👨‍👩‍👧‍👦Family & Relationships

La familia y las relaciones

⏱ 45-60 min

What you'll learn

  • ✓ Describe family members and their physical appearance
  • ✓ Talk about personality traits using ser + adjective
  • ✓ Express relationships and feelings about family
  • ✓ Use possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su) accurately
  • ✓ Form questions about someone's family

Grammar Focus

Essential grammar for this topic with exam tips and links to full explanations.

Possessive adjectives

Use these to say "my", "your", "his/her" etc. They must agree with the noun they describe, NOT the owner.

Examples:

mi hermano / mis hermanos
my brother / my brothers
tu madre / tus padres
your mother / your parents
su familia
his/her/your(formal) family
nuestro padre / nuestra madre
our father / our mother
⚠️Exam tip: Common mistake: "mi hermanos" ❌ → "mis hermanos" ✓ The possessive must match singular/plural!
Learn more about Possessive Adjectives →

Ser vs Estar for descriptions

Use SER for permanent characteristics (personality, physical features). Use ESTAR for temporary states or conditions.

Examples:

Mi hermana es alta y simpática
My sister is tall and nice (permanent)
Mi madre está cansada hoy
My mother is tired today (temporary)
Mis abuelos son muy generosos
My grandparents are very generous
⚠️Exam tip: Use SER for appearance and personality, and ESTAR for moods and how someone is today.
Learn more about Ser Vs Estar →

Adjective agreement

Adjectives must agree in gender AND number with the noun they describe.

Examples:

Mi padre es alto
My father is tall
Mi madre es alta
My mother is tall
Mis hermanos son altos
My brothers are tall
Mis hermanas son altas
My sisters are tall
⚠️Exam tip: Watch out for adjectives ending in -e (amable, inteligente) - they don't change for gender, only number!
Learn more about Noun Adjective Agreement →

Reflexive verbs for relationships

Many relationship verbs are reflexive in Spanish.

Examples:

Me llevo bien con mi hermano
I get on well with my brother
Mis padres se quieren mucho
My parents love each other a lot
A veces nos peleamos
Sometimes we argue
⚠️Exam tip: Llevarse bien/mal con is the key phrase for talking about relationships - learn it with con.
Learn more about Reflexive Verbs →

Using tener for age and features

Spanish uses "tener" (to have) where English uses "to be" for age and some physical descriptions.

Examples:

Mi hermana tiene quince años
My sister is fifteen years old
Tiene el pelo largo y rubio
She has long blonde hair
Tiene los ojos azules
She has blue eyes
⚠️Exam tip: Never say "es quince años" ❌ - always use "tiene"!
Learn more about Tener Hacer Dar Expressions →

Comparative structures

Use comparatives to compare family members or friends.

Examples:

Mi hermano es más alto que yo
My brother is taller than me
Mi madre es menos estricta que mi padre
My mum is less strict than my dad
Mi mejor amigo es tan gracioso como yo
My best friend is as funny as me
⚠️Exam tip: Comparisons are a quick way to develop a description: Mi hermano es más alto que yo.
Learn more about Comparisons →

🔗 Key Verbs for this Topic

serestartenerllamarsellevarsequereramarodiarpelearseayudarapoyarconfiar

Quick Reference

Adjective Agreement

Adjectives must match the gender and number of the noun they describe. Most adjectives ending in -o change to -a for feminine.

Mi hermano es altoMy brother is tall
Mi hermana es altaMy sister is tall
Mis padres son simpáticosMy parents are friendly

Possessive Adjectives

Possessives agree with the thing owned, not the owner: mi/mis, tu/tus, su/sus, nuestro/a/os/as.

Mi madre es profesoraMy mother is a teacher
Mis hermanos son jóvenesMy siblings are young

Verb Conjugation Tables

serto be (permanent) - Present
yosoy
túeres
él/ellaes
nosotrossomos
vosotrossois
ellos/ellasson
tenerto have - Present
yotengo
tútienes
él/ellatiene
nosotrostenemos
vosotrostenéis
ellos/ellastienen
llamarseto be called - Present
yome llamo
túte llamas
él/ellase llama
nosotrosnos llamamos
vosotrosos llamáis
ellos/ellasse llaman