Family Relationships
Primary 6 · English
Family Relationships
Lesson 1 of 5
45 min
At a Rwandan wedding, you might meet a hundred relatives in one afternoon: your father's cousin, your mother's aunt, your cousin's new baby... “Who is that?” you whisper to your mother.
Today you will learn the English words for every branch of the family tree, and how to use have got and has got to describe your family.
This text is adapted from the Simple English Wikipedia article Family.
A family is a group of people who, in most cases, live together. They share their money and food and take care of one another. Family members are related by birth, like a brother and a sister, or by law, for example by marriage.
A family is often called the smallest unit of society. There are different kinds of family:
- A nuclear family is made up of parents and one or more children living together.
- A single-parent family has one parent and one or more children.
- An extended family includes more relatives: grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews. In many countries, extended families traditionally live together.
- A foster family is a family in which a child lives with, and is cared for by, people who are not his or her birth parents.
Nuclear families and single-parent families are also called the immediate family.
Uwase, who is in P6, drew her father's side of the family. Read her description.
| Grandparents | Grandfather Gatete and Grandmother Mukamana | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Their children | Uncle Niyonzima | Habimana (Uwase's father), married to Umutoni | Aunt Mutesi |
| Grandchildren | — | Uwase (11), Ishimwe (8), Keza (4) | Byiringiro (9) |
My grandparents, Gatete and Mukamana, have got three children: my uncle Niyonzima, my father Habimana and my aunt Mutesi. My father is married to my mother, Umutoni. They have got three children: me, my brother Ishimwe and my little sister Keza, so I have got two siblings. Aunt Mutesi has got one son, Byiringiro. He is my cousin. To Aunt Mutesi, I am her niece and Ishimwe is her nephew. Uncle Niyonzima hasn't got any children yet.
Answer each question in your head or in your exercise book first. Then tap Show answer to check.
What kind of family is made up of parents and their children only?
A nuclear family.
Who belongs to an extended family?
Grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews, as well as parents and children.
What is a foster family?
A family in which a child is cared for by people who are not his or her birth parents.
Who is Byiringiro to Ishimwe?
His cousin (the son of his aunt Mutesi).
What is Uwase to Uncle Niyonzima?
His niece (the daughter of his brother).
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| grandparents | your parents' parents: grandfather and grandmother |
| aunt / uncle | your parent's sister / your parent's brother (also the wife or husband of one of them) |
| cousin | the child of your aunt or uncle |
| niece / nephew | the daughter / son of your brother or sister |
| siblings | brothers and sisters |
| grandchildren | the children of your children |
| only child | a child with no brothers or sisters |
| twins | two children born to the same mother at the same time |
| stepmother / stepfather | the new wife of your father / the new husband of your mother |
| relatives | all the people in your extended family |
In British English we often use have got to say what people have, including family members.
| I, you, we, they | he, she, it | |
|---|---|---|
| Positive | I have got ('ve got) two sisters. | She has got ('s got) a cousin in Huye. |
| Negative | We haven't got a grandfather. | He hasn't got any children. |
| Question | Have you got any brothers? Yes, I have. / No, I haven't. | Has Keza got a twin? Yes, she has. / No, she hasn't. |
Two common mistakes: She have got (say She has got), and Do you have got? (say Have you got? or Do you have?).
Tip
He, she, it → has got. Everyone else → have got
In a question, have or has jumps to the front: Have you got ...? Has he got ...?
Write your answers in your exercise book, then check.
Complete: My uncle ___ got two daughters.
Answer: has
Make a question: (you / any cousins)
Answer: Have you got any cousins?
Your mother's sister is your ___.
Answer: aunt
Your sister's son is your ___.
Answer: nephew
Write four sentences about your family with have got and has got.
Answer: Example: I have got one brother and two sisters. My mother has got three sisters, so I have got three aunts. My aunt Mutesi has got a baby son. He is my cousin.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick check
Match each family word to its meaning.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
