family

ADJECTIVES

the whole family

• We invited the whole family round.

all the family

• This is a game which all the family can enjoy.

somebody's immediate family (=closest relations)

• What if one of your immediate family were disabled?

somebody's extended family (=including not only parents and children, but also grandparents, aunts etc.)

• She gets a lot of help from her extended family.

a large/small family

• She came from a large family of seven children.

a one-parent/single-parent family

• One in seven families is a one-parent family.

the nuclear family (=a family consisting of a mother, a father, and their children)

• Not everyone lives in a typical nuclear family.

close/close-knit family (=a family that spends a lot of time together and gives each other support)

• Laura's family are very close.

the Royal family (=the king or queen and their family)

• The Royal Family have large estates in Scotland.

the Smith/Jones/Brown etc. family

• The Smith family are living in temporary accommodation.

FAMILY + NOUN

a family member/a member of the family

• The event was attended by many of his family members, including his children and grandchildren.

somebody's family background

• He comes from a stable family background.

a family history

• Is there a family history of heart disease?

family life

• Some people believe that television is destroying family life.

a family unit

• the breakup of the traditional family unit

somebody's family home (=where someone's family live and where they lived as a child)

• Her family home is in a village outside Derry.

a family business (=one run by members of a family)

• My parents expected me to join the family business.

a family car (=one designed for families with children)

• It's a practical family car that is also fun to drive.

a family holiday British English, a family vacation American English:

• Most of our family holidays were spent in the south of France.

a family resemblance (=when members of the same family look like each other)

• There's a strong family resemblance between all the sisters.

COMMON ERRORS► Don't say 'my family is five', 'my family is five members/people', or 'my family is of five members/people'. Say there are five people in my family.