Reading a text in a foreign language is a good practice to learn new vocabulary. Today we are going to read a text for beginner level students. It is called María y su familia. Let’s start!

Reading Text: María y su familia

Read the gramar and vocabulary notes before going directly to the reading text. Then read the text and do the exercises.

Grammar and vocabulary notes

The reading text María y su familia (María and her family) is a description of María’s family. Let’s remember the vocabulary about family. Please pay attention that you can use any masculine noun in plural to refer to a mixed-gender group. For example, los padres means parents.

  • la familia (family)
  • los padres (parents)
  • el padre (father)
  • la madre (mother)
  • los hijos (children)
  • el hijo (son)
  • la hija (daughter)
  • el hermano (brother)
  • la hermana (sister)
  • los abuelos (grandparents)
  • el abuelo (grandfather)
  • la abuela (grandmother)
  • los nietos (grandchildren)
  • el nieto (grandson)
  • la nieta (granddaughter)

In Spain, papá or mamá are used only as vocatives or in a conversation with children. If you are talking to adults, then padre or madre are used instead. In Mexico, however, papá or mamá are commonly used in any situation.

Here is a list of some more vocabulary related to family:

  • el tío (uncle)
  • la tía (aunt)
  • el sobrino (nephew)
  • la sobrina (niece)
  • el primo (male cousin)
  • la prima (female cousin)

The adjectives paterno or materno means from father’s side or from mother’s side. You can use them after any family member. For example, mi tío paterno refers to your uncle from father’s side. And mi tío materno would be your uncle from mother’s side.

Now have a look at the following list:

  • el or la cónyuge (spouse)
  • el marido or el esposo (husband)
  • la mujer or la esposa (wife)
  • el suegro (father-in-law)
  • la suegra (mother-in-law)
  • el yerno (son-in-law)
  • la nuera (daughter-in-law)
  • el cuñado (brother-in-law)
  • la cuñada (daughter-in-law)

The adjective político that can be said with any family member to refer to your spouse’s relatives. For example, mi tío político refers to your spouse’s uncle and mi tía política would be your spouse’s aunt.

To conclude, let’s look at some Spanish suffixes and prefixes that can be added to nouns that refer to relatives. The result is a word with a different meaning that is often closely related.

Bis– refers to a relative who is a further generation away from you.

  • los bisabuelos (great-grandparents)
  • el bisabuelo (great-grandfather)
  • la bisabuela (great-grandmother)
  • los bisnietos (great-grandchildren)
  • el bisnieto (great-grandson)
  • la bisnieta (great-granddaughter)

Tatara– refers to a relative who is two generations away from you.

  • los tatarabuelos (great-great-grandparents)
  • el tatarabuelo (great-great-grandfather)
  • la tatarabuela (great-great-grandmother)
  • los tataranietos (great-great-grandchildren)
  • el tataranieto (great-great-grandson)
  • la tataranieta (great-great-granddaughter)

Finally, the suffix –astro refers to a person who is related to someone through a second or later marriage.

  • el padrastro (stepfather)
  • la madrastra (stepmother)
  • el hijastro (stepson)
  • la hijastra (stepdaughter)
  • el hermanastro (stepbrother)
  • la hermanastra (stepsister)

María y su familia

Esta es la familia de María. Ella tiene una gran familia. Los padres se llaman Laura y Pablo. La madre es profesora y el padre es escritor. Los hermanos de María son David y Carlos.

Isabel es la tía de María. Ella es profesora de español en la universidad. Los estudiantes de Isabel son muy inteligentes. Ellos son de Francia y de Italia.

Miguel es el primo de María. Es el hijo pequeño de Isabel. Tiene una hermana, Elena. Ahora están todos en casa de los abuelos.

Exercises

Let’s do some exercises about this reading text.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

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Reading