Mi familia, mis amigos y otras personas
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Name close family members and describe basic relationships.
- Use tener to express possession and to say how old someone is.
- Use possessive words (mi, tu, su, nuestro/a) to show who something belongs to.
- Make descriptive adjectives agree with the gender and number of the person or thing they describe.
- Recognize the personal a when a specific person is the direct object of a sentence.
- Ask and answer simple questions about someone's family and age.
Communication Scenario
Class has not started yet, and Marisol shows Marcos a photo on her phone. It is a picture from a family gathering, and Marcos wants to know who everyone is. As Marisol explains, she talks about her parents, her siblings, and a cousin who is visiting from out of town. Marcos asks how old people are and mentions his own family in return. This chapter follows their conversation as a way of practicing family vocabulary, the verb tener, and possessive words.
- You will practice naming family members and describing them with adjectives that agree in gender and number.
- You will use tener to talk about age and possession, and possessive words to say whose family member or object you mean.
Core Vocabulary
The words below are your productive vocabulary for this chapter. Family nouns are listed with their definite article, and where a noun has distinct masculine and feminine forms, both are given.
| Spanish | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| la madre / la mamá | las madres / las mamás | the mother / mom |
| el padre / el papá | los padres / los papás | the father / dad |
| los padres | — | the parents |
| el hermano / la hermana | los hermanos / las hermanas | the brother / the sister |
| el hijo / la hija | los hijos / las hijas | the son / the daughter |
| el abuelo / la abuela | los abuelos / las abuelas | the grandfather / the grandmother |
| el tío / la tía | los tíos / las tías | the uncle / the aunt |
| el primo / la prima | los primos / las primas | the cousin |
| el esposo / la esposa | los esposos / las esposas | the husband / the wife |
| el/la bebé | los/las bebés | the baby |
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| alto / alta | tall |
| bajo / baja | short (height) |
| joven | young |
| mayor | older |
| simpático / simpática | nice, friendly |
| trabajador / trabajadora | hardworking |
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| mi, mis | my |
| tu, tus | your (tú) |
| su, sus | his / her / your (usted) / their |
| nuestro/a, nuestros/as | our |
| ¿Cuántos años tienes? | How old are you? |
| Tengo ... años. | I am ... years old. |
All vocabulary in this chapter is productive. Learn each family noun together with its article, and notice that many family words simply change their final vowel to show masculine or feminine.
Pronunciation: Linking and Stress in Longer Phrases
Chapter 3 practiced linking an article to a noun. This chapter extends that same linking habit to short possessive phrases, and introduces the natural stress pattern of the word tiene and its family.
Say mi hermano and tu hermana as smooth, linked phrases, with no pause between the possessive word and the noun. The h in hermano and hermana is silent, so the vowels link even more closely than in Chapter 3's examples.
- Practice mi abuelo and mi abuela, linking the final vowel of mi directly to the initial vowel of abuelo/abuela.
- The word tiene is stressed on the first syllable: TIE-ne, not tie-NE. The same stress pattern applies to tienes and tenemos.
- Practice the question ¿Cuántos años tienes? as one smooth phrase, keeping the stress on CUÁN-tos and TIE-nes.
Language Focus: Tener, Possessives, and Agreement
Purpose: talk about who is in your family, how old people are, what belongs to whom, and what people are like.
4.1 Tener — to have
Tener means "to have." Its present-tense forms are irregular and must be learned individually at this stage; later chapters will connect tener to the wider pattern of first-person irregular verbs.
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tengo |
| tú | tienes |
| usted / él / ella | tiene |
| nosotros/as | tenemos |
| ustedes / ellos / ellas | tienen |
- Tengo dos hermanos. I have two brothers.
- ¿Tienes hermanas? Do you have sisters?
4.2 Tener for age
Do not translate age word for word from English. Spanish age expressions always use tener plus a number plus años.
4.3 Possessive words
Possessive words agree with the noun they describe, not with the owner. Mi and tu add -s for plural nouns; nuestro also changes for gender. Su/sus can mean "his," "her," "your (usted)," or "their," and context usually makes the meaning clear.
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| mi hermano | mis hermanos | my brother(s) |
| tu hermana | tus hermanas | your sister(s) |
| su primo | sus primos | his/her/your/their cousin(s) |
| nuestro tío / nuestra tía | nuestros tíos / nuestras tías | our uncle(s)/aunt(s) |
- Mi mamá y mi papá son simpáticos. My mom and dad are nice.
- ¿Cómo se llama tu abuela? What's your grandmother's name?
4.4 Adjective agreement
A descriptive adjective must match the gender and number of the noun it describes. Adjectives ending in -o change to -a for feminine nouns; adjectives ending in -e or most consonants usually stay the same for both genders but still add -s or -es for the plural.
- Mi hermano es alto. Mi hermana es alta. My brother is tall. My sister is tall.
- Mis primos son jóvenes. My cousins are young.
- Mi abuelo es trabajador. Mi abuela es trabajadora. My grandfather is hardworking. My grandmother is hardworking.
4.5 Recognizing the personal a
When the direct object of a verb is a specific person, Spanish usually places the word a directly before that person. This chapter introduces the personal a only for recognition; you will begin producing it independently once object patterns are developed further.
- Marisol conoce a su prima. Marisol knows her cousin. personal a before a specific person
- Veo a mi hermano en la foto. I see my brother in the photo. personal a before a specific person
Model Dialogue: ¿Cuántos años tiene tu hermano?
Context: Marisol shows Marcos a photo on her phone before class.
Marisol points to another person in the photo.
Notice how tener changes form with each subject, and how each adjective agrees with the person it describes.
Listening Practice
If no audio recording is available, ask a partner, instructor, or text-to-speech tool to read the lines below aloud, or read them aloud to yourself slowly, paying attention to the stress on tiene and its forms.
- Listen to (or read aloud) the script, then list each family member mentioned with their age.
- Listen for who is older, the speaker's mother or father.
- Listen for the one non-human member of the family.
Speaking Practice
Práctica controlada — Controlled practice: tener y la edad
Practice saying the age of five different people using tener + años, alternating between tengo, tienes, and tiene.
Tarea comunicativa — Communicative task: Mi familia
With a partner, take turns describing three family members. Say who they are, how old they are, and one adjective that describes them, making sure the adjective agrees.
Práctica independiente — Solo alternative
Describe, out loud, three people in your own family or a family you know well, using tener, a possessive word, and at least one adjective for each person.
Reading Practice
La familia de Marcos — Marcos's family
Marcos tiene una familia grande. Su papá se llama Andrés y tiene cuarenta y ocho años. Su mamá se llama Rosa y es profesora. Marcos tiene una hermana menor; ella se llama Luz y tiene doce años. Sus abuelos viven cerca y él ve a sus abuelos todos los domingos. Su abuelo es alto y trabajador, y su abuela es muy simpática.
Tarea de lectura — Reading task:
- How old is Marcos's father?
- What does Marcos's mother do?
- Find the sentence with the personal a, and identify who the specific person is.
Writing Workshop
Complete the following linked writing tasks in order.
Tarea 1 — Tener y la edad: Write five sentences giving the ages of five people you know, using different forms of tener.
Tarea 2 — Completar con posesivos: Fill in the blanks below describing your own family.
Tarea 3 — Descripción breve: Write three short sentences describing a family member: name the relationship, give the age with tener, and describe the person with an adjective that agrees correctly.
- Write out five age sentences first. This reinforces the irregular forms of tener from the start.
- Complete the possessive fill-in-the-blank about your family. Check that each possessive word matches its noun.
- Draft your three-sentence family description. Keep every word within this chapter's vocabulary and prior chapters' vocabulary.
- Read your description aloud once. Listen for smooth linking between possessive words and nouns, and for correct stress on tiene.
- Check your adjective endings against the vocabulary and grammar tables. Correct any gender or number mismatch.
Lista de revisión — Editing checklist:
- Every form of tener matches its subject correctly.
- Age expressions include años and are not translated word for word from English.
- Possessive words agree with the noun they describe, not with the owner.
- Adjectives agree in gender and number with the person or thing they describe.
- No new vocabulary from outside this chapter and prior chapters has been used.
Culture and Communication
Family structures vary widely across Spanish-speaking communities and across individual households, including who lives together, how extended family stays involved, and how family roles are shared. A single family description, such as the ones in this chapter, should not be treated as representative of every family in every Spanish-speaking community.
Mamá and papá are broadly understood everyday terms alongside madre and padre. Some countries and families also use other affectionate terms for parents and grandparents. This course uses mamá/papá and madre/padre as the core productive terms; other regional terms may appear later in the series, clearly labeled.
Common Mistakes
Error: Saying Mi hermano es diez años, translating English "is" directly with ser.
Correction: Spanish uses tener for age, not ser. Say Mi hermano tiene diez años.
Error: Changing su to a feminine or masculine form based on whether the owner is male or female, such as inventing sua.
Correction: Possessive words agree with the noun that follows them, not with the owner. Su hermano and su hermana both use su, regardless of whether the owner is male or female.
Error: Saying Mi hermana es alto, leaving the adjective in its masculine form.
Correction: Adjectives must match the gender of the person they describe. Say Mi hermana es alta.
Chapter Review
Parte A — Comprensión (Comprehension)
1. Return to the Model Dialogue, and answer these short questions.
- How old is Marisol's brother, and how is he described?
- How old is Marisol's grandfather?
Parte B — Escritura (Writing)
1. Write the correct form of tener for yo, tú, and nosotros.
2. Write one sentence giving someone's age and one sentence using a possessive word with an adjective.
Parte C — Lectura (Reading)
1. Return to "La familia de Marcos," and list each family member together with their name or age.
Parte D — Habla (Speaking)
1. Tell a partner about two people in your family, then ask your partner about their family.
Practical Performance Task
Chapter 4 Practical Check
Talking About Family and Age
Complete the following connected tasks, in order, treating them as one short family-description round.
- Read the model dialogue and the short passage. Answer the comprehension questions above before continuing.
- Describe your own family aloud. Name at least three family members, using tener for age and at least one adjective per person.
- Show or describe a photo to a partner. Use possessive words correctly for each person named.
- Write your three-sentence family description. Apply the editing checklist from the Writing Workshop.
- Ask and answer one question with tener about someone's age.
| Criterion | What is assessed |
|---|---|
| Tener accuracy | The learner selects the correct form of tener for each subject. |
| Age expressions | The learner forms age sentences correctly with tener + años. |
| Possessive agreement | The learner selects possessive words that agree with the noun, not the owner. |
| Adjective agreement | The learner matches descriptive adjectives to the gender and number of the person described. |
| Orthography | The learner writes accent marks and punctuation accurately in review sentences. |
This checkpoint uses only material introduced in this chapter and Chapters 1–3. No item on this rubric requires a system that has not yet been taught.
Answer Key
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- Marisol's brother is fifteen years old (quince años) and is described as tall and very nice (alto y muy simpático).
- Marisol's grandfather is eighty years old (ochenta años).
Escritura
- yo tengo, tú tienes, nosotros tenemos.
- Sample answers: Mi abuela tiene setenta años. / Mi hermana es simpática. (Other accurate sentences are acceptable.)
Lectura
- Andrés (papá, cuarenta y ocho años), Rosa (mamá, profesora), Luz (hermana, doce años), abuelos (sin nombre indicado).
Looking Ahead
Lo que ya sabes hacer — What you can do now
You can name family members, use tener to talk about age and possession, use possessive words to show who owns something, and make adjectives agree with the people they describe.