0.2.3 Family & Friends Flashcards
Basic nuclear family terms; possessive pronouns | names & last names
Translate to Spanish:
a family
una familia
“family” = la familia
Translate to Spanish:
my family
mi familia
“my” = mi
_Possessive Pronouns_
- my - mi
- your - tu
- his / her / your - su
- our - nuestro
- your - vuestro
- their - su
Note that we use the same possessive pronoun (su) for “his” and “their”, no matter the gender of the subject or object.
However, also note the possessive pronouns do change if the quantity of the object is different. (e.g. “My two families” = mis dos familias.)
Translate to Spanish:
my friend
mi amigo / mi compañero
Translate to Spanish:
my girlfriend
mi novia
Translate to Spanish:
my boyfriend
mi novio
Translate to Spanish:
your family
tu familia
“your” (singular/formal) = tu.
Note that the possessive pronoun tu does not have an accent mark, whereas the regular personal pronoun tú (you) does.
_Possessive Pronouns_
- my - mi
- your - tu
- his / her / your - su
- our - nuestro
- your - vuestro
- their - su
Translate to Spanish:
my father / my dad
mi padre / mi papá
In Spanish, padre feels about as formal as “father” does in English. Papá is used more colloquially. And sometimes even papi.
Translate to Spanish:
your mother / your mom
tu madre / tu mamá
In Spanish, madre feels about as formal as “mother” does in English. Mamá is used more colloquially. And sometimes even mami.
Translate to Spanish:
my parents
mis padres / mis papás
As with other collective Spanish nouns describing people of two different genders, we choose the masculine version to describe them together as “parents”. Padres is much more formal sounding than the more colloquial papás.
Also note that the possessive prounoun mi changes to mis when referring to more than one object.
_Possessive Pronouns_
- my - mi
- your - tu
- his / her / your - su
- our - nuestro
- your - vuestro
- their - su
Translate to Spanish:
José’s family is very big.
La familia de José es muy grande.
“[José]’s” - de [José]
There are no apostrophes in Spanish. To show possession, just use de (as if we were saying “The family of José …”).
Translate to Spanish:
Is his family big?
¿Es grande su familia?
“his / her / your (formal)” = su
Remember that this is the same posessive pronoun no matter what the gender of the subject or object. Possessive pronouns only need to agree in quantity. (e.g. His cars - sus carros.)
In this case, we’re using the third-person singular version of su, since we’re just talking about one person and their one family.
_Possessive Pronouns_
- my - mi
- your - tu
- his / her / your - su
- our - nuestro
- your - vuestro
- their - su
Translate to Spanish:
His parents are from Venezuela.
Sus papás son de Venezuela.
“His (plural)” = sus
Always remember to make this possessive pronoun plural (su –> sus) when referring to more than one person or object.
Also remember to accentuate the second “á” in papás, since papas (without an accent) are potatoes :)
_Possessive Pronouns_
- my - mi
- your - tu
- his / her / your - su
- our - nuestro
- your - vuestro
- their - su
Translate to Spanish:
Who are your parents?
¿Quienes son tus papás?
“your (informal/plural)” = tus
_Possessive Pronouns_
- my - mi
- your - tu
- his / her / your - su
- our - nuestro
- your - vuestro
- their - su
Translate to Spanish:
Our mom is from Argentina.
Nuestra mamá es de Argentina.
“our” = nuestro
Translate to Spanish:
Are your parents American?
speaking to many people (vosotros)
¿Son estadounidenses vuestros papás?
“your (informal/plural)” = vuestro.
Note that vuestro becomes vuestros to match the plural papás.
Translate to Spanish:
Is this your brother, sir?
¿Es su hermano, señor?
“brother” = el hermano.
Note that we used the possessive pronoun su instead of tu, since we were addressing someone respectfully (whom we would have called Usted instead of tú).
Translate to Spanish:
Her sister is good-looking.
Su hermana es guapa.
“sister” = la hermana
Translate to Spanish:
We’re siblings.
Somos hermanos.
“siblings” = los hermanos
Again, we use the masculine term (“brothers”) even though the people we’re referring to might be of mixed genders.
Translate to Spanish:
Who is his wife?
¿Quién es su esposa?
“wife” = la esposa, la mujer.
Yes, it sounds a bit sexist to our English ears to call someone “his woman”, but the phrase su mujer is quite common in Spanish.
Translate to Spanish:
Her husband is from Spain.
Su marido es de España.
“husband” = el marido, el esposo
It’s more common to say mi marido than mi esposo, since mi esposo (literally “my spouse”) feels quite formal.
Fun fact: Las esposas is also the word for “handcuffs” :)
Translate to Spanish:
He’s Sherri’s son.
Él es el hijo de Sherri.
“son” = el hijo
Translate to Spanish:
Are you Pat’s daughter?
¿Eres la hija de Pat?
“daughter” = la hija
Translate to Spanish:
my kids
mis hijos
“kids/children (offspring)” = los hijos
While this could mean just “sons” as well, remember that we use the masculine plural whenever the group is a mixed gender, so this could also translate to “sons & daughters” (or simply “kids” in English).
Translate to Spanish:
I love you, buddy.
Te quiero, amigo.
The phrase te quiero, while it could be used between romantic partners, is more casual and is often used between friends and extended family members.
Translate to Spanish:
I love you.
Te amo.
The phrase te amo is a romantic phrase typically reserved for people who are in love.
Translate to Spanish:
My first name is Sam. My last name is Jones.
Mi nombre es Sam. Mi apellido es Jones.
“name” = el nombre
“last name” = el apellido
While you still typically ask someone’s name by asking ¿Cómo te llamas? (“How do you call yourself?”), the technical word for a first name is el nombre.
You might see the words nombre and apellido on a government immigration form, for example.
