Enskubók

1. Overview

2. Immediate family

Child has an irregular plural: children, not childs. The word siblings is useful when we do not want to specify the gender of the brothers and sisters.

3. Extended family

In English, cousin is used for both primo and prima. Do not use cousin brother or cousin sister.

• Laura is my aunt. Her son Daniel is my cousin.
• My brother has a daughter, so I have a niece.
• My sister has two sons, so I have two nephews.

4. In-laws and blended families

Add -in-law to talk about our partner’s family or the partners of our siblings and children.

Use step- to talk about a blended family:

• stepmother / stepfather — madrastra / padrastro
• stepsister / stepbrother — hermanastra / hermanastro
• stepdaughter / stepson — hijastra / hijastro

To show that two siblings share only one parent, use half-sister and half-brother.

• Ben is my stepbrother. Our parents are married, but we aren’t biologically related.
• Mia is my half-sister. We have the same mother but different fathers.

5. Marital status and family stages

Compare get married and be married:

• They got married in 2022. — They got married in 2022.
• They are married. — They are married.

To name the other person, use married to, not married with:

• Alex is married to Sam.

6. Describing family relationships

• I get on well with my older sister.
• Leo looks like his father, but he takes after his mother.
• My grandparents brought up four children.
• We live in different countries, but we keep in touch.

Older and younger can be used to compare ages within a family:

• my older brother — mi hermano mayor
• my younger sister — mi hermana menor
• I’m the eldest of three children. — Soy el mayor de tres hermanos.
• She’s the youngest in the family. — Es la más pequeña de la familia.

7. Types of family

• immediate family — familia cercana: padres, hijos y hermanos
• extended family — familia extensa: abuelos, tíos, primos, etc.
• single-parent family — familia monoparental
• blended family — familia reconstituida
• only child — hijo o hija única
• twins — gemelos o mellizos

Avoid assuming that all families have the same structure. Parent, partner, sibling and relative are useful words for talking about people accurately without giving unnecessary information.

8. Common errors

1. I have two childs. → I have two children.
2. She is my cousin sister. → She is my cousin.
3. I’m married with Daniel. → I’m married to Daniel.
4. My fathers live nearby. → My parents live nearby.
5. I have one brother and one sister. → You can also say: I have two siblings.
6. He is my big brother. → To talk about age, it is more natural to say: He is my older brother.

9. Exercises

1. Can you find every member of the family?

Show solution

1. Grandfather → in the attic, reading a book
2. Father → in the bedroom, holding a cup
3. Brother → on the top bunk bed, reading
4. Baby → on the lower bunk bed with a teddy bear
5. Sister → in the pink bedroom, in front of the mirror
6. Mother → in the bath
7. Grandmother → by the fireplace, reading the newspaper
8. Uncle → in the dining room, serving food
9. Aunt → in the kitchen, cooking
10. Cousins → one by the front door and one at the desk with the laptop

2. The troll family dinner

Show text

This troll family is having a very noisy dinner together.

At the back of the table, the grandfather is standing on the left. He has a long white beard and is holding a metal mug.

Next to him is the grandmother. She has grey hair and is laughing.

In the middle, the father is cutting the roast. He is big, strong and very serious.

Beside him, the mother is serving food from a bowl. She has red hair and is smiling.

On the right, the uncle is pointing across the table and shouting about something. He looks very excited.

Next to him, the aunt is laughing loudly and pouring a drink.

Now look at the younger trolls.

On the left side of the table, the older daughter is reaching across the food. She has long red hair.

In front of her, one of the children looks bored and is resting his head on his hand.

At the front of the table, a little girl is eating with her hands and making a terrible mess.

On the right, another young troll is sitting on a stool and holding a huge piece of bread.

Everyone is talking, eating, laughing or arguing at the same time.

It is definitely not a quiet family dinner.

Answer the questions

1. Who is holding a metal mug?
2. Who is laughing next to the grandfather?
3. Who is cutting the roast?
4. What is the mother doing?
5. Who is pointing across the table?
6. Which child looks bored?
7. What is the little girl at the front doing?
8. Who is sitting on a stool with a large piece of bread?

Show answers

1. The grandfather.
2. The grandmother.
3. The father.
4. She is serving food from a bowl.
5. The uncle.
6. The child on the left, resting his head on his hand.
7. She is eating with her hands and making a mess.
8. A young troll on the right.