Learn the key pattern to talk about your spouse and children
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| Let's take a closer look at the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Sonia asks, |
| "Is this your family?" |
| Sonia Hernández Acevedo: ¿Es su familia? |
| Let's start with the word familia, "family." Familia (enunciated). Familia. |
| In Spanish, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Familia is feminine and singular — a fact that determines the form of other words in the sentence. |
| Before this is su, meaning "your," in this formal context. Su (enunciated). Su. |
| Note: Su fundamentally means "his," "hers," or "its," but it's also a formal way to say "your" when speaking to someone directly using formal Spanish. |
| Now, you might be more familiar with tu, an informal word for "your," as in tu familia, "your family (informal)." As this is a conversation between two adults that don't know each other very well, the formal form, su, is more appropriate. |
| All together, su familia means "your family." Su familia. |
| Moving to the start of the sentence, es, "is." Es (enunciated). Es. |
| Es comes from the verb, ser, meaning "to be." |
| All together, it's ¿Es su familia? This literally means "Is [this] your family?" but it translates as "Is this your family?" ¿Es su familia? |
| Note: "This" is understood from context. |
| Also, note the rising intonation of the sentence to indicate that it's a question. ¿Es su familia? |
| Remember this question. You'll hear it again later. |
| Let's take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how Karen says, |
| "Yes. My husband, my son, my daughter, and me." |
| Sí. Mi esposo, mi hijo, mi hija y yo. |
| First is the word sí, meaning "yes." Sí (enunciated). Sí. |
| It answers Sonia's yes-or-no question, "Is [this] your family?" ¿Es su familia? |
| After this, Karen points to the picture and says, |
| Mi esposo, mi hijo, mi hija y yo. |
| First is mi esposo, "my husband." Mi esposo. |
| Mi. "My." Mi (enunciated). Mi. |
| Esposo. "Husband." Esposo (enunciated). Esposo. |
| Together, it's mi esposo, "my husband." Mi esposo. |
| Next is hijo, "son." Hijo (enunciated). Hijo. |
| Mi hijo. "My son." Mi hijo. |
| After this is hija, "daughter." Hija (enunciated). Hija. |
| Mi hija. "My daughter." Mi hija. |
| Next is y, "and." Y (enunciated). Y. |
| Last is the word yo, which translates as "me," in this context. Yo (enunciated). Yo. |
| All together, Mi esposo, mi hijo, mi hija y yo means "My husband, my son, my daughter, and me." Mi esposo, mi hijo, mi hija y yo. |
| The pattern is |
| Mi {FAMILY MEMBER}, mi {FAMILY MEMBER}, mi {FAMILY MEMBER} y yo. |
| "My {FAMILY MEMBER}, my {FAMILY MEMBER}, my {FAMILY MEMBER}, and me." |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the {FAMILY MEMBER} placeholder with the members of your family. |
| Imagine your family members are your wife, your son, your daughter, and you. |
| Esposa is "wife." Esposa (enunciated). Esposa. |
| Say |
| "My wife, my son, my daughter, and me." |
| Mark Lee: Mi esposa, mi hijo, mi hija y yo. |
| Mark Lee: "My wife, my son, my daughter, and me." |
| Mark Lee: Mi esposa, mi hijo, mi hija y yo. |
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