How to Talk About Your Spouse and Children

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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 spouse and children in Russian.

For example, "This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me." is

Это моя семья. Мой муж, мой сын, мои дочери и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moy syn, moi docheri i ya.)

Milena Maslova is studying with her Russian teacher, Karolina Kalashnikova .

The teacher notices a picture on Milena’s computer and asks about the people visible in the picture.

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

муж (muzh)

"husband"

муж

сын (syn)

"son"

сын

дочери (docheri)

"daughters"

дочери

Listen to the conversation, and focus on the response.

Note: Karolina uses formal Russian.

Ready?

Это ваша семья? (Eto vasha sem'ya?)

Да. Это моя семья. Мой муж, мой сын, мои дочери и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moy syn, moi docheri i ya.)

Once more with the English translation.

Это ваша семья? (Eto vasha sem'ya?)

"Is this your family?"

Да. Это моя семья. Мой муж, мой сын, мои дочери и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moy syn, moi docheri i ya.)

"Yes. This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Karolina asks,

"Is this your family?"

Это ваша семья? (Eto vasha 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 (Sem'ya) is feminine and singular — a fact which will determine the form of one or more word in the sentence.

Before семья (sem'ya) is ваша (vasha), meaning "your,'' in this formal context. Ваша . Ваша.

Note ваша (vasha), from ваш, fundamentally means "your" in the plural sense, as when talking to a group of two or more people; however, it’s also formal Russian meaning "your" in the singular sense, as in this case, where Karolina is speaking to Milena.

Now, you might be more familiar with твоя (tvoya), an informal word for "your," as in твоя семья (tvoya sem'ya), "your family" (informal). As this is a conversation between two adults that don’t know each other very well, the formal Russian is more appropriate.

Ваша (Vasha) is feminine to agree with семья (sem'ya).

Together, it's ваша семья (vasha sem'ya). "Your family." Ваша 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 ваша семья? (Eto vasha sem'ya?) This literally means "This your family?" But it translates as "Is this your family?"

Это ваша семья? (Eto vasha sem'ya?)

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

Это ваша семья? (Eto vasha sem'ya?)

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

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Milena says,

"Yes. This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me."

Да. Это моя семья. Мой муж, мой сын, мои дочери и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moy syn, moi docheri i ya.)

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

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

Это ваша семья? (Eto vasha sem'ya?)

After this, Milena points to the picture, and says,

Это моя семья (Eto moya sem'ya). "This is my family."

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

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

Singular and feminine.

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

Моя (Moya) is singular and feminine 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.

Note, 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 it translates as "This is my family." Это моя семья.

After this is мой муж (moy muzh), "my husband." Мой муж.

Let’s start with mуж (muzh), "husband." Муж . Муж.

Муж (Muzh) is singular and masculine.

Before this is мой (moy), "My." Мой .

Мой (Moy) is singular and masculine to agree with муж (muzh).

Мой муж (Moy muzh).

Next is мой сын (moy syn). "My son." Мой сын.

Let's start with сын (syn), "son." Сын . Сын.

Сын (Syn) is singular and masculine.

Before this is Мой (Moy). "My." Мой

Мой (Moy) is singular and masculine to agree with сын (syn).

Мой сын (Moy syn).

After this is мои дочери (moi docheri), "my daughters." Мои дочери.

Let's start with дочери (docheri), "daughters." Дочери . Дочери.

Дочери (Docheri) is the plural form of дочь (doch’), "daughter."

Before this is мои (moi). "My." Мои (Moi) .

Мои (Moi) is plural to agree with дочери (docheri).

Мои дочери (Moi docheri).

Note, to refer to a group of children, мои дети (moi deti), "my children". Мои дети. And to refer to a group of sons, мои сыновья (moi synov'ya), "my sons". Мои сыновья.

Next is и (i), "and." И . И.

And last is я (ya), "I". Я . Я.

All together, Да. Это моя семья. Мой муж, мой сын, мои дочери и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moy syn, moi docheri i ya).

Literally "Yes. This my family. My husband, my son, my daughters and I. But it translates as

"Yes. This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me."

Да. Это моя семья. Мой муж, мой сын, мои дочери и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moy syn, moi docheri 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 your family members are your wife, your son, your daughters, and you.

"Wife" is жена (zhena). Жена . Жена. This is a feminine noun. Therefore "my wife" is моя жена (moya zhena) . Моя жена.

Say

"This is my family. My wife, my son, my daughters, and me."

Ready?

Это моя семья. Моя жена, мой сын, мои дочери и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moya zhena, moy syn, moi docheri i ya.)

"This is my family. My wife, my son, my daughters, and me."

Это моя семья. Моя жена, мой сын, мои дочери и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moya zhena, moy syn, moi docheri i ya.)

Again, the key 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 муж, мой сын, мои дочери и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moy syn, moi docheri' i ya.)

"This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me."

Это моя семья. Мой муж, мой сын, мои дочери и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moy syn, moi docheri' i ya.)

Это моя семья. Моя жена, мой сын, мои дочери и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moya zhena, moy syn, moi docheri i ya.)

"This is my family. My wife, my son, my daughters, and me."

Это моя семья. Моя жена, мой сын, мои дочери и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moya zhena, moy syn, moi docheri i ya.)

Это моя семья. Моя жена, моя дочь и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moya zhena, moya doch' i ya.)

"This is my family. My wife, my daughter, and me."

Это моя семья. Моя жена, моя дочь и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moya zhena, moya doch' i ya.)

Это моя семья. Мой сын, мой муж и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moy syn, moy muzh i ya.)

"This is my family. My son, my husband, and me."

Это моя семья. Мой сын, мой муж и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moy syn, moy muzh i ya.)

Это моя семья. Мой муж, мои сыновья и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moi synov'ya i ya.)

"This is my family. My husband, my sons, and me."

Это моя семья. Мой муж, мои сыновья и я. (Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moi synov'ya i ya.)

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)

And do you remember how Milena says,

"This is my family."

Это моя семья (Eto moya sem'ya)

Do you remember how to say "husband?"

муж (muzh)

And how to say "my husband?"

мой муж (moy muzh)

Do you remember how to say "son?"

сын (syn)

And how to say "my son?"

мой сын (moy syn)

Do you remember how to say "daughters?"

дочери (docheri)

And how to say "my daughters?"

мои дочери (moi docheri)

Do you remember how to say "and?"

и (i)

And how to say "I?"

я (ya)

Do you remember how Milena says,

"Yes. This is my family. My husband, my son, my daughters, and me."

Да. Это моя семья. Мой муж, мой сын, мои дочери и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moy syn, moi docheri i ya.)

Do you remember the formal way to say "your family?"

Ваша семья (Vasha sem'ya)

Do you remember how Karolina asks,

"Is this your family?"

Это ваша семья? (Eto vasha sem'ya?)

Do you remember how to say "wife?"

жена (zhena)

And how to say "my wife?"

моя жена (moya zhena)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Miroslav's colleague, Edward Estis .

You have a wife and a daughter.

Respond to Miroslav’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. Моя жена, моя дочь и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moya zhena, moya doch' i ya.)

Listen again and repeat.

Да. Это моя семья. Моя жена, моя дочь и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moya zhena, moya doch' i ya.)

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Miroslav's boss Alevtina Alekseeva .

You have a husband, daughter and son.

Ready?

Это ваша семья? (Eto vasha sem'ya?)

Да. Это моя семья. Мой муж, моя дочь, мой сын и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moya doch', moy syn i ya.)

Listen again and repeat.

Да. Это моя семья. Мой муж, моя дочь, мой сын и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moya doch', moy syn i ya.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Miroslav's friend Svetlana Sushko .

You have a husband and a son.

Ready?

Это твоя семья? (Eto tvoya sem'ya?)

Да. Это моя семья. Мой муж, мой сын и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moy syn i ya.)

Listen again and repeat.

Да. Это моя семья. Мой муж, мой сын и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moy syn i ya.)

Did you notice how Miroslav uses твоя (tvoya) when asking about his friend’s and colleague’s families?

Это твоя семья? (Eto tvoya sem'ya?)

"Is this your family?"

In less formal situations, like speaking with a friend or close colleague, the less formal, твоя, is more appropriate.

Твоя (tvoya), "your." Твоя (enuciated). Твоя.

Note: Твоя (tvoya) is feminine and singular to agree with семья (sem'ya).

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your spouse and children in Russian. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of talking about family. Let’s review the family members.

Do you remember the word for "sister"?

сестра (sestra)

And the word for "brother"?

брат (brat)

Do you remember the word for "mother"?

мать (mat’)

And the word for "father"?

отец (otets)

Imagine you're Ben Lee , and you have a mother, father and sister.

Respond to your classmate Natalia Ivanova , who sees a picture in your wallet, and asks for the people in it.

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.)

Now imagine you're Ben's mother, Karen Lee , and your friend asks about the people in the picture on your phone.

Это твоя семья? (Eto tvoya sem'ya?)

Да. Это моя семья. Мой муж, мой сын, моя дочь и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moy syn, moya doch' i ya.)

Listen again, and repeat.

Да. Это моя семья. Мой муж, мой сын, моя дочь и я. (Da. Eto moya sem'ya. Moy muzh, moy syn, moya doch' i ya.)

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Talk About Family unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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