Family plans
Planes familiares
- Talk about plans and ambitions for the future
- Talk about your relationships and family plans
- The gerund, the three conjugations
Explore family future plans in Spanish using the gerund form. Learn key words like "pensando" (thinking), "viviendo" (living), and "organizando" (organizing) to talk about family and future together.
Listening & reading materials
Practice vocabulary in context with real materials.
A2.32.2 Cultura
La importancia de la familia en la cultura española
The importance of family in Spanish culture
Vocabulary (24) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
Formar una familia
To start a family
2
Tener un hijo
To have a child
3
El hijo único
The only child
4
El adulto
The adult
5
El adolescente
The teenager
Ejercicio 2: Conversation exercise
Instrucción:
- What is the next big step (your partner and) you want to take? (What is the next big step (your partner and) you want to take?)
- Would you like to start a family? (Would you like to start a family?)
- Would you like to have pets? Why or why not? (Would you like to have pets? Why or why not?)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
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Mi pareja y yo nos casamos en junio. My partner and I are getting married in June. |
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No tengo pareja, pero mi mejor amigo y yo nos acabamos de mudar juntos. I don't have a partner but my best friend and I just moved in together. |
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Me gustaría formar una familia pronto. Me encantaría tener 3 hijos. I would like to start a family soon. I would love to have 3 children. |
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No quiero tener hijos en el futuro. Mi pareja y yo somos muy felices sin ellos. I don't want to have children in the future. My partner and I are very happy without them. |
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Me gustaría tener un perro y dos gatos más adelante. Crecí con mascotas y me gustaría lo mismo para mis hijos. I would like to have a dog and two cats later. I grew up with pets and I would like the same for my children. |
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Una mascota supone mucha responsabilidad y con nuestro trabajo y dos hijos no tenemos suficiente tiempo para cuidar de una mascota. A pet is a lot of responsibility and with our work and two children we do not have enough time to care for a pet. |
| ... |
Exercise 3: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 4: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Si tuviera la oportunidad, _____ una familia con mucho amor.
(If I had the opportunity, _____ a family with a lot of love.)2. Me gustaría _____ un trabajo estable antes de tener hijos.
(I would like to _____ a stable job before having children.)3. Estamos _____ juntos desde hace un año y esperamos casarnos pronto.
(We are _____ together for a year and we hope to get married soon.)4. Si tuviera tiempo, debería _____ a cuidar a los gemelos más a menudo.
(If I had time, I should _____ to take care of the twins more often.)Exercise 5: Family plans for the future
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Soñar - To dream
Condicional simple
- yo soñaría
- tú soñarías
- él/ella/Ud. soñaría
- nosotros/as soñaríamos
- vosotros/as soñaríais
- ellos/ellas/Uds. soñarían
Buscar - To look for
Condicional simple
- yo buscaría
- tú buscarías
- él/ella/Ud. buscaría
- nosotros/as buscaríamos
- vosotros/as buscaríais
- ellos/ellas/Uds. buscarían
Gustar - To like
Condicional simple
- (a mí) me gustaría
- (a ti) te gustaría
- (a él/ella/Ud.) le gustaría
- (a nosotros/as) nos gustaría
- (a vosotros/as) os gustaría
- (a ellos/ellas/Uds.) les gustaría
Vivir - To live
Condicional simple
- yo viviría
- tú vivirías
- él/ella/Ud. viviría
- nosotros/as viviríamos
- vosotros/as viviríais
- ellos/ellas/Uds. vivirían
Crear - To create
Condicional simple
- yo crearía
- tú crearías
- él/ella/Ud. crearía
- nosotros/as crearíamos
- vosotros/as crearíais
- ellos/ellas/Uds. crearían
Exercise 6: El gerundio, las tres conjugaciones
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The gerund, the three conjugations
Show translation Show answersEstaban cabiendo, Estaba deseando, Estaba casándome, Estaba muriendo, Estaban divorciándose, Estaban formando, Estaba creando, Estaba viviendo
Grammar Share Copied!
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Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
Soñar to dream Share Copied!
Condicional simple
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) soñaría | I would dream |
| (tú) soñarías | You would dream |
| (él/ella) soñaría | He/she would dream |
| (nosotros/nosotras) soñaríamos | we would dream |
| (vosotros/vosotras) soñaríais | you would dream |
| (ellos/ellas) soñarían | they would dream |
Vivir to live Share Copied!
Condicional simple
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) viviría | I would live |
| (tú) vivirías | You would live |
| (él/ella) viviría | he/she would live |
| (nosotros/nosotras) viviríamos | we would live |
| (vosotros/vosotras) viviríais | You would live |
| (ellos/ellas) vivirían | they would live |
Gustar to like Share Copied!
Condicional simple
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) gustaría | I would like |
| (tú) gustarías | You would like |
| (él/ella) gustaría | He/She would like |
| (nosotros/nosotras) gustaríamos | we would like |
| (vosotros/vosotras) gustaríais | you would like |
| (ellos/ellas) gustarían | they would like |
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Family Plans and Future Together
This lesson explores the theme of family life and future planning, focusing on important aspects of Spanish culture where family plays a central role. Through this module, you will learn how to discuss your family plans and ambitions using the gerund form and the conditional tense, essential for expressing ongoing actions and hypothetical situations.
The Role of Family in Spanish Culture
Family is highly valued in Spain, often connected with strong emotional bonds and shared responsibilities. Understanding vocabulary related to this context will help you communicate naturally about your personal life and future aspirations.
Grammar Focus: The Gerund and Three Conjugations
The lesson emphasizes the use of the gerundio (gerund) to describe ongoing activities, as well as the conditional tense to speak about possibilities or plans. The three conjugation groups (-ar, -er, -ir) are covered with examples to reinforce your understanding.
Useful Vocabulary and Expressions
- Planes familiares – family plans
- Formar una familia – to start a family
- Viviendo juntos – living together
- Esperando tener hijos – hoping to have children
- Organizar – to organize or plan
- Crear un ambiente – to create an environment
Examples Highlighting Key Grammar
These examples showcase the gerund and conditional tense usage:
- Estoy pensando en mudarme con mi pareja (I am thinking about moving in with my partner) — gerund indicating ongoing action.
- Si tuviera la oportunidad, formaría una familia con mucho amor (If I had the chance, I would start a family with lots of love) — conditional expressing hypothetical situation.
Dialogue Practice Contexts
You will find role-play scenarios including:
- Talking about future family plans in a café
- Discussing ambitions and how you are achieving them
- Consulting with a doctor about family health and pregnancy care
Special Note on Linguistic Differences
Since both the instruction language and the language being learned differ, translations and cultural explanations are added for clarity. Spanish often uses the gerund to express ongoing actions, similar to English but frequently in more contexts (e.g., "Estamos viviendo juntos"), whereas English may prefer simple present continuous or other forms. Conditional sentences in Spanish use forms like formaría to express hypothetical actions, often matching English "would" constructions.
Some handy Spanish phrases and their English equivalents include:
- Estoy pensando en... — I am thinking about...
- Estamos organizando... — We are organizing/planning...
- Si tuviera tiempo... — If I had time...
- Me gustaría... — I would like...
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