26   I can explain household tasks

A    Using tools and household objects

You use a hammer¹ to bang a nail² into a piece of wood.

You use a screwdriver³ to tighten or loosen a screw⁴.

 You use a drill⁵ to make a hole⁶.

A hammer, a screwdriver, and a drill are tools.

You use a needle⁷, pins⁸, scissors⁹, and cotton/ thread¹⁰ when you’re sewing.

You use string¹¹, rope¹², or wire¹³ to tie things together. 

You use ^TMSellotape¹⁴ or glue¹⁵ to stick things together.

spotlight  Nouns

Cotton, thread, string, rope, wire, Sellotape, and glue are all uncountable nouns. Scissors is a plural noun.

Where’s the string?  I need some glue.

Where are the scissors?

3     Test yourself. Look at the text, and cover the meanings. Can you remember the meanings?

 

B    Common problems

Our flat: things to do

- The lamp isn't working. Try changing the light bulb.

- The radiator's leaking. We'll have to repair it.

- The window's cracked. It needs replacing.

- The TV isn't working properly.

- The radio is faulty.

- The bedroom needs decorating.

- There's something wrong with the door. It keeps sticking.

- The lift's out of order. I hope they fix it soon.

- There's a stain on the carpet which we need to remove.

MEANING

If sth isn't working, it isn't functioning or it's broken. 

 

light bulb

leak  allow liquid or gas to go through a hole or crack, leak N.

cracked (see picture)

cracked window

replace sth  exchange sth for sth that is better or newer.

properly  correctly or well.

faulty  not working well; only working sometimes.

dccorate a room  put paint or paper on the walls.

wrong  causing problems or difficulties.

stick  be in one position and difficult to move.

out of order  If a machine or piece of equipment in a public place is out of order, it isn't working.

stain N, V (see picture) 

stain

remove sth  take sth away.

spotlight  repair, fix or mend sth

Repair sth, fix sth, and mend sth all mean ‘put sth right that is broken or damaged’.

Can you repair/fix the fridge? It took ages to repair/mend the roof.

We use mend and repair, rather than fix, to talk about repairing clothes.

I mended the hole in my pocket. I must get my shoes repaired.

4     Choose the words which are possible.

►   My shoe has a hole in it. Can you repair/mend/remove it for me?  repair, mend

1     This table’s broken. We need to decorate/fix/repair it. ________

2     Is the bedroom lamp OK? ~ No, it’s faulty/out of order/not working. ________

3     We’re going to remove/replace/decorate the fridge. ________

4     We need a new lamp/stain/light bulb. ________

5     The public phone is out of order/is wrong/isn’t working properly. ________

6     The radiator is leaking/faulty/sticking. ________

1     fix, repair

2     faulty, not working

3     remove, replace

4     lamp, light bulb

5     is out of order, isn’t working properly

6     leaking, faulty

6     Test yourself. Look at the text, and cover the meanings. Can you remember the meanings?