Talking about yourself and your relations in Spanish

• Use subject pronouns to replace a noun when talking about talking about members of your family.

• There are two ways of saying ‘you’ in Spanish depending on whether the situation is formal or informal.

• Possessive adjectives show who things belong to and can be used to talk about how you are related to members of your family.

• This guide contains listening and reading practice.

Have a look at the illustration for useful nouns for family members:

Subject pronouns replace a noun which is the subject of the verb and are used to avoid repetition.

In English the subject pronouns are I, you, he, she, we, you and they.

The table shows the subject pronouns in Spanish.

For example:

Elena juega al fútbol (Elena plays football) becomes ella juega al fútbol (she plays football).

David va al colegio (David goes to school) becomes él va al colegio (he goes to school).

Carla y yo vamos al cine (Carla and I go to the cinema) becomes nosotros vamos al cine (we go to the cinema).

The masculine forms nosotros, vosotros and ellos are all used for a mixed group of males and females, even if there are more females than males in the group.

For example:

Marta y Jorge van a la ciudad (Marta and Jorge go to town) becomes ellos van a la ciudad (they go to town).

Remember

Subject pronouns are not usually needed in Spanish. They are mostly used to emphasise exactly who does what.

For example:

Yo quiero ir al cine, pero él quiere ir a la bolera. - I want to go to the cinema but he wants to go bowling.

There are two different ways of saying the word you in Spanish depending on the situation.

To talk to more than one person in an informal situation, for example friends and family, use tú and vosotros

To talk to more than one person in a formal situation, for example a job interview, talking to a head teacher or talking to someone you don’t know well, use usted to talk to one person and ustedes.

Find out more about the different ways of saying 'you' in Spanish in the Subject pronouns in Spanish guide.

Find out more about subject pronouns in the Subject pronouns in Spanish guide.

Listen to Andrea talking about her family and choose the correct option to complete the following sentences.

Useful words to talk about religion include:

Useful words to use when describing nationality include:

Remember

Faiths and nationalities are not capitalised in Spanish. For example:

Yo soy argentina y judía. - I am Argentinian and Jewish.

Mi abuelo es italiano y católico. - My grandfather is Italian and Catholic.

All Foundation Tier vocabulary listed in this guide can be found on the vocabulary sheet below.

Possessive adjectives show who something or someone belongs to.

The possessive adjectives in Spanish are:

Possessive adjectives come before the noun and must agree in gender and number with the noun that follows them.

For example:

Mi mejor amiga Ana. – My best friend is Ana.

Mi hermano tiene el pelo corto. – My brother has short hair.

Mis primos viven en España. - My cousins live in Spain.

¿Cómo es tu hermana? – What’s your sister like?

¿Cómo son tus amigos? - What are your friends like?

Su hermano tiene nueve años. – His/her/their brother is nine.

Sus padres son musulmanes. – His/her parents are Muslim.

Note that the only possessive adjectives that have a gender agreement and our and informal your.

For example:

Nuestra hermana es perezosa. - Our sister is lazy.

Vuestros perros son pequeños. - Your dogs are little.

Find out more about possessive adjectives in Spanish in the Possessive adjectives guide.

You read a magazine article about people and their identity. Read the information and answer the questions below.

Marcos

No soy religioso pero mis padres son católicos. Soy gay y vivo con mi novio, Emilio. Emilio es cubano.

Carmen

Soy mexicana y soy soltera. Mi madre es cubana y mi padre es colombiano. Todos hablamos español.

Omar

Soy español y soy musulmán. Mis padres vienen de Marruecos pero hemos vivido en España desde hace diez años.

Julia

Soy escocesa y soy cristiana. No tengo novio en este momento. Tengo un tío que vive en Escocia.

Click or tap on the image below for a list of useful vocabulary to use when talking about yourself and others.

Now you have revised the important vocabulary and key grammar points for talking about yourself, why not have a look at the Talking about family and friends in Spanish guide?