How to Talk About Your Spouse and Children

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Vocabulary

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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 spouse and children in Italian.

For example, "This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me." is

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mio figlio, le mie figlie e io.

Emily Erba is studying with her Italian teacher, Rosa Romano.

The teacher notices a picture on Emily's computer and asks about the people visible in the picture.

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

marito

"husband"

marito

figlio

"son"

figlio

figlia

"daughter"

figlia

Listen to the conversation, and focus on the response.

Note: Rosa uses formal Italian.

Ready?

Questa è la sua famiglia?

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mio figlio, le mie figlie e io.

Once more with the English translation.

Questa è la sua famiglia?

"Is this your family?"

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mio figlio, le mie figlie e io.

"Yes. This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Rosa asks,

"Is this your family?"

Questa è la sua 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 that determines the form of other words in the sentence.

Before this is la sua, meaning "your" in this formal context. La sua.

Note sua fundamentally means "his," "hers," or "its," but it’s also a formal way to say "your" when speaking to someone directly using formal Italian. Sua. Sua.

Now, you might be more familiar with tua, an informal word for "your," as in la tua famiglia, "your family." As this is a conversation between two adults that don’t know each other very well, the formal form, sua, is more appropriate.

Sua is feminine and singular to agree with famiglia.

Before sua 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," sua, the formal word for "your," and so forth, often pair with an article, like the la in la sua.

Together, it’s la sua, a formal phrase for "your," in this context. La sua.

All together, la sua famiglia translates as "your family." La sua famiglia.

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

Note: Questa is in the feminine singular form 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 sua famiglia? This literally means "This is your family?" But it translates as "Is this your family?" Questa è la sua famiglia?

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

Questa è la sua famiglia?

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

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Emily says,

"Yes. This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me."

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mio figlio, le mie figlie e io.

This starts with sì, meaning, "yes." Sì. Sì.

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

Questa è la sua famiglia?

After this, Emily points to the picture and says,

Questa è la mia famiglia.

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.

In this sentence, 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 marito. "My husband." Mio marito.

Marito, "husband." Marito. Marito.

Mio. "My." Mio.

Mio is masculine and singular to agree with marito.

Mio marito.

Next, Mio figlio. "My son." Mio figlio.

Figlio, "son." Figlio. Figlio.

Mio, "my."

Mio is masculine and singular to agree with figlio.

Mio figlio.

Next is le mie figlie, "my daughters." Le mie figlie.

Let’s start with figlie. "daughters." Figlie. Figlie.

Remember, in Italian, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Figlie is feminine and plural — a fact that determines the form of other words in the sentence.

Figlie is the plural form of figlia, "daughter." Figlia.

Before this is the phrase Ie mie, meaning "my." Ie mie.

Mie. "My." Mie. Mie.

Mie is feminine and plural to agree with figlie.

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

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

Note, to refer to "sons" or to "children" when at least one of your children is a boy, use i miei figli. I miei figli. I miei figli.

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

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

All together, Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mio figlio, le mie figlie e io. "Yes. This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me."

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mio figlio, le mie figlie 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. When talking about male family members use mio for a single male family member, and i miei for a group of male family members, and when talking about female family members use mia for a single female family member, and le mie for a group of female family members.

Imagine your family members are your wife, your son, your daughters, and you.

Moglie is "wife." Moglie. Moglie. This is a feminine noun. Therefore "my wife" is mia moglie. Mia moglie.

Say

"This is my family. My wife, my son, my daughters, and me."

Ready?

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mia moglie, mio figlio, le mie figlie e io.

"This is my family. My wife, my son, my daughters, and me."

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mia moglie, mio figlio, le mie figlie e io.

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

However, there are a few exceptions. When talking about singular family members, don’t use the definite article. For example, mia moglie, "my wife," and mio marito "my husband."

Again, the key 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 marito, mio figlio, le mie figlie e io.

"This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me."

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mio figlio, le mie figlie e io.

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mia moglie, mio figlio, le mie figlie e io.

"This is my family. My wife, my son, my daughters, and me."

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mia moglie, mio figlio, le mie figlie e io.

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mia moglie, mia figlia e io.

"This is my family. My wife, my son, and me."

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mia moglie, mia figlia e io.

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mio figlio e io.

"This is my family. My husband, my son, and me."

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mio figlio e io.

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, i miei figli e io.

"This is my family. My husband, my sons, and me."

Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, i miei figli e io.

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.

And do you remember how Emily says,

"This is my family."

Questa è la mia famiglia.

Do you remember how to say "husband?"

Marito.

And how to say "my husband?"

Mio marito.

Do you remember how to say "son?"

Figlio.

And how to say "my son?"

Mio figlio.

Do you remember how to say "daughter?"

figlia.

And how to say "my daughters?"

le mie figlie

Do you remember how to say "and?"

And how to say "me?"

Io.

Do you remember how Emily says,

"Yes. This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me."

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mio figlio, le mie figlie e io.

Do you remember the formal way to say "your family?"

Don’t forget the article.

La sua famiglia.

And do you remember how Rosa asks,

"Is this your family?"

Questa è la sua famiglia?

Do you remember how to say "wife?"

Moglie.

And how to say "my wife?"

Mia moglie.

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Riccardo's colleague, Matteo Marino.

You have a wife, moglie, and a daughter, figlia.

Respond to Riccardo’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. Mia moglie, mia figlia, e io.

Listen again and repeat.

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mia moglie, mia figlia, e io.

Let’s try another.

Imagine your Riccardo's boss, Patrizia Palmieri.

You have a husband, marito, daughter, figlia and a son, figlio.

Ready?

Questa è la sua famiglia?

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mia figlia, mio figlio e io.

Listen again and repeat.

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mia figlia, mio figlio e io.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Riccardo's friend, Marina Monti.

You have a husband, marito and a son, figlio.

Ready?

Questa è la tua famiglia?

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mio figlio e io.

Listen again and repeat.

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mio figlio e io.

Did you notice how Riccardo uses la tua famiglia when asking about his friend’s and colleague’s families?

Questa è la tua famiglia?

Is this your family?

In less formal situations, like speaking with a friend or close colleague, the less formal, tua, is more appropriate.

Tua, "your." Tua. Tua.

Note: Tua is feminine and singular to agree with famiglia.

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your spouse and children in Italian. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of talking about family. Let’s review the family members.

Do you remember the word for "sister"?

sorella

And the word for "brother"?

fratello

Do you remember the word for "mother"?

madre

And the word for "father"?

padre

Imagine you're Ben Lee , and you have a mother, father and sister.

Respond to your classmate Federica Fontana , who sees a picture in your wallet, and asks for the people in it.

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.

Now imagine that you're Ben's mother, Karen Lee , and your friend asks about the people in the picture on your phone.

Questa è la sua famiglia?

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mio figlio, mia figlia e io.

Listen again, and repeat.

Sì. Questa è la mia famiglia. Mio marito, mio figlio, mia figlia e io.

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Talk About Family unit of this course.

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

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