LinguaThe people you talk about most
Family words come in pairs: a masculine form in -o and a feminine in -a. The masculine plural covers a mixed group: los padres are the parents (father and mother), los hermanos the brothers and sisters, los abuelos the grandparents, los hijos the children.
| He | She | Both together | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| el padre | la madre | los padres | father, mother, parents |
| el hermano | la hermana | los hermanos | brother, sister, siblings |
| el abuelo | la abuela | los abuelos | grandfather, grandmother, grandparents |
| el hijo | la hija | los hijos | son, daughter, children |
| el tío | la tía | los tíos | uncle, aunt |
| el primo | la prima | los primos | cousin |
Mi, tu, su: the short possessives
Mi, tu and su go before the noun and agree only in NUMBER, not gender: mi hermano, mi hermana, mis hermanos. Nuestro and vuestro agree in both: nuestro padre, nuestra madre, nuestros hijos. Notice the tilde: tu (your) has none, tú (you) does.
| Owner | One thing | Several things |
|---|---|---|
| yo | mi | mis |
| tú | tu | tus |
| él, ella, usted | su | sus |
| nosotros | nuestro, nuestra | nuestros, nuestras |
| vosotros | vuestro, vuestra | vuestros, vuestras |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | su | sus |
Su is ambiguous, de is not
Su casa can be his, her, their or your (formal) house. When it matters, Spanish says it with de: la casa de Ana, el coche de mis padres. De is also how Spanish says the English apostrophe: there is no "Ana's", only "the house of Ana".
Mi hermana y yo vivimos con nuestros padres.My sister and I live with our parents.
Los hijos de Ana son mis primos.Ana's children are my cousins.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| el padre | father | Mi padre trabaja en un banco. My father works in a bank. |
| la madre | mother | Mi madre es médica. My mother is a doctor. |
| los padres | parents | Mis padres viven en Sevilla. My parents live in Seville. |
| el hermano | brother | Tengo un hermano mayor. I have an older brother. |
| la hermana | sister | Mi hermana tiene diez años. My sister is ten years old. |
| los abuelos | grandparents | Mis abuelos son de Galicia. My grandparents are from Galicia. |
| el tío | uncle | Mi tío vive en Argentina. My uncle lives in Argentina. |
| la prima | cousin (female) | Mi prima estudia en Madrid. My cousin studies in Madrid. |
| la hija | daughter | Su hija se llama Lucía. Her daughter is called Lucía. |
| mi | my | Mi casa está cerca. My house is nearby. |
| tu | your (informal) | ¿Tu madre es profesora? Is your mother a teacher? |
| nuestro | our | Nuestro coche es rojo. Our car is red. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which word means the parents, father and mother together?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.