2.7 Describe your family

Vocab test

Él es alto – He is tall
Ella es baja – She is short
Mi madre es pequeña – My mother is small
Mi hermano es inteligente – My brother is intelligent
Su esposo – Your/ his/ her husband
Su esposa – Your/ his/ her wife
Ella está cansada – She is tired
Él está simpático – He is nice
Se llama Luis – He is called Luis

Verb of the day

Conjugate the verb TENER (to have) in the present tense.

Yo	Nosotros
Tú	Vosotros
Él/ Ella/ Usted	Ellos/ Ellas/ Ustedes

Questions to answer

Translation tool

1. ¿Quieres tener hijos?

2. ¿Tú tienes una familia grande?

3. ¿Cuántos años tienes?

4. ¿Cómo se llama tu papá?

5. ¿Quién es tu mejor amigo/a?

6. ¿Tu abuelo es simpático?

7. ¿Tu madre es una mujer muy inteligente?

8. ¿Tu abuela es muy alta?

A simple dialogue

Use the Spanish phrases to translate the English dialogue. Write it out and perform it.

Where is my sister?
What is she like?
She is tall, and she has a blue hat.
Is that her, near the tree?
Yes, great!
What is she called?
She is called Angela.
Who is the young man with her?
That is Iain, her boyfriend.
Do you have a boyfriend?
Yes. He is tall and handsome, and very intelligent.
Where is he now?
He is at home with our new dog.
Oh, you have a pet!
Yes. Do you have a girlfriend? No, but I am looking!

Use these phrases to translate the dialogue.

¡Ah, tienes una mascota!

¡No, pero estoy buscando!

¡Sí, genial!

¿Cómo es ella?

¿Cómo se llama?

¿Dónde está él ahora?

¿Dónde está mi hermana?

¿Es ella la que está cerca del árbol?

¿Quién es el joven que está con ella?

¿Tú tienes novio?

Ella es alta y tiene un sombrero azul.

Ella se llama Ángela.

Ese es Iain, su novio.

Está en casa con nuestro nuevo perro.

Sí. ¿Tienes novia? Sí. Es alto, guapo y muy inteligente.

Choose from a range of voices to read your dialogue here.

Grammar notes

* Read this information, then use it to quiz a friend.

USING TENER FOR AGE

In Spanish, we use the verb tener (to have) to express age. In English, we say, I am 20 years old. In Spanish, we say, tengo 20 años (literally, “I have 20 years”).

Examples:

Yo tengo 25 años. = I am 25 years old.
¿Cuántos años tienes? = How old are you?
Mi hermana tiene 15 años. = My sister is 15 years old.
Mis padres tienen 50 años. = My parents are 50 years old.

¿CÓMO ESTÁ? VS ¿CÓMO ES?

Está comes from the verb estar, which is used for temporary states or conditions. ¿Cómo está? … asks about someone’s current condition or state. It’s asking how they are feeling in the moment. In English we would say, how is she , how is he, or how are you (formal).

¿Cómo está tu mamá? = How is your mom? (How is she feeling right now?)
Ella está bien. = She is fine.

Es comes from the verb ser, which is used for characteristics that tend to be more permanent. ¿Cómo es? … asks about someone’s personality or physical description, referring to their permanent or typical traits.

¿Cómo es tu hermana? = What is your sister like? (Appearance or personality)
Ella es alta y simpática. = She is tall and friendly.

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

In Spanish, qu is always followed by e or i, and it is pronounced like a hard k (as in kite in English). The qu in pequeña sounds like the English k. Find 2 more Spanish words with qu.

The “ll” in Spanish can be pronounced in various ways depending on the region. In most parts of Spain and Latin America, ll sounds like the English y in yes. So, llama (name/call) would sound like YAH-mah. In some regions like Argentina, ll is pronounced with a soft sh or zh sound, similar to pleasure in English.

Find 1 more Spanish word with ll.

Suggested grammar lesson.