Talking About Your Family
Family vocabulary plus have / have got to describe who you have — with questions, negatives, and the age trap. Practical beginner grammar with 20 questions.
Family is one of the first things we talk about with new people. In this practical lesson you’ll learn family vocabulary and the two ways English says you possess something: have and have got.
Family vocabulary
| Male | Female | Both |
|---|---|---|
| father (dad) | mother (mum) | parents |
| brother | sister | siblings |
| son | daughter | children |
| husband | wife | — |
| grandfather | grandmother | grandparents |
| uncle | aunt | — |
Good to knowParents = mother and father. Grandparents = grandmother and grandfather. Siblings = brothers and sisters together.
Talking about what you have: “have” and “have got”
Both mean the same thing. “Have got” is very common in everyday British-style English; “have” is a little more neutral.
| Subject | have | have got |
|---|---|---|
| I / you / we / they | I have two sisters. | I’ve got two sisters. |
| he / she / it | She has one brother. | She’s got one brother. |
Watch he/she/itWith he/she/it, “have” becomes has, and “have got” becomes has got. She have a brother. → She has a brother.
Questions and negatives
- Do you have any brothers? — Yes, I have one. / No, I don’t.
- Aisha doesn’t have any sisters.
- How many cousins do you have?
Putting it together
Here is how Aisha describes her family:
“There are four people in my family: my parents, my little brother Yusuf, and me. My father is an engineer and my mother is a teacher. I have one brother, but I don’t have any sisters.”
Tutor tip for Arabic speakersArabic has different words for a paternal uncle (عم) and a maternal uncle (خال). English uses just one word: uncle for both — and aunt for any aunt. Simpler, but it means English is less specific about which side of the family someone is from.
Common mistakes
- She have two children. → She has two children.
- I have got 30 years. → I am 30 years old. (use “be” for age!)
- My parents is teachers. → My parents are teachers.
Practise family language with the 20 questions below.
Check your understanding
Answer the questions below. You will see instantly if you are right.
1.Your mother and father together are your ___.
parents = mother + father.
2.Your brothers and sisters together are your ___.
siblings = brothers and sisters.
3.Your grandmother and grandfather are your ___.
grandparents.
4.The female word for "son" is:
son (male) / daughter (female).
5.The male word for "wife" is:
husband (male) / wife (female).
6.In English, your father's brother and your mother's brother are both your ___.
English uses "uncle" for both.
7."I ___ two sisters."
I have.
8."She ___ one brother."
he/she/it = has.
9.Short form: "She ___ got one brother."
She's got = she has got.
10.Which is correct?
she has two children.
11.Question: "___ you have any brothers?"
Do you have...?
12.Negative: "Aisha ___ any sisters."
doesn't have (base verb).
13."How many cousins ___ you have?"
do you have.
14.Which is correct for age?
Use "be" for age: I am 30 years old.
15.Which is correct?
parents (plural) = are.
16."My ___ is my mother's sister."
Mother's sister = aunt.
17."Omar ___ got two daughters."
he = has got.
18.Complete Aisha's sentence: "There are four ___ in my family."
people (plural of person).
19."I don't ___ any sisters."
don't have (base verb).
20.A word meaning "sons and daughters":
children = sons and daughters.
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