GCSE German: Family and Relationships Revision Guide

Key vocabulary

• die Familie — the family
• der Vater — the father
• die Mutter — the mother
• die Eltern — the parents
• der Bruder — the brother
• die Schwester — the sister
• die Großmutter — the grandmother
• der Großvater — the grandfather
• der Onkel — the uncle
• die Tante — the aunt
• der Cousin / die Cousine — the male/female cousin

Describing people

Useful adjectives include groß (tall/big), klein (small/short), lustig (funny), nett (nice) and streng (strict). For example: Mein Bruder ist lustig und nett. (My brother is funny and nice.) Remember adjectives after "ist" do not need an ending.

Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives change depending on the gender of the noun that follows. With a masculine or neuter noun, use mein (my), dein (your), sein (his), ihr (her): mein Vater, dein Bruder. With a feminine noun, add an -e: meine, deine, seine, ihre: meine Mutter, ihre Schwester. Plural nouns also take an -e: meine Eltern (my parents).

Talking about relationships

To say someone is married, use verheiratet: Meine Eltern sind verheiratet. (My parents are married.) To say divorced, use geschieden, and for single, use ledig. An only child is called an Einzelkind.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting to add the -e to "mein" and "dein" before feminine or plural nouns.
• Adding an adjective ending after "ist", e.g. writing "lustige" instead of "lustig".
• Confusing "der Cousin" (male cousin) with "die Cousine" (female cousin).