GCSE Italian: Family and Relationships Revision Guide

Key vocabulary

• la famiglia — family
• il padre / il papà — father/dad
• la madre / la mamma — mother/mum
• il fratello — brother
• la sorella — sister
• il nonno / la nonna — grandfather/grandmother
• lo zio / la zia — uncle/aunt
• il cugino / la cugina — cousin (male/female)
• i genitori — parents
• il marito / la moglie — husband/wife
• sposato/a — married
• single — single

Describing people

Adjectives describing appearance and personality must agree with the gender and number of the person, e.g. alto (tall, masculine) becomes alta (feminine) and alti/alte in the plural. Other useful adjectives: basso/a (short), simpatico/a (nice), divertente (fun — same for both genders).

Grammar point: possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives (my, your, his/her) agree with the noun they describe — the thing that is owned — not with the owner. For example: mio fratello (my brother, masculine) but mia sorella (my sister, feminine). In the plural: i miei fratelli (my brothers), le mie sorelle (my sisters). Notice that most possessives (except loro) also take the definite article before them, except with singular family members: mia madre (no article), but la mia famiglia (article needed).

His and her

Unlike English, suo/sua/suoi/sue can mean both "his" and "her" — the ending agrees with the object owned, not the owner's gender. Il suo cane could mean "his dog" or "her dog" depending on context.

Common mistakes

• Making the possessive adjective agree with the owner instead of the thing owned, e.g. writing "mio sorella" instead of "mia sorella".
• Forgetting that adjectives of nationality and personality must change to agree with a feminine or plural noun.
• Confusing "suo" (his/her) with "loro" (their) — they are not interchangeable.