Family Tree

Family-Related Word	Example Sentence	Significado
aunt	My aunt tells me funny stories about my mother’s youth.	Tía
brother	My brother is very competitive.	Hermano
cousin	My cousin left for college last year.	Primo
daughter	She has one daughter and one son.	Hija
father	My father spent a lot of time on the road for work.	Padre
grandchild	That 90-year-old woman has 20 grandchildren!	Nieto
granddaughter / son	His granddaughter gave him a birthday card with a bunny.	Nieta
grandfather / mother	Do you remember your grandmothers and grandfathers?	abuelo
great-grandchild	She has four great-grandchildren and is very happy to be alive and to have met them all!	Bis nieto
great grandfather	It was his great grandfather, Augustine Nanclares, who started this tradition.	Bisabuelo
husband	She sometimes argues with her husband, but that’s normal in every marriage.	Esposo
ex-husband	She had to divorce her ex-husband because he cheated on her.	Ex marido
in-laws	Many people don’t get along with their in-laws. Others are happy to have a new family!	Suegros
son-in-law, daughter-in-law	Her daughter-in-law told her to mind her own business.	Yerno, Nuera
siblings	I have two siblings: one sister and one brother.	Hermanos
mother	Mother knows best, or at least that’s what my mother always said.	Madre
niece	His niece works in a shop in Seattle selling eyewear.	Sobrina
nephew	I have a nephew who lives in town. It’s nice to have lunch every once in a while.	Sobrino
parents	All of us have two biological parents. Some people grow up with adopted parents.	Padres
sister	His sister drove him crazy with her constant complaining about the parents.	Hermana
son	Many people say that sons are harder to raise than daughters because they cause more trouble.	Hijo
stepfather, stepmother	She gets along wither her stepfather, but she prefers to not call him «Dad.»	Padrastro, Madrastra
stepdaughter, stepson	If you marry him, you’ll have two stepdaughters and one stepson.	Hijastra, Hijastro
twin	It’s amazing how similar some twins are. They look, act, and talk alike.	Gemelo
uncle	My uncle lives in Texas. He’s nothing like my father.	Tío
widow	She became a widow 20 years ago and never remarried.	Viuda
widower	The widower is very sad because he’s all alone now.	Viudo
wife	My wife is the most amazing woman in the world because she puts up with me.	Esposa
ex-wife	His ex-wife took all his money.	Ex esposa

Marital Relationships

Marriage brings change. These words describe the state of relationships:

• Divorced: Jennifer is divorced, but she’s happy to be single again.
• Engaged: Helen is engaged to be married next June. She’s making plans for the wedding.
• Married: I’ve been married for over 25 years. I consider myself lucky.
• Separated: In many countries, couples must be separated for more than a year in order to divorce.
• Single: He’s a single man living in New York.
• Widowed: Hank became widowed last year. He hasn’t been the same since.

Becoming Family

These verbs describe the process of becoming family:

• Get divorced (from): My husband and I got divorced three years ago. Now, we’re best friends, but we know our marriage was a mistake.
• Get engaged (to): I got engaged to my wife after just two months of dating.
• Get married (to): We’re planning on getting married in May.
• Marry someone: She married Tom 50 years ago today. Happy anniversary!
• Start / end a relationship with someone: I think we should end our relationship. We’re not happy with each other.

Family Vocabulary Quiz

Use the context of each sentence to help your students find an appropriate family-related word to fill in the gaps. The answers are provided below.

1. My father has a brother and a ______, so that means I have one _____ and one aunt on my father’s side of the family.
2. Someday, I hope to have a lot of ______. Of course, that means that the children of my children need to have more children!
3. After five years of marriage, they decided to get _____ because they couldn’t get along with each other. 
4. Upon her husband’s death, she became a _____ and never married again. 
5. My mother remarried last year. Now, I’m the _____ of my stepfather.
6. Peter’s _____, but he would like to get married and have children one day. 
7. We started our ______ in Germany after we had met at an English-language school. 
8. My _____ looks exactly like me, but I was born 30 minutes before she was. 
9. He has an excellent relationship with his _____. They still celebrate holidays together with their children despite their divorce.
10. I’m ______ to be married in June! I can’t wait!

Answers:

1. sister / uncle
2. great-grandchildren
3. divorced
4. widow
5. stepdaughter or stepson
6. single
7. relationship
8. twin
9. ex-wife
10. engaged

Beare, Kenneth. «Family-Related Vocabulary for English-Language Learners.» ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, thoughtco.com/vocabulary-relating-to-family-4018887.