Problems and Repairs at Home
Learn 20 A2 English words for household problems and repairs - leak, blocked, plumber, power cut, out of order - with a story and a quiz.
Nothing pushes you into real English faster than something breaking. This lesson gives you the words to describe the problem, name the person who can solve it, and ask for it to be fixed – politely at first and then less politely. It also teaches the structure English uses for work you pay somebody else to do: I had the tap replaced. Then read about the week when everything in my flat broke at once.
20 words to learn
The 20 words
/breɪk ˈdaʊn/
To stop working. Used for machines, cars and boilers. Past: broke down.
The washing machine will break down the week before an exam.
/aʊt əv ˈɔːdə(r)/
Not working. Used for public machines: lifts, ticket machines.
The lift has been out of order for a fortnight.
/liːk/
A hole that lets water or gas escape. Also a verb.
There is a leak under the sink.
/blɒkt/
Full of something so nothing can pass through.
The pipe was completely blocked.
/drɪp/
To fall in small drops, slowly and repeatedly.
The tap has started to drip again.
/fɪks/
To make something work again. Informal and very common.
Can you fix it, or do we need a new one?
/rɪˈpeə(r)/
Work done to mend something. Also a verb, more formal than fix.
I asked for the repair in writing.
/ˈplʌmə(r)/
The person who mends pipes, taps and toilets. The b is silent.
The plumber came on Friday.
/ɪˌlekˈtrɪʃn/
The person who works with electricity and wiring.
Do not touch it – call an electrician.
/swɪtʃ/
The small thing you press to turn power on or off. Also a verb.
He moved one switch and it all worked.
/ˈsɒkɪt/
The hole in the wall where you plug things in. Americans say outlet.
Every socket in the bedroom was dead.
/ˈpaʊə(r) kʌt/
A time when the electricity stops for a whole area. Americans say power outage.
There was a power cut in the whole street.
/tæp/
You turn it to get water. Americans say faucet.
The kitchen tap would not stop dripping.
/paɪp/
The tube that carries water or gas.
The pipe under the shower was blocked.
/dæmp/
Slightly wet, in a way that causes damage and smells.
The wall behind the sink was damp.
/kræk/
A thin line where something has broken but not separated.
There is a crack running up the wall.
/rɪˈpleɪs/
To put a new one in place of the old one.
In the end he agreed to replace the tap.
/speə(r)/
Extra, kept in case you need it.
Give a spare key to somebody you trust.
/kəmˈpleɪn/
To say that you are not happy about something.
I did not complain – he had been helpful.
/ˈɜːdʒənt/
Needs attention immediately.
He only answered messages containing the word urgent.
Now read the story
Story · all 20 words
The Week Everything Broke
In the last week of January every single thing in our flat decided to break down at once, and I have never been more grateful for a family group chat with a builder in it.
It began with the kitchen tap, which developed a small drip. Not a problem, I thought. Three days later that sound at two in the morning had become the most important thing in my entire life.
On Wednesday the shower stopped draining. The pipe underneath was completely blocked, and after an hour with a wire coat hanger I accepted defeat and called a plumber. He arrived on Friday, found a leak under the sink that I had never noticed, and told me the wall behind it was damp and had been for months. He also pointed at a thin crack running up from the floor and said, very cheerfully, that it was nothing at all to worry about.
On Saturday there was a power cut in the whole street. That one was not our fault, and for two hours the building was quieter than it had been in years. Then the electricity came back and only half of our flat came back with it: every socket in the bedroom was dead.
The electrician came on Monday. He looked at the fuse box for approximately nine seconds, moved one switch, and charged me for a full hour. I did not complain, because he also told me – for nothing – that the oven had been wired wrongly since before we moved in, which explained why it had never once reached the temperature it claimed.
By that stage the landlord had stopped replying to any message that did not contain the word urgent, so I learned to use it. I also learned to ask for a repair in writing with a date on it, because a phone call disappears and a message does not.
He eventually agreed to replace the tap rather than fix it, which took eleven days and a second plumber. The lift was out of order for that entire fortnight as well, which by then felt personal.
The only intelligent thing I did all month happened on the first day. I had a spare key cut and gave it to the woman on the floor below. On the Friday I was at work when the plumber came, so she let him in, made him tea, and stood behind him for two hours while he worked. I am reasonably certain she is the only reason the job was done properly.
The structure you need for this whole topic. When somebody else does the work and you pay for it, English uses have something done:
I had the tap replaced. (a plumber did it, not me)
We had the flat painted last year.
I need to get my laptop repaired. (get is the informal version)
Compare: I repaired the tap means you did it yourself with your own hands. The word order matters – it is have + the thing + the past participle, never have replaced the tap.
Fix, repair or mend? Fix is the everyday word and works for almost everything. Repair is slightly more formal and is what you write to a landlord. Mend is British and used for clothes and small things: mend a shirt.
Break down or just break? Break down is only for machines with an engine or a motor – cars, washing machines, boilers, lifts. A cup does not break down; it just breaks. And out of order is used for public machines, not for your own things: you would see it on a sign on a lift, but you would not say my kettle is out of order at home.
Silent letters: the b in plumber is silent – PLUM-er. Same silent b in climb, comb, thumb and debt.
British and American: tap / faucet · power cut / power outage · socket / outlet.
What goes wrong: break down, leak, drip, blocked, damp, crack, power cut, out of order.
Where: tap, pipe, socket, switch.
Who helps: plumber, electrician.
What you do: fix, repair, replace, complain, keep a spare, say it is urgent.
Write the message you would send a landlord about a leaking tap. Use urgent, ask for a repair, and finish with Could you let me know when it can be fixed?
Now practise with the questions below.
Check your understanding
Answer the questions below. You will see instantly if you are right.
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