A1.5: Family

Familia

Explore Spanish family vocabulary and practice possessive adjectives like mi, tu, su, nuestro in everyday dialogues about padres, hermanos, hijos, and abuelos to describe your family relationships clearly.

Listening & reading materials

Practice vocabulary in context with real materials.

Vocabulary (18)

 La familia: The family (Spanish)

La familia

Show

The family Show

 La madre: The mother (Spanish)

La madre

Show

The mother Show

 El padre: The father (Spanish)

El padre

Show

The father Show

 El hijo: The son (Spanish)

El hijo

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The son Show

 El hermano: The brother (Spanish)

El hermano

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The brother Show

 El abuelo: The grandfather (Spanish)

El abuelo

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The grandfather Show

 El tío: The uncle (Spanish)

El tío

Show

The uncle Show

 El primo: The cousin (Spanish)

El primo

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The cousin Show

 La hija: The daughter (Spanish)

La hija

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The daughter Show

 La hermana: The sister (Spanish)

La hermana

Show

The sister Show

 La abuela: The grandmother (Spanish)

La abuela

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The grandmother Show

 La tía: The aunt (Spanish)

La tía

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The aunt Show

 La prima: The cousin (Spanish)

La prima

Show

The cousin Show

 El amigo: The friend (Spanish)

El amigo

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The friend Show

 El novio: The fiancé (Spanish)

El novio

Show

The fiancé Show

 El marido: The husband (Spanish)

El marido

Show

The husband Show

 La mujer: The woman (Spanish)

La mujer

Show

The woman Show

 Soltero: single (Spanish)

Soltero

Show

Single Show

Exercises

These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.

Exercise 1: Reorder sentences

Instruction: Make correct sentences and translate.

Show answers
1.
familia? | tu | ¿Cuántos | en | hermanos | tienes
¿Cuántos hermanos tienes en tu familia?
(How many siblings do you have in your family?)
2.
nosotros. | es muy | vive con | simpático y | Mi abuelo
Mi abuelo es muy simpático y vive con nosotros.
(My grandfather is very nice and lives with us.)
3.
tío, verdad? | ¿Tu padre | es amigo | de mi
¿Tu padre es amigo de mi tío, verdad?
(Your father is a friend of my uncle, right?)
4.
domingos. | cocina para | toda la | Nuestra madre | familia los
Nuestra madre cocina para toda la familia los domingos.
(Our mother cooks for the whole family on Sundays.)
5.
Madrid. | en una | es soltera | Su prima | y trabaja | oficina en
Su prima es soltera y trabaja en una oficina en Madrid.
(His cousin is single and works in an office in Madrid.)
6.
sus hijos. | él y | tu marido? | ¿Cómo es | Cuéntame sobre
¿Cómo es tu marido? Cuéntame sobre él y sus hijos.
(What is your husband like? Tell me about him and his children.)

Exercise 2: Match a word

Instruction: Match the translations

Mi hermano vive con su familia en Madrid. (My brother lives with his family in Madrid.)
¿Tienes primos en Barcelona o en Sevilla? (Do you have cousins in Barcelona or in Sevilla?)
Su abuela prepara muy bien las paellas. (His grandmother cooks paellas very well.)
Nuestro tío es soltero y trabaja aquí. (Our uncle is single and works here.)

Exercise 3: Cluster the words

Instruction: Classify these words according to whether they refer to members of your immediate family or to other important people in your life.

Familia directa

Otras personas importantes

Exercise 4: Translate and use in a sentence

Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.

1

La hermana


The sister

2

La prima


The cousin

3

El marido


The husband

4

La mujer


The woman

5

El tío


The uncle

Ejercicio 5: Conversation exercise

Instrucción:

  1. Describe the indicated relationships between the family members. (Describe the indicated relationships between the family members.)

Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes

Example phrases:

Juliette es la esposa de Mark.

Juliette is the wife of Mark.

Alexis y Louise son los abuelos de Anna.

Alexis and Louise are the grandparents of Anna.

Marco es el hijo de Birgit y Stephan.

Marco is the son of Birgit and Stephan.

El niño y la niña son hermanos.

The boy and the girl are siblings.

Caitlin es la madre de dos niñas.

Caitlin is the mother of two girls.

La chica tiene dos hermanos.

The girl has two brothers.

...

Exercise 6: Dialogue Cards

Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.

Exercise 7: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct solution

1. ¿Cuántos hermanos ___ en tu familia?

(How many siblings ___ do you have in your family?)

2. Mi padre ___ en una empresa en Madrid.

(My father ___ works at a company in Madrid.)

3. Nosotros ___ a nuestros abuelos los fines de semana.

(We ___ visit our grandparents on weekends.)

4. Ella ___ dos primos y una prima en Sevilla.

(She ___ has two male cousins and one female cousin in Sevilla.)

Exercise 8: My family and a special visit

Instruction:

Hola, soy Ana. (Tener - Presente) una familia grande. Mi marido y yo (Tener - Presente) dos hijos y una hija. El domingo, nosotros (Visitar - Presente) a mis abuelos. Mi abuelo (Tener - Presente) 80 años y mi abuela 78. Mi hermano también (Tener - Presente) una familia pequeña y él (Visitar - Presente) a nuestros padres con frecuencia. ¿Y tú? ¿Cuántos hermanos (Tener - Presente) ? ¿Visitas a tu familia a menudo?


Hello, I am Ana. I have a big family. My husband and I have two sons and a daughter. On Sunday, we visit my grandparents. My grandfather is 80 years old and my grandmother 78. My brother also has a small family and he visits our parents frequently. And you? How many siblings do you have ? Do you visit your family often?

Verb Tables

Tener - Tener

Presente

  • yo tengo
  • tú tienes
  • él/ella/usted tiene
  • nosotros/nosotras tenemos
  • vosotros/vosotras tenéis
  • ellos/ellas/ustedes tienen

Visitar - Visitar

Presente

  • yo visito
  • tú visitas
  • él/ella/usted visita
  • nosotros/nosotras visitamos
  • vosotros/vosotras visitáis
  • ellos/ellas/ustedes visitan

Exercise 9: Los adjetivos posesivos

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Grammar: Possessive adjectives

Show translation Show answers

tu, Nuestros, Mis, Mi, Nuestras, tus, vuestro, Vuestra

1.
¿Cómo se llaman ... hermanos?
(What are your brothers' names?)
2.
¿Cuántos años tiene ... abuela?
(How old is your grandmother?)
3.
¿Dónde vive ... primo?
(Where does your cousin live?)
4.
... familia es muy grande.
(Your family is very large.)
5.
... tías son muy graciosas.
(Our aunts are very funny.)
6.
... padres tienen un perro.
(My parents have a dog.)
7.
... tíos viven en Madrid.
(Our uncles live in Madrid.)
8.
... padre vive en Valencia.
(My father lives in Valencia.)

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A1.5.2 Gramática

Los adjetivos posesivos

Possessive adjectives


Verb conjugation tables for this lesson

Tener to have

Presente

Spanish English
(yo) tengo I have
(tú) tienes You have
(él/ella) tiene he has/she has
(nosotros/nosotras) tenemos we have
(vosotros/vosotras) tenéis you have
(ellos/ellas) tienen they have

Exercises and examples phrases

Visitar to visit

Presente

Spanish English
(yo) visito I visit
(tú) visitas You visit
(él/ella) visita he/she visits
(nosotros/nosotras) visitamos we visit
(vosotros/vosotras) visitáis you visit
(ellos/ellas) visitan they visit

Exercises and examples phrases

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Lesson Overview: Family and Possessive Adjectives

This lesson focuses on vocabulary related to family members and the important grammar topic of possessive adjectives in Spanish. It is designed for A1 beginner learners looking to talk about their families and understand how to describe relationships naturally.

Key Vocabulary: Family Members

  • el padre - father
  • la madre - mother
  • el hermano - brother
  • la hermana - sister
  • el hijo - son
  • la hija - daughter
  • Other important people: el amigo (friend), el novio (boyfriend)

Possessive Adjectives

This lesson explains how to use possessive adjectives in Spanish to express ownership and family relations. These adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they modify, not with the owner. Examples from the lesson include:

  • mi madre - my mother
  • nuestros padres - our parents
  • su familia - his/her/their family

Sample Sentences and Dialogue Highlights

Students practice natural conversations such as:

  • ¿Cuántos hermanos tienes en tu familia? (How many siblings do you have in your family?)
  • Mi abuelo es muy simpático y vive con nosotros. (My grandfather is very nice and lives with us.)
  • Esta es mi madre y este es mi padre. (This is my mother and this is my father.)

Verbs Used Frequently

The lesson also includes useful verbs in the present tense that are essential when speaking about family:

  • tener (to have) - yo tengo, tú tienes, él/ella tiene, nosotros tenemos, vosotros tenéis, ellos tienen
  • visitar (to visit) - yo visito, tú visitas, él/ella visita, nosotros visitamos, vosotros visitáis, ellos visitan
  • trabajar (to work)

Learning Tips

Notice how in Spanish, possessive adjectives must agree with what is being owned, not who owns it. For example, "mi madre" (my mother) but "mis padres" (my parents), plural form to match the plural noun.

Unlike English, Spanish uses gendered nouns and adjectives which is important to keep in mind when using family vocabulary.

Example differences and useful equivalents:

  • Mi = My (before singular noun)
  • Mis = My (before plural noun)
  • Nuestro(a) = Our (singular, with "o" for masculine and "a" for feminine nouns)
  • Nuestros(as) = Our (plural, masculine/feminine)

Common questions to engage in conversation:

  • ¿Tienes hermanos o hermanas? (Do you have brothers or sisters?)
  • ¿Cómo es tu familia? (What is your family like?)

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