How to Talk About Your Parents and Siblings

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Italian by ItalianPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your parents and siblings in Italian.

For example, "This is my family. My father, my mother, my brother, my sister, and me." is

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mio fratello, mia sorella e io.

Isabella Russo is at a coffee shop with her classmate, Federica Fontana.

Isabella is showing some pictures to Federica. Federica points to one of them and asks about the people visible in it.

Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

padre

"father"

padre

madre

"mother"

madre

fratello

"brother"

fratello

sorella

" sister"

sorella

Listen to the conversation, and focus on the response.

Ready?

Questa è la tua famiglia?

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mio fratello, mia sorella e io.

One more time with the English translation.

Questa è la tua famiglia?

"Is this your family?"

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mio fratello, mia sorella e io.

"Yes. This is my family. My father, my mother, my brother, my sister, and me."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Federica asks,

"Is this your family?"

Questa è la tua famiglia?

Let's start with the word, famiglia, "family." Famiglia. Famiglia.

In Italian, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Famiglia is feminine and singular — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.

Before famiglia is la tua, a phrase meaning "your." La tua.

Tua means "your." Tua. Tua.

Tua is feminine and singular to agree with famiglia.

Before tua is the article la. Think of it like "the" in English. La. La.

La is also feminine and singular to agree with famiglia.

Note: in this sentence, the article la does not have a corresponding English translation.

In Italian, possessive adjectives, like mia, "my," tua, "your," and so forth, often pair with an article, like the la in la tua.

Together, it’s la tua, a phrase for "your." La tua.

All together, la tua famiglia. "Your family." La tua famiglia.

Moving to the start of the sentence, questa, "this." Questa. Questa.

Note: Questa is feminine singular to agree with famiglia.

Next is è, "is," as in "this is..." È. È.

È is from the verb essere, meaning "to be." Essere.

All together, it’s Questa è la tua famiglia? This literally means "This is your family?" But it translates as "Is this your family?"

Questa è la tua famiglia?

Note the rising intonation of the sentence to indicate that it’s a question.

Questa è la tua famiglia?

Remember this question. You’ll hear it again later.

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Isabella says,

"Yes. This is my family. My father, my mother, my brother, my sister and me."

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mio fratello, mia sorella e io.

This starts with the expression, Sì, meaning "yes." Sì. Sì.

It answers Federica’s yes-or-no question, "Is this your family?"

Questa è la tua famiglia?

After this, Isabella points to the picture, and says, Questa è la mia famiglia.

"This is my family."

Let’s start with the word, famiglia, "family." Famiglia.

Do you remember the gender and number of famiglia?

Feminine and singular.

Before this, it’s la mia, a phrase meaning "my." La mia.

Mia. "My." Mia. Mia.

Mia is feminine and singular to agree with famiglia.

Before mia is the article la. Think of it like "the" in English.La.

La is also feminine singular to agree with famiglia.

Again, in this case, the article la does not have a corresponding English translation.

Together, it’s la mia, a phrase for "my." La mia.

All together, la mia famiglia translates as "my family." La mia famiglia.

Moving to the start of the sentence, questa, "this." Questa.

Note: Questa is in the feminine singular form to agree with famiglia.

Next is è, "is." È.

All together, it’s Questa è la mia famiglia. "This is my family." Questa è la mia famiglia.

After this is mio padre, "my father." Mio padre.

Padre, "father." Padre. Padre.

Mio, "My." Mio.

Mio is masculine and singular to agree with padre.

Mio padre.

Next is mia madre. "My mother." Mia madre.

Madre, "mother." Madre. Madre.

Mia. "My."

Mia is feminine and singular to agree with madre.

Mia madre.

After this is mio fratello, "my brother." Mio fratello.

Fratello, "brother." Fratello. Fratello.

Mio. "My."

Mio is masculine and singular to agree with fratello.

Mio fratello

After this is mia sorella, "my sister." Mia sorella.

Sorella, "sister." Sorella. Sorella.

Mia. "My."

Mia is feminine and singular to agree with sorella.

Mia sorella.

Next is e, "and." E. E.

And last is io, which translates as "me" in this context. Io. Io.

All together, Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mio fratello, mia sorella e io. "This is my family. My father, my mother, my brother, my sister, and me."

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mio fratello, mia sorella e io.

The pattern is

Questa è la mia famiglia. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER e io.

This is my family. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER and me.

To use this pattern, simply replace the {FAMILY MEMBER} placeholders with the members of your family.

Note: each placeholder in this pattern requires a noun phrase in which a possessive adjective is followed by a noun. The possessive adjective will be the word for "my" and its gender depends on the gender of the family member. If the family member is male, use mio, and if the family member is female, use mia.

Imagine you have two sisters.

Le mie sorelle means, "my sisters." Le mie sorelle

Sorelle. "Sisters." Sorelle. Sorelle.

In Italian, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Sorelle is feminine and plural — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.

Before this is the phrase le mie, meaning "my." Le mie.

Mie. "My." Mie. Mie.

Mie is feminine and plural to agree with sorelle.

Before mie is the article, le. Think of it like "the" in English. Le Le.

Le is also feminine and plural to agree with sorelle.

Note: the article le does not have a corresponding English translation.

Note, to say "brothers" or "siblings" use i miei fratelli. I miei fratelli.

Say

"This is my family. My father, my mother, my sisters, and me."

Ready?

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, le mie sorelle e io.

"This is my family. My father, my mother, my sisters, and me."

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, le mie sorelle e io.

In Italian, possessive adjectives, like tua, "your," are preceded by definite articles, like la in la tua famiglia, "your family."

However, there is an exception. When talking about singular family members, don’t use the definite article. For example, mia madre, "my mother," and mio padre "my father."

Again, the pattern is

Questa è la mia famiglia. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER e io.

This is my family. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER and me.

Let’s look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mio fratello, mia sorella e io.

"This is my family. My father, my mother, my brother, my sister, and me."

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mio fratello, mia sorella e io.

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, le mie sorelle e io.

"This is my family. My father, my mother, my sisters, and me."

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, le mie sorelle e io.

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mia sorella e io.

"This is my family. My father, my mother, my sister, and me."

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mia sorella e io.

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mia sorella, mio fratello e io.

"This is my family. My father, my mother, my sister, my brother, and me."

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mia sorella, mio fratello e io.

Questa è la mia famiglia. I miei genitori, mia sorella e io.

"This is my family. My parents, my sister, and me."

Questa è la mia famiglia. I miei genitori, mia sorella e io.

Did you notice how the last speaker replaced mio padre, mia madre with i miei genitori?

I miei genitori, mia sorella e io.

"My parents, my sister and me."

The phrase, i miei genitori, means, "my parents." I miei genitori.

Remember, in Italian, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Genitori is masculine and plural — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.

Genitori. "Parents." Genitori. Genitori.

Before this is the phrase I miei, meaning "my." I miei.

Miei. "My." Miei. Miei.

Miei is masculine and plural to agree with genitori.

Before miei is the article, i. Think of it like "the" in English. I I.

I is also masculine and plural to agree with genitori.

Note: the article i does not have a corresponding English translation.

Questa è la mia famiglia. I miei genitori, mia sorella e io.

"This is my family. My parents, my sister, and me."

You should be aware of the plural form, but we’ll use singular nouns in this lesson.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speakers, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "yes?"

Sì.

And how to say "family?"

Famiglia.

Do you remember how to say "my family?"

Don’t forget the article.

La mia famiglia.

And how to say "is"?

è.

Do you remember how Isabella says,

"This is my family."

Questa è la mia famiglia.

Do you remember how to say "father?"

Padre.

And how to say "my father?"

Mio padre.

Do you remember how to say "mother?"

Madre.

And how to say "my mother?"

Mia madre.

Do you remember how to say "brother?"

fratello

And how to say "my brother?"

mio fratello

Do you remember how to say "sister?"

Sorella.

And how to say "my sister?"

Mia sorella.

Do you remember how to say "and?"

And how to say "me?"

Io.

Do you remember how Isabella says,

"Yes. This is my family. My father, my mother, my brother, my sister and me."

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mio fratello, mia sorella e io.

Do you remember how to say "your family?"

Don’t forget the article.

La tua famiglia.

And do you remember how Federica asks,

"Is this your family?"

Questa è la tua famiglia?

Do you remember how to say "sisters?"

sorelle

And how to say "my sisters?"

le mie sorelle

Let's practice.

Imagine you’re Adam Russo , Isabella’s younger brother, and you have a father, padre, mother, madre, and two sisters, sorelle.

Respond to your friend’s question referring to the photo.

Don’t forget to include the word for "yes" at the beginning of your response.

Ready?

Questa è la tua famiglia?

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, le mie sorelle e io.

Listen again and repeat.

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, le mie sorelle e io.

Let’s try another.

Imagine you’re Isabella’s classmate, Alessandro Amato.

You have a father, padre, mother, madre, and a sister, sorella.

Ready?

Questa è la tua famiglia?

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mia sorella e io.

Listen again and repeat.

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mia sorella e io.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you’re Isabella's classmate, Federica Fontana.

You have a father, padre, mother, madre, sister, sorella and a brother, fratello.

Ready?

Questa è la tua famiglia?

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mia sorella, mio fratello e io.

Listen again and repeat.

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio padre, mia madre, mia sorella, mio fratello e io.

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your parents and siblings, an essential skill for talking about your family.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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