Unidad 2 – Primera Parte (Part 1)
La familia y los parientes (Family and Relatives)
1. Los miembors de la familia nuclear (Nuclear family members)
Click on the vocabulary list of los miembros de la familia nuclear below to learn what they mean in English.
2. Los miembros de la familia política (Members of the in-law family)
Click on the vocabulary list of los miembros de la familia política below to learn what they mean in English.
3. Otros parientes (Other relatives)
Click on the vocabulary list of otros parientes below to learn what they mean in English.
Cómo usarlo
(How to use it)
Presentar a los miembros de la familia (Introducing family members)
You can introduce los miembros de la familia using el verbo Ser learned in la unidad 1 as it is used for identity.
- Mi mamá es Reya.
- Mi papá es Leonidas.
- Mis padres son Reya y Leonidas.
- Mi hermana mayor es Andrea.
- Mi hermano menor es Eduardo.
- Mi abuela materna es Victoria.
- Mi abuelo materno es Ricardo.
- Mis abuelos maternos son Victoria y Ricardo.
- Mi primo es Luis.
¡ATENCIÓN!
Mi means my in English. In Spanish is used for singular ownership.
Mis means my in English. In Spanish is used for plural ownership.
You can also introduce los miembros de la familia using a verb in Spanish called Llamarse (to be called).
- Mi mamá se llama Reya.
- Mi papá se llama Leonidas.
- Mis padres se llaman Reya y Leonidas.
- Mi hermana mayor se llama Andrea.
- Mi hermano menor se llama Eduardo.
- Mi abuela materna se llama Victoria.
- Mi abuelo materno se llama Ricardo.
- Mis abuelos maternos se llaman Victoria y Ricardo.
- Mi primo se llama Luis.
¡A escuchar! (Let´s listen)
Listen to the video below to watch an example of how to use el vocabulario de la familia in Spanish by sharing información personal (personal information) about them.
¡IMPORTANTE!
- Notice that Eva first introduces su padre with la expresión Este es mi padre (This is my father).
- Este (this) is used to introduce a male family member or a male friend. When you are introducing a female family member or a female friend este changes to esta as in: Esta es mi madre (This is my mother).
- Remember that en la cultura hispanohablante the uses of usted vs. tú refer to formal and informal treatment respectively when we converse with a person. Entonces, we can also introduce a person as follows:
| Addressing a person with formal treatment | Addressing a person with informal treatment | Addressing 2 or more people |
|---|---|---|
| Le presento a mi padre (Let me introduce my father to you-formal) | Te presento a mi padre (Let me introduce my father to you-informal) | Les presento a mi padre (Let me introduce my father to you-all) |
¡Más práctica! (More practice!)
Read and listen to the information below about mi familia.
Audio Player
Mi familia
¡Hola! Yo soy Constanza y yo tengo 50 años.
- Mi mamá se llama Reya. Ella tiene 78 años.
- Mi papá se llama Leonidas. Él tiene 75 años.
- Mi abuela materna se llama Victoria. Ella está muerta.
- Mi abuelo materno se llama René. Él está muerto.
- Mi tío se llama Jaime. Él tiene 67 años.
- Mi tío se llama Marco. Él tiene 73 años.
- Mi primo se llama Damián. Él tiene 39 años.
- Mi prima se llama Lorena. Ella tiene 28 años.
Then, use my description as a model for you to introduce your familia in Spanish providing nombres and años de edad using full sentences.
Copy and paste the following letters and symbols as needed.
á é í ó ú ñ Á É Í Ó Ú Ñ ¡ ! ¿ ?
1. Los adjetivos posesivos (Possessive adjectives)
Audio Player
¡IMPORTANTE!
- Notice that for the possessive adjective our in English, Spanish has feminine nuestra and masculine nuestro. This is due to the gender of the object/person we have ownership of. Por ejemplo: nuestra amiga, nuestro amigo, nuestro teléfono celular, nuestra casa.
- In Spain and Equatorial Guinea, su used for your-plural change to vuestra / vuestro. This is due to the gender of the object/person a group of people have ownership upon. Por ejemplo: vuestra amiga, vuestro amigo, vuestro teléfono móvil[1], vuestra casa.
- The adjective pronouns above can be pluralized as in mis, tus, sus, nuestras, nuestros, vuestras, vuestros when we claim ownership of 2 or more of the same object/person. See the rules of pluralization below.
Cómo usarlo
(How to use it)
1. Presentar a la familia y los parientes (Introduce family and relatives)
We can use los adjetivos posesivos to give personal information about los miembros de mi familia as in:
- Mi mamá se llama Reya. Mi mamá tiene 78 años. Mi mamá es de Chile.
- Mi hermana mayor se llama Andrea. Mi hermana tiene 54 años. Mi hermana es de Chile también.
2. Hacer preguntas sobre otros (Ask questions about others)
We can use los adjetivos posesivos to ask questions when conversing directly with one person (formal/informal), with a group of people (plural), or to find out personal information about other people with whom we are not directly conversing with. Por ejemplo:
| Preguntas formales: | Preguntas informales: | Preguntas en plural (2 ): |
| ¿Cuál es su nombre? (What´s your name?) | ¿Cuál es tu nombre? (What´s your name?) | ¿Cuál es su nombre? (What´s your name?) |
| ¿Cuál es su número de teléfono? (What´s your phone number?) | ¿Cuál es tu número de teléfono? (What´s your phone number?) | ¿Cuál es su número de teléfono? (What´s your phone number?) |
| ¿Cómo se llama su mamá? (What´s your mom´s name?) | ¿Cómo se llama tu mamá? (What´s your mom´s name?) | ¿Cómo se llama su mamá?(What´s your mom´s name?) |
| ¿Cuántos años tiene su abuelo? (How old is your grandfather?) | ¿Cuántos años tiene tu abuelo? (How old is your grandfather?) | ¿Cuántos años tiene su abuelo? (How old is your grandfather?) |
| ¿De dónde es su esposa? (Where is your wife from?) | ¿De dónde es tu esposa? (Where is your wife from?) | ¿De dónde es su tía? (Where is your aunt from?) |
¡A prácticar! (Let´s practice!)
Given the following situations, decide which adjetivo posesivo (possessive adjective) you will use in the conversation.
2. La pluralización en español (Pluralization in Spanish)
En español we have 3 ways of pluralizing singular words (palabras).
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| If the word ends in vocal (vowel):
casa, teléfono |
Adds -s:
casas, teléfonos |
| If the word ends in consonante (consonant):
televisión, universidad |
Adds -es:
televisiones, universidades |
| If the word ends in consonante -z:
lápiz, juez |
Changes -z to -c and adds -es:
lápices, jueces |
Excepción (exception)
- El / Los
- Un / Unos
- Este / Estos
Notice that if a palabra en sigular ends in consonante and carries a tilde in the last syllable, the tilde is not carried on in the plural form of la palabra. Por ejemplo:
- la televisión changes to las televisiones
- la discusión changes to las discusiones
- la edición changes to las ediciones
- el avión changes to los aviones
¡A practicar! (Let´s practice!)
En el vocabulario de la unidad 1 you learned a list of objetos cotidianos. You were asked to expand your vocabulary of objetos en español that are important to you by doing a Google search in English and creating a list en español.
Go back to that your lista de objetos importantes and pluralize them.
| Objetos singulares | Objetos plurales |
|---|---|
| La / una computadora | Las / unas computadoras |
| El / un teléfono celular | Los / unos teléfonos celulares |
| La / una silla | Las / unas sillas |
| El / un café | Los / unos cafés |
3. La forma impersonal “hay” del verbo haber
(The impersonal form “hay” of the verb haber)
La forma impersonal “hay” in the simple present tense in Spanish means there is or there are in English. It is an impersonal conjugation, meaning that it is not conjugated in relation to a subject doing an action like the verbs ser, estar, and tener.
Unlike in English, “hay” in Spanish can be used to refer to the existence of a single object/person or to the existence of 2 or more objects/persons.
- Hay un computador en la mesa (there is a computer on the table)
- Hay dos computadores en la casa (there are two computers at home)
- Hay una mujer en la calle (there is a woman on the street)
- Hay cinco mujeres en la calle (there are five women on the street)
- Hay unos hombres en la calle (there are some men in the house)
- Hay unas sillas en la casa (there are some chairs in the house)
En español “hay” is always followed by a specific quantity (numbers) or by the words un, una, unos, unas which are equivalent to the English words a, an, some.
¡A practicar! (Let´s practice!)
Review the vocabulary of los números, los objetos cotidianos, and la pluralización studied, and answer the question ¿Qué hay? (What is there?) by looking at the input given in the first column of the table below. The first two entries are provided to you as examples:
| un libro | hay un libro |
| tres pelotas | hay tres pelotas |
| una manzana | |
| cuatro libros | |
| un lápiz | |
| dos botellas de agua | |
| dos tareas | |
| un teléfono celular |
La familia en el mundo hispanohablante
(The family in the Spanish-speaking world)
La familia is an important emotional and economical social structure in all cultures. La familia en el mundo hispanohablante is not an exception. However, las familias en el mundo hispanohablante tend to share similar values on how they build and maintain relationships with others.
- Mucho Contacto. (High-contact)
¿Sabías que…? (Did you know…?)
La amistad (Friendship) es muy importante (is very important) en el mundo hispanohablante. Las personas hispanohablantes are constantly looking for amigos y amigas with whom they maintain long-term relationships.
The following texto (text) contains extracts from the Wikipedia article Friendship Day[2]. It talks about El día de la amistad (Friendship Day) and how it is celebrated en el mundo hispanohablante.
Friendship Day
History
Friendship Day was first proposed in Paraguay in 1958 by Joyce Hall. It was a holiday involving the celebration of friendships through a global holiday.
Celebrations in February
In Ecuador, Mexico, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic, Friendship Day is celebrated on 14 February, the same date as Valentine’s Day, to serve as an alternative for those who are yet to find a romantic partner.
Celebrations in July
In Bolivia, Friendship Day is celebrated on 23 July. In Paraguay, 29 July is used for giving gifts to close friends and family. Celebrations often take place in bars and nightclubs. The game of the Invisible Friend (Amigo Invisible) is considered a tradition, in which small sheets of paper with names are given to members of a group and each of them secretly selects another, and on 30 July gives a present to the person whose name was written on the paper. This custom is practiced in both schools and workplaces in Asunción and other Paraguayan cities.
Since 2009, Peru has celebrated “El día del Amigo” on the first Saturday of July. The date was proposed by the beer brand Pilsen Callao. The objective was to recognize true friendship and differentiate it from love and the celebration of Valentine’s Day.
In Argentina, Spain, Chile, and Uruguay, Friendship Day (or Friend’s Day) is celebrated on 20 July. It is a reason for a friendly gathering and greeting both current and old friends.
It became a popular celebration thanks to Enrique Ernesto Febbraro, an Argentinian dentist and Rotarian who had the idea to commemorate International Friendship as a unifying gesture of friendship among nations, inspired by the day Neil Armstrong stepped on the Moon. He sent 1,000 letters to contacts from the Rotary Club around the world while Apollo 11 was still in space and received 700 responses that kickstarted the celebration.
In Argentina, Friend’s Day has turned into a very popular mass phenomenon. For instance, in 2005, the number of well-wishing messages and calls led to a breakdown of the mobile phone network in the cities of Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Córdoba and Rosario, comparable to the one experienced in 2004 on Christmas and New Year’s Day. Seats in most restaurants, bars, and other establishments are often completely booked a week before the celebration.
En mi opinión…(In my opinion…)
As you learned above, la familia hispanohablante values mucho contacto (high-contact) with other miembros de la familia as well as with amigos y amigas. What about your familia? Do members of your familia keep close contact with each other, or do they prefer less contact? Reflect in English.
You also learned above that la amistad es important para las personas hispanohablantes and they maintain long-term relationships with amigos y amigas. Do you keep high contact with amigos y amigas or do you prefer less contact? Do you maintain long-term friendships or short-term ones? Reflect in English.
Media Attributions
- Mi familia © Constanza Rojas-Primus is licensed under a CC BY-NC (Attribution NonCommercial) license
- Los adjetivos posesivos © Constanza Rojas-Primus is licensed under a CC BY-NC (Attribution NonCommercial) license
- In Spain, teléfono celular changes to teléfono móvil. ↵
- Friendship Day by Wikipedia® is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 ↵
for example
singular, meaning one object, one person, one thing, etc.
plural, meaning 2 or more objects, 2 or more people, 2 or more things, etc.
her, his, your-formal, your-plural, and also, its for a non-human being
father
in, on
you - formal
you - informal
then, hence
an adjective meaning "dead" for a woman.
an adjective meaning "dead" for a man.
also
what's there?
a lot
and
