Theme 1.1: Identity and relationships - Vocabulary
The core vocabulary for Theme 1.1, identity and relationships, covers the words and phrases needed to describe a person's family, friends and the relationships between them.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn the family nouns in gendered pairs: el padre/la madre, el hermano/la hermana, el padrastro/la madrastra, el hermanastro/la hermanastra, los abuelos; note that hermanastro means stepbrother, not the English 'half-brother'.
- Learn 8 to 10 personality adjectives that change with gender (cariñoso/cariñosa, generoso/generosa, testarudo/testaruda, comprensivo/comprensiva) and the ones that stay the same for masculine and feminine (inteligente, sensible, responsable), so every adjective agrees with the person it describes.
- Learn relationship collocations rather than single words: llevarse bien/mal con, tener una relación estrecha con, tener algo en común con, apoyarse mutuamente, discutir por tonterias - these turn a basic answer into a natural, mark-worthy one.
- Memorise the two key false friends for this theme: embarazada means pregnant (embarrassed is avergonzado/avergonzada); sensible means sensitive, emotionally (reasonable/sensible is sensato/sensata). Writing 'estoy embarazada' to mean 'I am embarrassed' is one of the most common errors examiners report.
- Build opinion and justification language around the vocabulary: lo que más valoro de mi familia es..., me llevo genial con... porque..., para mí la amistad es fundamental ya que... - GCSE mark schemes reward an opinion plus a developed reason, not a bare fact.
- For reading and listening, practise spotting a synonym for the idea rather than the exact word: a text may say 'no tengo hermanos' where the question asks about being 'hijo único', so learn the paraphrase, not just the term.
- For writing and translation, practise producing the vocabulary from memory in full, correctly agreed sentences, since recognising a word in a text is a different skill from recalling and spelling it accurately under exam conditions.
Worked example
Using these two bullet points, write two full Spanish sentences for a 40-word GCSE writing task: (1) who is in your family; (2) what your relationship with one family member is like, with a reason.
- For bullet 1, choose the family members with correct gender and a precise number: mis padres (my parents), mi hermano menor (my younger brother).
- Build the sentence: 'En mi familia somos cuatro: mis padres, mi hermano menor y yo.' The number gives precise, mark-worthy detail rather than a vague statement.
- For bullet 2, choose a relationship collocation instead of a single adjective, which reads as more natural Spanish: 'Me llevo genial con mi hermano' is stronger than 'Mi hermano es simpático'.
- Add a reason with porque and a true-friend adjective agreed to the masculine hermano: 'porque es muy comprensivo y siempre me escucha'.
- Check for false friends before finishing: confirm embarazada and sensible have not been used incorrectly, and that every adjective agrees with the noun it describes.
Practice questions
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Q1Give the Spanish for 'stepmother', including the correct article.Show answer
Answer: La madrastra.
Q2Complete with the correct form of the adjective: Mi hermana es muy _____ (generous).Show answer
Answer: Generosa - it agrees with the feminine noun hermana.
Q3Translate into English: 'Mi tía está embarazada.'Show answer
Answer: My aunt is pregnant (not 'embarrassed' - embarazada is a false friend).
Q4Give one Spanish phrase meaning 'to get on well with someone'.Show answer
Answer: Llevarse bien con alguien.
Q5Which Spanish word is closer in meaning to the English 'sensible' or 'reasonable': sensible or sensato?Show answer
Answer: Sensato/sensata - sensible in Spanish actually means emotionally sensitive.
Q6Translate into Spanish: 'My best friend is very understanding.'Show answer
Answer: Mi mejor amigo es muy comprensivo. / Mi mejor amiga es muy comprensiva.
Q7Give one Spanish phrase meaning 'to have things in common with someone'.Show answer
Answer: Tener algo en común con alguien.
Q8Give the Spanish for 'only child' for a boy, and the form for a girl.Show answer
Answer: Hijo único (boy); hija única (girl).
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Spanish exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Translate this passage into English: 'Vivo con mis padres y mi hermanastra en un piso pequeño. Me llevo genial con ella porque es muy comprensiva, aunque a veces discutimos por tonterias. Mi prima está embarazada de su primer hijo y toda la familia está muy contenta.'
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Read this text and answer the questions in English. 'Me llamo Mateo y tengo una familia bastante grande. Vivo con mi madre, mi padrastro y mis dos hermanastros. Al principio no me llevaba bien con mi padrastro, pero ahora tenemos una relación muy estrecha. Mi hermana mayor, que vive en Barcelona, está embarazada y vendrá a visitarnos el mes que viene. Lo que más valoro de mi familia es que siempre nos apoyamos mutuamente, aunque a veces mi hermanastro pequeño es un poco testarudo.' (a) Who does Mateo live with? (2 marks) (b) How did Mateo's relationship with his stepfather start, and how is it now? (2 marks) (c) What news does Mateo give about his older sister? (2 marks)
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Write approximately 40 words in Spanish about your family and friends. You must include: who is in your family; what your relationship with one person is like; an activity you do together; an opinion about family life, with a reason.
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See real GCSE Spanish past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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