Holidays – A2 English Vocabulary
Holidays
In this Pre-intermediate Vocabulary Lesson about Holidays, you will learn essential terms and phrases related to holidays. The pictures, descriptions, and examples below will help you understand and remember the terms.
Nouns
1 A journey is the act of travelling from one place to another on a plane, bus, car, etc.
- The journey to my grandmother’s house took three hours by car.
2 A trip usually implies a short visit where you go somewhere, stay for a while, and then return—for example, a weekend trip to a nearby city. A trip generally includes two journeys (going to the destination and returning).
- We went on a trip to the beach for the weekend and had a great time.
3 A tour is a planned visit to see interesting places.
- We took a tour of the city and saw many famous landmarks.
4 A guide is a person who shows you around and gives information.
- Our guide told us many interesting facts about the ancient ruins.
5 Nightlife is entertainment and activities available at night.
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The city’s nightlife is vibrant, with bars, clubs, and live music venues.
6 A museum is a place where you can see art, history, or science items.
- We went to the museum to see dinosaur bones and ancient artefacts.
7 A historical building is an old building that is important because of its past.
- The old castle is a historical building that is visited by many tourists.
8 A monument is a structure built to remember a person or event.
- The statue in the park is a monument to the famous writer.
Verbs and verb phrases
When people 1 go on holiday (UK) or vacation (US), they usually 2 travel by plane, by car, by train, or by bus. When someone travels to a place, you can also say that they 3 go away, and when someone travels to a different country, they 4 go abroad. When they arrive at their destination, they usually 5 stay in a hotel, in a guesthouse (=a private house that rents rooms), or 6 rent an apartment.
People go on holiday because they want to 7 have a good time (or a great time). People 8 spend time doing the activities that they love; for example, people who love the sun spend time 9 sunbathing on the beach, people who enjoy the nightlife go out in the evenings, and people who love food 10 book (=reserve) tables in restaurants and 11 try the local cuisine.
When we do an activity, we can use the verb 12 go + –ing verb; for example, go sunbathing, go swimming, go diving, go shopping, go fishing, etc. One of the most popular holiday activities is to 13 go or do sightseeing, which is the activity of visiting the most interesting places. If you do sightseeing in a big city, you usually visit museums, and historical buildings and monuments. Tourists also 14 take pictures and 15 buy souvenirs for their family and friends back home.
We can use the expression 16 go + on (a) before nouns related to trips; for example, we can go on a trip, a tour, an excursion, a safari, etc.
After completing the exercises in this lesson on Holidays, you can use the unit’s Vocabulary Flashcards to revise and help you memorize the terms.
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