How to Talk About Your Parents and Siblings

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Russian by RussianPod101.com .

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your parents and siblings in Russian.

For example, "This is my family. My father, my mother, my sister, my brother, and Me" is

Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, моя сестра, мой брат и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moya sestra, moy brat i ya.)

Marina Maslova is at a coffee shop with her classmate, Natalia Ivanova .

Marina is showing some pictures to Natalia. Natalia points to one of them and asks about the people visible in it.

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

отец (otets)

"father"

отец

мать (mat’)

"mother"

мать

брат (brat)

"brother"

брат

сестра (sestra)

"sister"

сестра

Listen to the conversation, and focus on the response.

Note: the speakers in this conversation use informal Russian.

Ready?

Это твоя семья? (Eto tvoya sem'ya?)

Да. Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, моя сестра, мой брат и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moya sestra, moy brat i ya.)

Once more with the English translation.

Это твоя семья? (Eto tvoya sem'ya?)

"Is this your family?"

Да. Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, моя сестра, мой брат и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moya sestra, moy brat i ya.)

"Yes. This is my family. My father, my mother, my sister, my brother, and me."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Natalia asks,

"Is this your family?"

Это твоя семья? (Eto tvoya sem'ya?)

Let's start with семья (sem'ya), "family." Семья . Семья.

In Russian, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Семья is feminine and singular — a fact which will determine the form of one or more word in the sentence.

Before семья (sem'ya) is твоя (tvoya), meaning "your." Твоя . Твоя.

Твоя (Tvoya) is feminine and singular to agree with семья (sem'ya).

Together, твоя семья (tvoya sem'ya). "Your family." Твоя семья.

Moving to the start of the sentence, это (eto), "this." Это . Это.

Note, это (eto) is from это есть (eto yest') "this is," where есть (yest’) "is" is omitted.

All together, it’s Это твоя семья? (Eto tvoya sem'ya?) This literally means "This your family?" But it translates as "Is this your family?" Это твоя семья?

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

Это твоя семья? (Eto tvoya sem'ya?)

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

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Marina says,

"Yes. This is my family. My father, my mother, my sister, my brother, and me."

Да. Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, моя сестра, мой брат и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moya sestra, moy brat i ya.)

This starts with the expression, да (da), meaning "yes." Да . Да.

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

Это твоя семья? (Eto tvoya sem'ya?)

After this, Marina points to the picture, and says, это моя семья (eto moya sem'ya).

"This is my family."

Let’s start with, семья (sem'ya), "family." Семья.

Do you remember the gender and number of семья (sem'ya)?

Feminine and singular.

Before this is моя (moya), meaning "my." Моя . Моя.

Моя (Moya) is feminine and singular to agree with семья (sem'ya).

Together, моя семья (moya sem'ya), "my family." Моя семья.

Moving to the start of the sentence, это (eto), "this." Это.

Again, это (eto) is from это есть (eto yest') "this is," where есть (yest’) "is" is omitted.

All together, it’s это моя семья (eto moya sem'ya). Literally, "This my family," but translates as "This is my family." Это моя семья.

After this is мой отец (moy otets), "my father." Мой отец.

Let’s start with отец (otets), "father." Отец . Отец.

Отец (Otets) is maculine and singular.

Before this is мой (moy), "My." Мой .

Мой (Moy) is masculine and singular to agree with отец (otets).

Мой отец (Moy otets).

Next is моя мать (moya mat’). "My mother." Моя мать.

Let’s start with мать (mat’), "mother." Мать . Мать.

Мать (Mat’) is feminine and singular.

Before this is моя (moya). "My."

Моя (Moya) is feminine and singular to agree with мать (mat’).

Моя мать (Moya mat’).

After this is моя сестра (moya sestra), "my sister." Моя сестра (Moya sestra).

Сестра (Sestra), "sister." Сестра . Сестра.

Сестра (Sestra) is feminine and singular.

Before this is Моя (Moya). "My."

Моя (Moya) is feminine and singular to agree with сестра (sestra).

Моя сестра (Moya sestra).

After this is мой брат (moy brat), "my brother." Мой брат.

Let’s start with брат (brat), "brother." Брат . Брат.

Брат (Brat) is maculine and singular.

Before this is мой (moy), "My." Мой .

Мой (Moy) is masculine and singular to agree with брат (brat).

Мой брат (Moy brat).

Next is и (i), "and." И . И.

And last is я (ya), "me". Я . Я.

All together, Да. Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, моя сестра, мой брат и я. ( Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moya sestra, moy brat i ya.) literally, "Yes. This my family. My father, my mother, my sister, my brother, and I." but translates as "Yes. This is my family. My father, my mother, my sister, my brother, and Me."

Да. Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, моя сестра, мой брат и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moya sestra, moy brat i ya.)

The pattern is

Это моя семья. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, i ya.)

"This is my family. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER and me."

Это моя семья. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER и я.

To use this pattern, simply replace the {FAMILY MEMBER} placeholders with the members of your family.

Note: this pattern requires a noun preceded by the corresponding possessive.

Imagine you have two sisters.

Мои сёстры (Moi syostry), "my sisters." Мои сёстры.

Cёстры (syostry). "Sisters." Cёстры . Cёстры.

In Russian, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Cёстры (syostry) is plural — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.

Before this is мои (moi), meaning "my." Мои. Мои.

Мои is plural to agree with сёстры (syostry).

Note, to say "my brothers", мои братья (moi brat’ya) . Мои братья.

Say

"This is my family. My father, my mother, my sisters, and me."

Ready?

Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, мои сёстры и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moi syostry i ya.)

"This is my family. My father, my mother, my sisters, and me."

Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, мои сёстры и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moi syostry i ya.)

In Russian, you may hear children and teenagers referring to parents using more casual language: мама (mama) "mom," and папа (papa) "dad."

Это моя семья. Мой папа, моя мама, мой брат и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moy papa, moya mama, moy brat i ya.)

Again, the pattern is

Это моя семья. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, i ya.)

"This is my family. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER and me."

Это моя семья. FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER, FAMILY MEMBER и я.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, моя сестра, мой брат и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moya sestra, moy brat i ya.)

"This is my family. My father, my mother, my sister, my brother, and me."

Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, моя сестра, мой брат и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moya sestra, moy brat i ya.)

Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, мои сёстры и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moi syostry i ya.)

"This is my family. My father, my mother, my sisters, and me."

Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, мои сёстры и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moi syostry i ya.)

Это моя семья. Моя мать, мой отец, моя сестра и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moya mat', moy otets, moya sestra i ya.)

"This is my family. My mother, my father, my sister, and me."

Это моя семья. Моя мать, мой отец, моя сестра и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moya mat', moy otets, moya sestra i ya.)

Это моя семья. Моя сестра, мой брат, мой папа, моя мама и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moya sestra, moy brat, moy papa, moya mama i ya.)

"This is my family. My sister, my brother, my dad, my mom, and me."

Это моя семья. Моя сестра, мой брат, мой папа, моя мама и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moya sestra, moy brat, moy papa, moya mama i ya.)

Это моя семья. Мои родители, моя сестра и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moi roditeli, moya sestra i ya.)

"This is my family. My parents, my sister, and me."

Это моя семья. Мои родители, моя сестра и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moi roditeli, moya sestra i ya.)

Did you notice how the last speaker replaced мой отец, моя мать (moy otets, moya mat’) with мои родители (moi roditeli)?

Это моя семья. Мои родители, моя сестра и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moi roditeli, moya sestra i ya.)

"This is my family. My parents, my sister, and me."

The phrase, мои родители (moi roditeli), means, "my parents." Мои родители.

Let’s start with родители (roditeli) which is plural — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.

Родители (Roditeli). "Parents." Родители . Родители.

Before this is мои (moi), meaning "my." Мои. Мои.

Мои (Moi) is plural to agree with родители (roditeli).

You should be aware of the plural form, but we’ll use singular nouns in this lesson.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "yes?"

да (da)

And how to say "family?"

семья (sem'ya)

Do you remember how to say "my family?"

моя семья (moya sem'ya)

Do you remember how Marina says,

"This is my family."

это моя семья (eto moya sem'ya)

Do you remember how to say "father?"

отец (otets)

And how to say "my father?"

мой отец (moy otets)

Do you remember how to say "mother?"

мать (mat’)

And how to say "my mother?"

моя мать (moya mat’)

Do you remember how to say "sister?"

сестра (sestra)

And how to say "my sister"?

моя сестра (moya sestra)

Do you remember how to say "brother?"

брат (brat)

And how to say "my brother?"

мой брат (moy brat)

Do you remember how to say "and?"

и (i)

And how to say "me?"

я (ya)

Do you remember how Marina says,

"Yes. This is my family. My father, my mother, my sister, my brother, and me."

Да. Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, моя сестра, мой брат и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moya sestra, moy brat i ya.)

Do you remember how to say "your family?"

твоя семья (tvoya sem'ya)

"Do you remember how Natalia asks,

"Is this your family?"

Это твоя семья? (Eto tvoya sem'ya?)

Do you remember how to say "sisters?"

сёстры (syostry)

And how to say "my sisters?"

мои сёстры (moi syostry)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Mikhail Maslov , Marina's younger brother, and you have a father, отец (otets), mother, мать (mat’), and two sisters, сёстры (syostry).

Respond to your friend's question referring to the photo.

Don't forget to include the word for "yes" at the beginning of your response.

Ready?

Это твоя семья? (Eto tvoya sem'ya?)

Да. Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, мои сёстры и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moi syostry i ya.)

Listen again and repeat.

Да. Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, мои сёстры и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moi syostry i ya.)

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Marina's classmate, Valeri Varchenko .

You have a father, отец (otets), mother, мать (mat’), and sister, сестра (sestra).

Ready?

Это твоя семья? (Eto tvoya sem'ya?)

Да. Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, моя сестра и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moya sestra i ya.)

Listen again and repeat.

Да. Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, моя сестра и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moya sestra i ya.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Marina's classmate, Natalia Ivanova ,

You have a father, отец (otets), mother, мать (mat’), sister,сестра (sestra), and brother, брат (brat).

Ready?

Это твоя семья? (Eto tvoya sem'ya?)

Да. Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, моя сестра, мой брат и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moya sestra, moy brat i ya.)

Listen again and repeat.

Да. Это моя семья. Мой отец, моя мать, моя сестра, мой брат и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy otets, moya mat', moya sestra, moy brat i ya.)

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