's diamond ring. She got it from her husband. Then my mother had it. And now I have it.

Rory: Oh, my God. I feel like I need a flowchart for this. But you could say it's always been in the family. You could say that about anything.

Maria: Yeah. It's always been in the family.

Rory: Yeah. It's always been in the family.

Maria: Right, dear listener. Thank you very much. We'll get back to you in our next episode. Bye.

Rory: Bye!

Make sure to subscribe to our social media to see some of the “behind the scenes” stuff:

Our Instagram: bit.ly/instagramswi

Our Telegram: bit.ly/telegramswi