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Home practice · personality & participle clauses · answer key included
1 · Personality — choose the best adjective
She won three awards and mentioned none of them at dinner — very ______ of her.
He never panics; even during the fire alarm, he was completely ______.
A ______ collector — she only buys pieces after months of research.
His humour is so ______ that he can turn any awkward moment into a joke.
New neighbours find her a bit ______, but she warms up quickly.
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2 · Complete with the correct participle
- drop _ grown up as an only child, she found large family dinners overwhelming.
- The man drop _ next to my father in the photo is my great-uncle.
- drop _ how sensitive he was, we broke the news gently.
- drop _ by his grandmother, he speaks Portuguese with an old-fashioned accent.
- drop _ from the outside, the family looks perfectly harmonious.
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3 · Rewrite using a participle clause
Rewrite each sentence using a reduced relative or adverbial participle clause.
Because she had never met her cousins, she felt shy at first.
The woman who is talking to my mother is our neighbour.
After he had lived abroad for ten years, he saw his family with new eyes.
The letters which were written in the 1940s survived the fire.
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4 · Family idioms
- to take after (someone)drop or tap here…
- the spitting image ofdrop or tap here…
- a black sheepdrop or tap here…
- to run in the familydrop or tap here…
- a chip off the old blockdrop or tap here…
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5 · A family therapist explains
Listen to a monologue by a family therapist on birth-order stereotypes.
📄 Show transcript
Speaker: As a family therapist, I often encounter individuals who define themselves, and their siblings, by their birth order. And while there’s certainly some truth to the classic descriptions – the driven firstborn, the rebellious youngest, the diplomatic middle child – I find these stereotypes are frequently oversimplified and, frankly, a bit overblown. They can offer a convenient shorthand, yes, but they rarely capture the full complexity of family dynamics.
In my experience, the middle child is perhaps the most misunderstood. They’re often painted as overlooked or peacemakers, yet they frequently develop incredible resilience and adaptability, navigating between older and younger siblings with a unique perspective. What’s crucial to remember is that family roles aren't static. We evolve, our families evolve. So, my single piece of advice to everyone listening is this: update your family story. Don't stay trapped in the child you once were; embrace the adult you’ve become.
- What is the therapist's opinion of birth-order stereotypes?
- Which sibling role does she say is most misunderstood?
- What single piece of advice does she give listeners?
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6 · Reply to a friend (120–150 words)
A friend writes: "I feel I'm turning into my mother and I hate it." Reply with empathy, using at least two personality adjectives and one participle clause.
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