Your Family & Pets (Junior Cert German): Revision Notes
Your Family & Pets
Learning to talk about your family and pets is essential for everyday conversations in German. This topic will help you describe who's in your family, express your relationships with them, and talk about any pets you might have.
Basic family vocabulary
When talking about family members, you need to learn the German words for different relatives. Here are the most important terms you'll use regularly:
Core family members
| German | English |
|---|---|
| die Mutter / Mütter | mother / mothers |
| der Vater / Väter | father / fathers |
| die Mama | mum |
| der Papa | dad |
| die Schwester / Schwestern | sister / sisters |
| der Bruder / Brüder | brother / brothers |
| die Eltern | parents |
| keine Geschwister | no brothers or sisters |
Extended family
| German | English |
|---|---|
| der Großvater | grandfather |
| der Opa | grandad |
| die Großmutter | grandmother |
| die Oma | granny |
| der Onkel | uncle |
| die Tante | aunt |
| der Cousin / Cousins | cousin (male) / cousins (male) |
| die Cousine / Cousinen | cousin (female) / cousins (female) |
When talking about your extended family, remember that German makes a distinction between male and female cousins, unlike English.
Practice Examples: Extended Family
- Meine Großmutter wohnt in Berlin. (My grandmother lives in Berlin.)
- Ich habe zwei Onkel und eine Tante. (I have two uncles and one aunt.)
Step-family and blended families
| German | English |
|---|---|
| die Stiefmutter | step-mother |
| der Stiefvater | step-father |
| die Stiefschwester | step-sister |
| der Stiefbruder | step-brother |
| die Halbschwester | half-sister |
| der Halbbruder | half-brother |
| die Pflegemutter | foster mother |
| der Pflegevater | foster father |
These terms are particularly useful when describing modern family structures and blended households.
Practice Examples: Step-family
- Meine Stiefmutter ist sehr nett. (My step-mother is very nice.)
- Ich habe einen Halbbruder und zwei Schwestern. (I have a half-brother and two sisters.)
Using the verb "haben" to talk about family
The verb haben (to have) is crucial when describing your family. You'll use it constantly to say who you have in your family.
Present tense of haben
When describing family members, you typically use haben in the present tense:
- ich habe (I have)
- er/sie/es hat (he/she/it has)
Grammar Rule: Verb Conjugation
The verb changes its ending depending on who is doing the action. This is called conjugation. Always match the verb form to the subject!
Worked Examples: Using haben
- Ich habe eine Schwester und einen Bruder. (I have a sister and a brother.)
- Mein Vater hat zwei Brüder. (My father has two brothers.)
- Sie hat keine Geschwister. (She has no siblings.)
Adding detail with adjectives
Pay attention to the articles (eine, einen, ein) that change depending on the gender and grammatical case of the noun. When describing family members, you can add descriptive words to make your sentences more interesting.
Examples with Adjectives
- Ich habe eine lustige Schwester. (I have a funny sister.)
- Meine Eltern haben drei Kinder. (My parents have three children.)
Talking about family relationships
Beyond simply listing family members, you can express how well you get along with different people using specific phrases.
Expressing relationships
The phrase ich komme gut mit... aus means "I get on well with..." This is a very useful expression for describing family dynamics.
Worked Examples: Family Relationships
Positive relationships:
- Ich komme gut mit meinem Bruder aus. (I get on well with my brother.)
- Ich komme gut mit meiner Mama aus. (I get on well with my mum.)
Difficult relationships:
- Ich komme nicht gut mit meiner Schwester aus. (I don't get on well with my sister.)
Describing personality traits
| German | English |
|---|---|
| lustig | funny |
| nett | nice |
| sympathisch | pleasant |
| großzügig | generous |
| ehrlich | honest |
| nervig | annoying |
| laut | loud |
You can use denn (because) to explain your reasons:
Examples with Reasons
- Ich komme nicht gut mit meinem Cousin aus, denn er ist nervig. (I don't get on well with my cousin because he is annoying.)
- Ich komme gut mit meiner Oma aus, denn sie ist sehr nett. (I get on well with my grandmother because she is very nice.)
- Meine Tante ist sehr großzügig und sympathisch. (My aunt is very generous and pleasant.)
- Mein Bruder kann manchmal laut und nervig sein. (My brother can sometimes be loud and annoying.)
Your pets
Many families include pets, so it's useful to know how to talk about them in German. Like family members, you use haben to say what pets you have.
Basic pet vocabulary
| German | English |
|---|---|
| der Hund | dog |
| die Katze | cat |
| das Kaninchen | rabbit |
| der Hamster | hamster(s) |
| die Maus / Mäuse | mouse / mice |
| das Pferd / Pferde | horse / horses |
| das Meerschweinchen | guinea pig |
| die Spinne / Spinnen | spider / spiders |
Pet Examples
- Ich habe einen Hund. (I have a dog.)
- Wir haben eine Katze. (We have a cat.)
- Sie hat ein Kaninchen. (She has a rabbit.)
- Ich habe keine Haustiere. (I have no pets.)
Plural pets
When you have more than one pet, you need to use plural forms. German plurals follow different patterns depending on the word:
- Most masculine and neuter words add -e: Hunde (dogs)
- Most feminine words add -n: Katzen (cats)
- Words ending in -chen stay the same: Kaninchen (rabbits)
- Some words don't change: Hamster (hamsters)
- Some add an umlaut and -e: Mäuse (mice)
Plural Pet Examples
- Ich habe zwei Hunde. (I have two dogs.)
- Meine Familie hat drei Katzen. (My family has three cats.)
- Er hat sechs Hamster. (He has six hamsters.)
Common mistakes and tips
Common Mistake: Gender Confusion
Remember that German nouns have gender, and this affects the articles (der, die, das). Learn each family word with its article from the beginning.
Common Mistake: Plural Formation
Don't just add -s like in English. Each German word has its own plural pattern, so learn them individually.
Common Mistake: Verb Conjugation
Make sure haben agrees with who is speaking: ich habe but er hat.
Tip: Article Changes
When you add descriptive words, the articles might change (eine becomes einen in some cases). Start with simple sentences and build complexity gradually.
Practice exercises
Practice Exercise: Translation
- Ich habe eine Schwester und zwei Brüder.
- Meine Oma ist sehr lustig.
- I get on well with my father.
- We have three cats.
Answers:
- I have a sister and two brothers.
- My grandmother is very funny.
- Ich komme gut mit meinem Vater aus.
- Wir haben drei Katzen.
Key takeaways
Key Points to Remember:
- Use haben (to have) to talk about family members and pets - ich habe, er/sie hat
- Learn family vocabulary with the correct articles (der Vater, die Mutter, das Kind)
- Use ich komme gut/nicht gut mit... aus to describe relationships with family members
- German plural forms vary by word - don't just add -s like in English
- Practice describing your own family to make the vocabulary stick better