Talk About Your Family in Spanish
Vocabulary
Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!
Family Terms
Gender and Plurality Tip
- Masculine plural nouns are used to talk about groups containing men.
- Feminine plural nouns are used to talk about groups containing women.
- Masculine plural nouns are used to talk about groups containing both men and women.
Pets
For many people, pets are family members too! Check out these words for common pets (mascotas).
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Verbs
In these lessons, you learn how to use the verbs tener(to have) and ser(to be) to talk about your family. Let's take a look at the conjugations of these verbs in the present!
In Spanish, there are five ways to say you, and they vary according to the number of people being addressed, how well the people involved know each other, and what country the people are in or are from. In these lessons, you only use tú, usted, and ustedes, but you can learn more about you in Spanish here!
Ser
Seris an irregular verb that means to be.
| Pronoun(s) | Conjugation | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | soy | I am | |
| tú | eres | you are | informal singular you |
| vos | sos | you are | informal singular you (in parts of Latin America) |
| él, ella | es | he, she is | |
| usted | es | you are | formal singular you |
| nosotros, nosotras | somos | we are | |
| vosotros, vosotras | sois | you are | informal plural you (in Spain) |
| ellos, ellas | son | they are | |
| ustedes | son | you are | plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain) |
Tener
Teneris a stem-changing verb with an irregular yo form.
| Pronoun(s) | Conjugation | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | tengo | I have | |
| tú | tienes | you have | informal singular you |
| vos | tenés | you have | informal singular you (in parts of Latin America) |
| él, ella | tiene | he, she has | |
| usted | tiene | you have | formal singular you |
| nosotros, nosotras | tenemos | we have | |
| vosotros, vosotras | tenéis | you have | informal plural you (in Spain) |
| ellos, ellas | tienen | they have | |
| ustedes | tienen | you have | plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain) |
Conjugation Tip
- The present yo form of tener has a g in it: tengo
- The present tú, él, ella, usted, and ustedes forms of tener have an i in them: tienes, tiene, tienen
- The present vos, nosotros/nosotras, and vosotros/vosotras forms of tener do not have a g or an i in them: tenés, tenemos, tenéis
Numbers from One to Five
You learned the numbers from one to five in Spanish in these lessons.
Singular Indefinite Articles
You also learned two singular indefinite articles.
The Difference between Un, Una, and Uno
- Un is a singular indefinite article used before a singular masculine noun.
- Una is a singular indefinite article used before a singular feminine noun.
- Uno is a number meaning one that is used when counting.
- Uno is a number that can be used to answer a question referring to a singular masculine noun.
- Tricky Tricky! Una is used instead of uno to answer a question referring to a singular feminine noun.
Let's compare:
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Subject Pronouns
You learn five new subject pronouns in these lessons. Let's check them out!
Tú vs. Usted
Tú and usted are both used to directly address a single person in Spanish. Check out the table below for an explanation of how these two words, which both translate as you, differ.
| Form | Used With | Example |
|---|---|---|
| tú (informal second person singular) | a person who is the same age as you or younger | ¿Tienes hermanos, Marco? (Do you have brothers, Marco?) |
| usted (formal second person singular) | a person who is older than you or to whom you want to show respect | ¿Es usted abuela? (Are you a grandmother?) |
Check out the following examples, paying attention to the relationship between the speaker and listener.
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- In the first two examples, the speaker appears to be older than the listener, so he/she uses the tu form of the verb tener.
- In the second example, the speaker appears to be younger than the listener, so he/she uses the usted form of the verb tener.
Possessive Adjectives
You learn two possessive adjectives in these lessons.
Question Words
Finally, you learn two very useful question words:
Gender and Plurality Tip
The question word cuánto has to match the gender and plurality of the noun it refers to. Take a look!
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Cuántos hijos tienes? | How many children do you have? |
| ¿Cuántas hijas tienes? | How many daughters do you have? |
The question word quién has to match the plurality of the noun it refers to. Take a look!
Pronunciation of H and J in Spanish
H at the Beginning of a Word
The letter h is almost always silent at the beginning of a word in Spanish. That's right, in the following words, you do not pronounce the h!
Pronunciation of J in Spanish
In Latin America and southern Spain, the letter j is pronounced like the English h in the word ham.
In central and northern Spain, the pronunciation of j is similar, but stronger and more vibrant. It is pronounced like the ch in the Scottish pronunciation of the word loch or the German word nacht.
Listen to the pronunciation of the letter j in the following words, and remember that the h is silent.
The stressed syllable, the syllable that gets the most oomph, is written in capital letters in the tables above.
Quiz Yourself!
Want more practice with the vocabulary you learned in these lessons? Click here!
Spanish Conversation
Fantastic! Let's put the grammar and vocab from above to the test in the following example of a conversation in Spanish.
Want to learn more about how to talk about family in Spanish? Check out the following articles!
