Houses, etc.

This lesson introduces common words used to describe houses and related housing terms. You will learn the names of different types of homes, people involved in housing, and common actions like renting or buying.

• Names of dwellings: house, apartment, townhouse, condominium, studio.
• People and contracts: landlord, tenant, lease, mortgage, real estate agent.
• Useful verbs and collocations: rent an apartment, sign a lease, take out a mortgage.

Remember these rules to use housing vocabulary correctly:

• Use 'a' or 'an' for singular, countable dwellings: a house, an apartment.
• Use 'the' when you refer to a specific property already known to the listener.
• Use 'lease' for rental contracts and 'mortgage' for purchase loans.
• Distinguish owner-terms (owner, landlord) from renter-terms (tenant, renter).

In business contexts, precise terms (lease vs rent) matter for legal and financial communication.

Avoid these universal errors when using housing vocabulary:

• Omitting articles before countable nouns: say 'an apartment' not 'apartment' when singular and indefinite.
• Confusing 'house' and 'home' — 'house' is the building, 'home' emphasizes a place where you live.
• Using 'rent' and 'lease' interchangeably without context — 'lease' often refers to the formal contract.
• Wrong prepositions: use 'in' for apartments ('in an apartment'), 'on' for floors ('on the second floor'), and 'at' for addresses in some contexts ('at 45 Main Street').
• Incorrect plural forms or uncountable use — check if a term is countable (e.g., 'houses') or uncountable (e.g., 'furniture').

When in doubt, check the noun type (countable/uncountable) and typical collocations.