Family Events (Birth & Death)

This lesson covers common vocabulary used to talk about births and deaths in English. You'll learn nouns, verbs and set expressions often used in personal, social and professional contexts (e.g., announcements, condolence messages, HR communications).

• Focus on precise words (e.g., birth, funeral, obituary, bereavement).
• Learn formal vs. informal expressions and common collocations.
• Practice choosing the right term in professional contexts.

Choose words based on tone (formal/informal) and context:

• Use formal words in business or announcements: 'obituary', 'bereavement', 'funeral'.
• Use simpler terms in conversation: 'had a baby', 'lost a parent'.
• Pair nouns with common collocations: 'maternity leave', 'pay condolences', 'deliver a eulogy'.

When in doubt, prefer more neutral/formal language in professional messages.

Watch out for these universal errors when using birth/death vocabulary:

• Using informal phrases in formal announcements (e.g., 'they had a baby' instead of 'the couple welcomed a child' in an official memo).
• Confusing words with similar meaning: 'funeral' (service) vs. 'wake' (gathering) vs. 'memorial' (remembrance).
• Wrong prepositions: say 'died on Monday' (not 'in Monday').
• Incorrect collocations: say 'offer condolences' (not 'make condolences').
• Tense errors: use past tense for completed events (e.g., 'She gave birth last week', not 'She gives birth last week').

Focus on collocations and correct prepositions; these errors are common across languages.