Must-know Beginner English Vocabulary
Hi and welcome!
In this new lesson, you will learn some useful beginner English vocabulary that you can use in your first meeting with someone.
In the end, you will be able to talk about your identity, give your address and contact information too. You will also know how to talk about your marital status and hobbies.
Are you ready to expand your beginner English vocabulary?
Let’s start!
Step 1 (Beginner English Vocabulary): Identity
Here are some essential expressions that you can use to introduce yourself to someone.
| Questions | Answers |
| What’s your name? | -My name is Maria. -My name is Maria Mbewe. |
| What’s your first name? | My first name is Maria. |
| What’s your surname?/ What’s your last name? | -My surname is Mbewe. -My last name is Mbewe. |
| What’s your maiden name? (If you are a married woman.) | My maiden name is Mvula. |
| What’s your father’s name? | -My father’s name is John. -My father’s name is John Mvula. |
| What’s your mother’s name? | -My mother’s name is Catherine. -My mother’s name is Catherine Nyirenda. |
| What’s your full name? | My full name is Maria Mvula Mbewe. |
| What’s your husband’s name? | -My husband’s name is William. -My husband’s name is Jack Mbewe. |
| What’s your birth name? | My birth name is Maria Mvula. |
| What’s your adopted name? | My adopted name is Mbewe. |
Step 2 (Beginner English Vocabulary): Age
Here are some original expressions you can use to talk about how long you have been on earth.
| Questions | Answers |
| How old are you?/ What’s your age? | -I’m twenty-seven years old. -My age is 27. -I’m a 27-year-old woman. -I will turn 27 next month. -I will turn 27 next week. -I just turned 27 last week. -I’m 27. I look young for my age. |
| When were you born?/ In which month were you born? | I was born IN January/ February/ March/ April/ May/ June/ July/ August/ September/ October/ November/ December. |
| When is your birthday?/ What’s your birth date? | -I was born ON May 10th, 1997. -I was born on December 1st, 1997. -My birth date is September 2nd, 1997. 1st: First 2nd: Second 3rd: Third 1997: Nineteen ninety-seven 2001: Two thousand and one 2024: Two thousand and twenty-four/ Twenty twenty-four |
Step 3 (Beginner English Vocabulary): Origin
Use the expressions below to talk about where you come from.
| Questions | Answers |
| Where are you from? | I’m from Malawi. |
| Where do you come from? | I come from Malawi. |
| What’s your nationality? | -My nationality is Malawian. -I’m Malawian. |
| What city are you from?/ Which city are you from? | I’m from Blantyre. |
| What continent are you from?/ Which continent are you from? | -I’m from Africa. -I’m African. |
| Where do you originally come from? | -I originally come from Malawi. -I originally come from Africa. -I originally come from Malawi, Africa. -I’m of Malawian origin. -I’m of African origin. -I’m of Malawian and African origin. |
| Where were you born? | -I was born in Blantyre. -I was born in Blantyre, Malawi. -I was born in Blantyre, Malawi, Africa. |
| Where did your father come from? | My father came from Mzimba. |
| Where did your mother come from? | My mother came from Rumphi. |
Step 4 (Beginner English Vocabulary): Address
Here you will learn to talk about the place where you live or reside.
| Questions | Answers |
| What’s your address? | -My address is 24 Kolegiacka Street in Sadyba, Warsaw. -I live at 24 Kolegiacka Street in Sadyba, Warsaw. (This is not a real address.) |
| Where can I find you? | You can find me at 24 Kolegiacka Street in Sadyba, Warsaw. (This is not a real address.) |
| Where do you live? | -I live in Warsaw, Poland. -I live in the village. -I live in a nice neighbourhood. -I live in a beautiful area. |
| Where are you from? | I’m from Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland. |
| In what type of housing/ accommodation do you live in? | -I live in a house. -I live in a flat. -I live in an apartment. -I live in an apartment block. |
| In what part of the city do you live in? | -I live in the city centre. -I live in the suburbs. -I live downtown. -I live near a shopping mall. |
Step 5 (Beginner English Vocabulary): Contact Information
In this section, you can learn how to give your contact details to someone in a thorough way.
| What’s your phone number?/ what’s your telephone number?/ Can you give me your telephone number? | -My phone number is +48 774 100 4554. Note: This is not a real phone number. In Poland mobile phone numbers have nine digits. -My telephone number is +48 774 100 4554. *You can say 77: Double seven 777: Triple seven 00: Double o |
| What’s your mobile phone number? | -My phone number is +48 774 100 4554. Note: This is not a real phone number. In Poland mobile phone numbers have 9 digits. -My telephone number is +48 774 100 4554. |
| What’s your ground phone number?/ What’s your landline number? | -My ground phone number is +48 22 456 7987. Note: This is not a real phone number. In Poland ground phone or landline numbers have 7 to 8 digits. -My landline number is +48 22 456 7987. |
| Can you give me your number? | -My number is +48 22 456 7987. -You can call me at +48 22 456 7987. -You can reach me at +48 22 456 7987. -I can be reached at +48 22 456 7987. |
| What’s your email address? | -My email address is mariamxt475xz@gmail.com. -My email is mariamxt475xz@gmail.com *You can say: mariamxt475xz AT Gmail DOT com |
| What’s your fax number? | My fax number is +48 89 758 45 471. Note: This is not a real fax number because fax numbers in Poland have 9 digits. |
Step 6 (Beginner English Vocabulary): Marital Status
You will find the vocabulary or expressions to use if you have a better half.
| What’s your marital status? | -I’m married. -I’m single. -I’m divorced. -I’m a bachelor. -I’m a spinster. -I’m a widower. -I’m a widow. -I’m engaged to someone. -I have a fiancé. -I have a fiancée. |
| How many children do you have? | -I have two children. -I have one child. -I have a single child. -I’m childless. -I have no child. |
Step 7 (Beginner English Vocabulary): Hobbies
In this last section, you will learn how to talk about the activities that you do in your free time.
| Questions | Answers |
| What are your hobbies? | -My hobbies are playing football, playing basketball and watching television. -I love playing football, playing basketball and playing tennis. As you can see, I love doing sports. -I’m into playing hockey and playing chess. I do this every weekend. -I’m keen on playing soccer. |
| What do you like doing in your free time? | -I enjoy playing soccer. -When I have some spare time, I love riding horses. |
| What do you usually do in your spare time? | -I usually ride my bike in the country side. |
| What are your favourite weekend activities? | -My favourite weekend activities are riding horses, riding scooters and riding bikes. |
| What are your favourite after school activities? | -My favourite afternoon activities are driving cars with my dad and watching television. |
Listen to the lesson:
Further Exploration: Beginner English Vocabulary—Very Useful Expressions to Say When You Meet Someone for the First Time (Level A1-A2)
Download PDFs:
- English Lesson: Beginner English Vocabulary—Very Useful Expressions to Say When You Meet Someone for the First Time (Level A1-A2), Learn English With Africa, October 2024
- English Vocabulary: What to Say When You Meet Someone for the First Time, Learn English With Africa, September 2019
Read:
- English Vocabulary (Small Talk): Lesson 1-Informal and Formal Greetings, Learn English With Africa, June 2019
- English Vocabulary (Small Talk): Lesson 2-How Was Your Day? June 2019
- Greetings: Different Ways of Saying HELLO and GOODBYE, Learn English With Africa, March 2016, PDF
Shop:
About the Author
Thandi Ngwira Gatignol is the founder of Learn English With Africa. She was born on June 11th, 1981 in Blantyre, Malawi. When she was 19, she left her country of birth for France. She currently lives with her two daughters and husband in Poland.
Thandi holds a Bachelor’s degree in English studies obtained at the Université Paris X Nanterre in France and a Certificate in Journalism from Malawi. She has taught English as a French Ministry of Education certified teacher both in France and in Poland. She speaks six languages fluently, including French, Polish and Italian. She is now learning Kiswahili, German and Spanish. Salt No More is her debut novel and you can find her other books here on the website or on Amazon.
Course Title: Beginner English Vocabulary—Very Useful Expressions to Say When You Meet Someone for the First Time (Level A1-A2)© Learn English With Africa, October 2024
