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Spanish · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 6

Esta es mi familia This is my family

The possessives mi/tu/su and the demonstratives este/ese. Possessives agree in number (mi hermano, mis hermanos). Demonstratives agree in gender and number: este/esta (this), ese/esa (that) — "esta es mi familia" (familia is feminine). New vocabulary: family, father, mother, child, big, small. Pronunciation corner: the soft "d" and the accent marks.

Esta es mi familia — This Is My Family

  1. Carlos Esta es mi familia. Este es mi padre. This is my family. This is my father.
  2. Mike El familia es grande. ¿Esa es tu madre? The family is big. Is that your mother? (slip: el familia, should be la)
  3. Carlos Es "la familia", es femenina. Esa es mi madre. It's "la familia", it's feminine. That is my mother.
  4. Mike Ah, la familia. Tu familia es grande. Ah, la familia. Your family is big.

¿Esta o esa? — This One or That One?

  1. Lucía Mike, esta es mi madre y ese es mi padre. Mike, this is my mother and that is my father.
  2. Mike Tu familia es pequeño. Your family is small. (slip: pequeño, should be pequeña)
  3. Lucía Es "pequeña", femenina. Sí, mi familia es pequeña. It's "pequeña", feminine (to match familia). Yes, my family is small.
  4. Mike Mi familia también es pequeña. Este es mi padre. My family is also small. This is my father.
汉字PinyinPOSMeaning
familia n.f. family (f)
padre n.m. father (m)
madre n.f. mother (f)
este / esta det. this (m / f)
ese / esa det. that (m / f)
mi det. my
tu det. your
su det. his/her/your (formal)
niño / niña n. child (m / f)
grande adj. big
pequeño / pequeña adj. small (m / f)

Posesivos + demostrativos (este/ese) Possessives + demonstratives (este/ese)

Los posesivos mi/tu/su concuerdan en NÚMERO con la cosa poseída, no con el dueño: mi hermano, mis hermanos (no cambian por género en singular). Los demostrativos concuerdan en GÉNERO y NÚMERO: este/esta (this), ese/esa (that). Por eso decimos "Esta es mi familia" — familia es femenina, así que esta. Y "Este es mi padre" — padre es masculino.

The possessives mi/tu/su agree in NUMBER with the thing owned, not the owner: mi hermano, mis hermanos (they don't change by gender in the singular). The demonstratives agree in GENDER and NUMBER: este/esta (this), ese/esa (that). So we say "Esta es mi familia" — familia is feminine, hence esta. And "Este es mi padre" — padre is masculine.

  • Esta es mi familia. This is my family. (familia is feminine → esta)
  • Este es mi padre y esta es mi madre. This is my father and this is my mother.
  • Ese niño es mi amigo. That child is my friend.

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