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Family, Friends and Relationships - Vocabulary and Ser/Estar

Talk about your family in Spanish. Learn the words for family members, the word for my, and the two Spanish verbs for to be: ser for permanent things and estar for temporary ones.

⏱️ 15 min 🎯 13 activities
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What you'll cover

Family and the two to-be verbs

To talk about your family in Spanish you need the vocabulary, the little word for my (mi), and the two Spanish verbs for to be: ser and estar. Spanish splits to be in two. You use ser for permanent things, like who someone is (es mi hermano, he is my brother), and estar for temporary states, like how someone feels (está cansado, he is tired).

Words for the family

Learn each family word with its English meaning:

Ser or estar?

Both ser and estar mean to be, but they are used differently:

Match the Spanish to the English

  • el padre
  • la madre
  • el hermano
  • la hermana
  • father
  • mother
  • brother
  • sister

The Spanish word for sister

Which Spanish word means sister?

  • la hermana
  • la madre
  • el hermano
  • la tía

Ser for who you are

Use ser for things that do not change easily. The form for he or she is es. Use it for relationships (es mi hermano, he is my brother), for characteristics (es simpático, he is nice), and for where someone is from (es español, he is Spanish).

Which phrase fits the moment

  • es mi hermano
  • es simpático
  • está cansado
  • está en casa
  • We have the same parents, and that will always be true
  • Everyone says the same thing about him, and always has
  • He has just finished a long run and needs to sit down
  • You phone him and he picks up in the kitchen

Which need ser?

Select the TWO sentences that should use SER, because they describe a permanent thing.

  • He is my brother
  • She is Spanish
  • He is tired
  • She is at home

Build the sentence

Put the words in order to make the Spanish for She is my sister.

  • Ella
  • es
  • mi
  • hermana

Complete the Spanish

For a relationship, use ser: he is my brother is _____ mi hermano. For a feeling, use estar: he is tired is _____ cansado. My parents are tired uses the plural estar: mis padres _____ cansados. The word for my is _____ for one person and _____ for more than one.

es está están mi mis soy eres son tu tus

Ser against estar

Tap the TWO statements that are TRUE.

  • Ser is used for permanent things, like relationships and characteristics.
  • Estar is used for temporary things, like feelings and location.
  • The phrase es mi hermano uses estar.
  • la hermana means brother.
  • mi changes to match whether a noun is masculine or feminine.

Ser or estar?

Choose the correct verb for each sentence: ser (es) or estar (está).

  • You want to say he is my father, a permanent relationship. Which verb?
  • You want to say she is tired, a temporary feeling. Which verb?
  • You want to say they are at home, a location. Which verb form?

Explain ser and estar

In English, explain the difference between the two Spanish verbs ser and estar, and give a Spanish example of each. This is written in English and is not auto-marked.

  • Explain what ser is used for, with an example
  • Explain what estar is used for, with an example
  • Explain how the word for my (mi and mis) changes
  • Give one sentence about a family member using ser