A1 Grammar - Lesson 12: Family & Relationships (Printable)

1. Family Member Vocabulary

Immediate family: 'der Vater' (father), 'die Mutter' (mother), 'die Eltern' (parents), 'der Bruder' (brother), 'die Schwester' (sister), 'die Geschwister' (siblings), 'das Kind' (child), 'die Kinder' (children).
Extended family: 'der Großvater / der Opa' (grandfather), 'die Großmutter / die Oma' (grandmother), 'die Großeltern' (grandparents), 'der Onkel' (uncle), 'die Tante' (aunt), 'der Cousin' (cousin – male), 'die Cousine' (cousin – female).

2. Possessive Adjectives (my, your, his, her, our, their)

Possessive adjectives stand before a noun and show ownership. They change their ending depending on the noun's gender: masculine/neuter add no ending; feminine/plural add -e.
Examples: 'mein Bruder' (my brother – masc.), 'meine Schwester' (my sister – fem.), 'deine Eltern' (your parents – plural), 'sein Vater' (his father), 'ihre Mutter' (her mother), 'unser Haus' (our house – neut.), 'eure Familie' (your [pl.] family), 'ihre Großeltern' (their grandparents).
Special note: 'euer' drops the 'e' before an ending: 'eure Wohnung' (your apartment).

3. Comparisons with 'als' – older than, younger than

To compare two people or things, use the comparative form of the adjective + 'als'.
Examples: 'Mein Bruder ist älter als ich.' (My brother is older than me.)
'Meine Schwester ist jünger als ich.' (My sister is younger than me.)
'Opa ist größer als Oma.' (Grandpa is taller than Grandma.)
Common comparatives: 'alt → älter', 'jung → jünger', 'groß → größer', 'klein → kleiner', 'gut → besser' (irregular).

4. Negation: 'kein' vs 'nicht'

'kein / keine' – negates nouns (no, not a, not any).
Example: 'Ich habe keine Geschwister.' (I have no siblings.)
'Er ist kein Einzelkind.' (He is not an only child.)
'nicht' – negates verbs, adjectives, or whole sentences.
Example: 'Ich bin nicht verheiratet.' (I am not married.)
'Das ist nicht mein Vater.' (That is not my father.)

5. Marital Status & Family Situation Vocabulary

6. Key Verbs: 'vermissen', 'verstehen', 'anrufen'

'vermissen' – to miss (someone): 'Ich vermiss meine Familie.' (I miss my family.)
'verstehen' – to understand: 'Ich versteh das.' (I understand that.)
'anrufen' – to call (separable verb): 'Wir können sie anrufen.' (We can call her.)

7. Questions about Family

8. Talking about Family Photos

9. Describing Family Size

10. Useful Phrases

📌 Summary of Key Structures

Possessive adjectives: 'mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, ihr, Ihr' – add -e for feminine and plural nouns.
Comparisons: use 'älter als, jünger als, größer als' + noun.
Negation: 'kein' for nouns (no/not any), 'nicht' for verbs/adjectives (not).
Family vocabulary: learn immediate and extended family terms with articles (der/die/das).
Verbs: 'vermissen' (to miss), 'verstehen' (to understand), 'anrufen' (to call – separable).

📘 Lesson 12: Family & Relationships