Series ID: EDKS-BASIC-ZH-0007 · Lesson No.007 · 零基础英语第七课 · Pre-A1 → A1

My Family | 我的家人

This is my family. I have one brother and one sister. My mother is a teacher.
这是我的家人。我有一个兄弟和一个姐妹。我的妈妈是一名老师。

Family language looks easy because the people are familiar. But it teaches several important English systems at the same time: naming people, showing relationships, using possession, describing age, talking about jobs, choosing pronouns and connecting one sentence to the next.

家庭英语看起来很简单，因为人物都很熟悉。但它会同时训练很多基础机制：人物称谓、关系、所有格、年龄、职业、代词和句子之间的连接。

For Mandarin speakers, there is another important lesson. Chinese kinship vocabulary is often more specific than basic English kinship vocabulary. A single English word such as cousin can cover several Chinese words. A Chinese word such as 哥哥 may need an English phrase such as older brother if the age distinction matters.

对中文母语学习者来说，还有一个非常重要的事实：中文亲属称谓通常比基础英语更细。一个 cousin 可以覆盖多个中文称谓；而“哥哥”如果必须强调长幼，英语可能要说 older brother。

Chinese Edition Hub · 中文版入口 · ← Lesson No.006 · Time and Days

The lesson map | 本课路线

mother, father and parents
brother, sister and sibling
son, daughter, child and children
grandparents
uncle, aunt, cousin, niece and nephew
husband, wife, spouse and partner
older/younger relationships
This is my… / Who is this?
I have… / he has…
Do you have…? / Does she have…?
my, your, his, her, our and their
possessive ‘s
age, jobs, places and simple descriptions
family-tree reading and relationship reasoning
privacy, respectful description and diverse family structures
pronunciation, listening, retrieval, writing and speaking

The goal is not to memorise a family dictionary. The goal is to build a relationship system you can use.

目标不是背一张“家庭成员词汇表”，而是建立一套真正能表达人物关系的英语系统。

1. Mother, father and parents | 母亲、父亲、父母

mother	母亲 / 妈妈
father	父亲 / 爸爸
parents	父母
mum / mom	妈妈
dad	爸爸

mother and father are neutral standard words. mum/mom and dad are common family words. British English commonly writes mum; American English commonly writes mom.

This is my mother.
This is my father.
These are my parents.

Notice the plural sentence: These are my parents. It reconnects the singular/plural system from Lesson 002.

2. Brother and sister | brother / sister 比中文更宽

Mandarin commonly distinguishes 哥哥, 弟弟, 姐姐 and 妹妹 as separate everyday words. Basic English first divides the relationship mainly by gender:

brother — 兄弟，可以是哥哥或弟弟
sister — 姐妹，可以是姐姐或妹妹

If age matters, add:

older brother — 哥哥
younger brother — 弟弟
older sister — 姐姐
younger sister — 妹妹

English does not require the age distinction every time. If you say my brother, the listener may not know whether he is older or younger, and that is often completely fine.

所以不要把“哥哥一定要翻 older brother”当成所有场景都必须的规则。信息重要时才补充。

3. Sibling | 更中性的兄弟姐妹词

sibling means a brother or sister. It is useful when gender or exact relationship is not important.

I have two siblings.
Do you have any siblings?
She is my sibling.

For absolute beginners, brother and sister are often more immediately useful. Learn sibling as a wider category.

4. Son, daughter, child and children | 儿子、女儿、孩子

son	儿子
daughter	女儿
child	一个孩子
children	多个孩子

child → children is irregular. Do not say “childs”.

I have one child.
I have two children.
She has one son and one daughter.
They have three children.

This connects family vocabulary to Lesson 005’s irregular plurals.

5. Grandmother, grandfather and grandparents | 祖辈

grandmother — 祖母 / 外祖母
grandfather — 祖父 / 外祖父
grandparents — 祖父母 / 外祖父母，泛指祖辈父母

Mandarin often distinguishes paternal and maternal grandparents directly in the kinship word: 爷爷, 奶奶, 外公, 外婆. Basic English does not make the same distinction inside grandmother/grandfather.

If the side matters, English can add context: my mother’s mother, my father’s father, or more formal terms such as maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather. A beginner does not need the formal labels first.

6. Uncle | uncle 可以对应很多中文称谓

English uncle can describe a parent’s brother or the husband of a parent’s sibling. Depending on the family relationship, Chinese may use 叔叔, 伯伯, 舅舅, 姑父, 姨父 and other terms.

这不是英语“不够精确”，而是两种语言把亲属关系分类的方式不同。

My uncle lives in Shanghai.
This is my uncle.
I have three uncles.

If exact relation matters, explain it: He is my mother’s brother.

7. Aunt | aunt 同样是大类

English aunt can cover several relations that Mandarin may name separately: 姑姑, 阿姨, 舅妈, 婶婶 and others.

My aunt is a doctor.
This is my aunt.
My aunt lives near my parents.

If exact relation matters, say: She is my father’s sister.

8. Cousin | cousin 不直接区分堂表、男女、长幼

Basic English cousin is broad. By itself, it does not tell the listener whether the person is male or female, older or younger, from the father’s side or mother’s side, 堂 or 表.

一个 cousin 可以对应堂哥、堂姐、堂弟、堂妹、表哥、表姐、表弟、表妹等多种中文称谓。

This is my cousin.
I have four cousins.
My cousin lives in Beijing.

If extra information matters, add it separately: my older cousin, my cousin on my mother’s side, or another explanatory phrase.

9. Niece and nephew | 侄/甥辈的英语大类

niece — 兄弟姐妹的女儿，中文具体称谓视关系而定
nephew — 兄弟姐妹的儿子，中文具体称谓视关系而定

English again groups several Chinese kinship distinctions into broader categories.

My niece is ten.
My nephew lives with my sister.

10. Husband, wife, spouse and partner | 丈夫、妻子、配偶、伴侣

husband — 丈夫
wife — 妻子
spouse — 配偶，较中性/正式
partner — 伴侣；具体含义依语境

Families and relationships are diverse. English learners need language that can describe real life respectfully. Do not assume every adult has a husband or wife, or that every household has the same structure.

11. Stepfamily and other relationship words | 重组家庭等词汇预览

stepmother — 继母
stepfather — 继父
stepbrother — 继兄弟
stepsister — 继姐妹
guardian — 监护人
adoptive parent — 收养父母
foster parent — 寄养家庭中的照顾者

You do not need to memorise all of these now. The point is to know that English has vocabulary for many family structures.

12. This is my… | 这是我的……

This is my mother.
This is my father.
This is my brother.
This is my sister.
This is my grandmother.
This is my cousin.

This is Lesson 002’s identification frame reused for people. A strong language system reuses old structures with new vocabulary.

13. Who is this? | 这是谁？

Who is this?
这是谁？

Who is this? — This is my father.
Who is she? — She is my sister.
Who is he? — He is my brother.

who asks about a person. what usually asks about a thing, category or information.

14. I have… | 我有……

I have one brother.
I have two sisters.
I have three children.
I have a big family.
I have a small family.

English conventionally uses have to describe family composition and relationships. This does not mean people are possessions in a literal sense.

15. He has / She has | 第三人称用 has

I have	我有
you have	你有
we have	我们有
they have	他们有
he has	他有
she has	她有

She has one brother.
He has two sisters.
My mother has three brothers.
My uncle has two children.

Mandarin verbs do not normally change for he/she in this way. That makes has an important transfer point for Chinese learners.

16. Do you have…? | 你有……吗？

Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Do you have children?
Do you have a big family?

Short answers: Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.

17. Does she have…? | 她有……吗？

Does she have any children?
Does he have a brother?
Does your aunt have children?

After does, use have, not has: She has two children → Does she have two children?

18. How many people are in your family? | 你家有几口人？

How many people are in your family?

There are three people in my family.
There are four people in my family.
There are six people in my family.

Another useful phrase is We are a family of four. The There are… version is more transparent for a beginner.

19. There is / There are | 家庭照片里有谁？

There is one child in the photo.
There are two children in the photo.
There are five people in the picture.

This reconnects Lesson 004’s existence system to family descriptions.

20. My, your, his, her, our, their | 所有格限定词

my	我的
your	你的 / 你们的
his	他的
her	她的
our	我们的
their	他们的 / 她们的 / 它们的

my mother
your brother
his father
her sister
our parents
their children

Spoken Mandarin tā does not distinguish 他/她 by sound. English his and her do.

21. Name + ‘s | Mei’s mother

Mei’s mother — Mei 的妈妈
David’s father — David 的爸爸
Lin’s brother — Lin 的兄弟
Anna’s children — Anna 的孩子们

English often adds ‘s after a person or name to show possession or relationship.

22. Whose? | 谁的？

Whose asks about ownership or relationship.

Whose bag is this? — It’s my mother’s bag.
Whose photo is this? — It’s Mei’s photo.

23. Age inside a family description | 把第 005 课接进来

My brother is fifteen years old.
My sister is twenty.
My father is fifty-two.
My grandmother is seventy-eight.

Now age is not a separate grammar exercise. It carries information about a person you are describing.

24. Jobs inside a family description | 家人的职业

My mother is a teacher.
My father is an engineer.
My sister is a student.
My brother works in a shop.
My aunt is a doctor.

With a singular countable job noun, English commonly needs a/an: a teacher, an engineer, a doctor.

25. What does he do? | 他做什么工作？

What does he do?
他做什么工作？

He’s a teacher.
He’s an engineer.
He works in a bank.

Learn the whole question as a social tool meaning “What is his job?”

26. Where does she live? | 她住在哪里？

Where does your sister live?
She lives in Beijing.
Where do your parents live?
They live in Chengdu.

27. Lives, works, studies | 家庭介绍里的第三人称 -s

I live	she lives
I work	he works
I study	she studies
I go	he goes
I have	she has

Family description is a natural place to train the third-person singular because you constantly talk about he/she.

28. Describe a person simply | 简单描述人物

My mother is kind.
My father is quiet.
My sister is funny.
My brother is tall.
My grandmother is very active.

Choose respectful, relevant descriptions. A language lesson does not need to turn a person’s body into an object for judgment.

29. He, she and they | 用代词让文章不重复

This is my mother. She is a teacher. She works at a school.
This is my father. He is fifty-two. He likes music.
These are my parents. They live in Beijing.

This is the beginning of a reference chain. It makes connected English possible.

30. Be careful with he/she in listening and speaking | he/she 对中文母语者的特别卡点

Spoken Mandarin uses the same syllable tā for 他 and 她. Written Chinese distinguishes them, but speech does not. English makes the distinction in speech: he and she.

He is my brother.
She is my sister.
His name is Wei.
Her name is Mei.

31. Pronunciation focus: mother, father, brother | /ð/

In many standard English accents, mother, father, brother contain /ð/. Mandarin does not have the same phoneme.

Practice physically: place the tongue lightly between the teeth, let air pass and add voice. Do not replace it permanently with a Chinese syllable. Aim first for intelligibility.

32. Family tree as a reading tool | 用家谱图学习关系

Imagine this fictional family:

Grandparents: David and Anna
Their children: Michael and Susan
Michael’s wife: Mei
Michael and Mei’s children: Lin and Kai
Susan’s son: Ben

Now reason through relationships:

David is Lin’s grandfather.
Anna is Kai’s grandmother.
Susan is Lin’s aunt.
Ben is Lin’s cousin.
Lin is Ben’s cousin.

33. Family-tree questions | 家谱推理问题

Who is Michael’s wife?
Who are David and Anna’s children?
Who is Lin’s aunt?
Who is Kai’s cousin?
Who are Lin’s grandparents?

Try to answer directly in English without rebuilding the Chinese kinship label first.

34. A family photo dialogue | 家庭照片对话

A: Who is this?
B: This is my sister.
A: How old is she?
B: She’s twenty-one.
A: And who is he?
B: He’s my father.
A: What does he do?
B: He’s a teacher.

One short dialogue now integrates identity, age, pronouns, family relationship and job.

35. A relative-location dialogue | 亲属住在哪里？

A: Do your parents live near you?
B: Yes. They live near my home.
A: What about your brother?
B: He lives in another city.
A: Do you see him often?
B: Yes. I see him on Sunday.

This combines family with Lesson 004 location and Lesson 006 days.

36. Family routines dialogue | 家庭日常预览

A: What time does your mother start work?
B: At eight.
A: Does your father work on Saturday?
B: No, he doesn’t.
A: When do you have dinner together?
B: On Sunday evening.

This previews Lesson 008: family members inside daily routine.

37. Family diversity and privacy | 家庭结构与隐私

A learner may live with one parent, grandparents, relatives, guardians, an adoptive family, a foster family, a blended family, a spouse, a partner, children, friends, housemates or alone. A good English lesson gives the learner language to describe reality without judging it.

学习者不需要为了练习而公开真实家庭资料。如果不愿意分享，可以使用虚构人物、故事角色或虚构家谱。

Privacy is part of good teaching. “Tell me about your family” should be an invitation, not a demand for sensitive information.

38. Family name, given name and naming order | 姓与名的英语表达

English-language forms often use labels such as family name / surname and given name / first name. Chinese names are commonly written family name first in Chinese contexts, while some international forms ask for given name and family name in separate boxes.

例如“王丽”里，王是 family name/surname，丽是 given name。不要假设国际表格里的 “first name” 永远等于中文书写顺序中的第一个字。

For official forms, follow the exact label and your legal document.

39. Reading practice A: Chen Wei’s family | 阅读 A

My name is Chen Wei. There are five people in my home. I live with my parents, my grandmother and my younger sister. My father is fifty-two years old. He works in an office and usually gets home at six. My mother is forty-eight. She is a teacher. My grandmother is seventy-six and she likes gardening. My younger sister is fifteen and she is a student. I also have an older brother, but he lives in another city. We usually have dinner together on Sunday.

中文：我叫陈伟。我家里住五个人：父母、祖母/外祖母、妹妹和我。爸爸五十二岁，在办公室工作，通常六点回家。妈妈四十八岁，是老师。祖母/外祖母七十六岁，喜欢园艺。妹妹十五岁，是学生。我还有一个哥哥，但住在另一个城市。我们通常星期日一起吃晚饭。

How many people live in Chen Wei’s home?
Who lives with him?
How old is his father?
What does his mother do?
How old is his younger sister?
Does his older brother live with the family?
When do they usually have dinner together?

40. Reading practice B: Mei’s extended family | 阅读 B

Mei has a large extended family. Her mother has two brothers and one sister. Mei calls them her uncles and aunt in English. One uncle lives in Guangzhou and has two children. They are Mei’s cousins. Her aunt lives near Mei’s parents and often visits them on Saturday. Mei’s grandparents live with her aunt. Mei sometimes explains the exact Chinese relationship when it is important, but in simple English she usually uses uncle, aunt and cousin.

中文：Mei 有一个很大的大家庭。她妈妈有两个兄弟和一个姐妹。英语里 Mei 称他们为 uncles 和 aunt。一个舅/叔辈住在广州，有两个孩子，他们就是 Mei 的 cousins。她的 aunt 住在父母附近，经常星期六来访。祖父母/外祖父母和 aunt 一起住。

How many brothers does Mei’s mother have?
How many sisters does Mei’s mother have?
What English words does Mei use for these relatives?
How many children does one uncle have?
What are those children to Mei?
Who lives with Mei’s aunt?

41. Reading practice C: a different household | 阅读 C

Anna lives with her grandmother and her son. Her son is eight years old. Anna’s parents live in another country. She speaks to them online every week. Her brother lives near her and often helps with school pick-up. On Sunday, Anna, her son, her grandmother and her brother usually have lunch together. Anna says, “My family does not all live in one house, but we are close.”

This text reminds us that “family” is a relationship system, not a single household template.

Who lives with Anna?
How old is her son?
Where do Anna’s parents live?
How often does she speak to them?
Who lives near Anna?
What do they usually do on Sunday?

42. Writing practice: six family sentences | 六句家庭介绍

There are ___ people in my family/home.
I live with ___.
I have ___.
My ___ is ___ years old.
He/She is a ___ / works ___.
We usually ___ together.

Use real information only if comfortable. Fictional practice is fully acceptable.

43. Writing practice: one person in depth | 深一点写一个家人

Who is the person?
How old is he/she?
Where does he/she live?
What does he/she do?
What does he/she like?
When do you see or speak to this person?

Turn the six answers into one short paragraph. This trains reference chains: name → he/she → his/her.

44. Speaking practice: 30-second family introduction | 30 秒家庭介绍

Use five keywords only: people, live, brother/sister, parent, together. Do not read a full script.

Repeat the talk three times. First finish the meaning. Second repair grammar. Third make it smoother.

45. Speaking practice: family-tree explanation | 解释家谱

This is Anna.
David is her husband.
They have two children.
Michael is their son.
Susan is their daughter.
Ben is Susan’s son.
Ben is Michael’s nephew.

This turns vocabulary into relational reasoning.

46. Listening ladder | 家庭听力阶梯

Single family words.
He/she identification.
His/her identification.
One relationship sentence.
Age + relationship sentence.
Job + relationship sentence.
Two-person mini-dialogue.
Short family description.
Family-tree reasoning from audio.
Natural-speed family conversation.

47. Error clinic | 常见错误诊所

Common error	Better English	What broke?
She my sister. ✗	She is my sister. ✓	be missing
He have two brothers. ✗	He has two brothers. ✓	third-person have
Does she has children? ✗	Does she have children? ✓	does + base verb
two childs ✗	two children ✓	irregular plural
my mother sister ✗	my mother’s sister ✓	possessive structure
My sister have fifteen years. ✗	My sister is fifteen years old. ✓	age pattern
He is my cousin brother. △	He is my cousin. ✓	direct transfer
He/she confused	match person + English pronoun	spoken transfer

48. Mandarin–English kinship transfer map | 中英亲属系统比较

Mandarin distinction	Basic English	What English adds if needed
哥哥 / 弟弟	brother	older / younger
姐姐 / 妹妹	sister	older / younger
爷爷 / 外公	grandfather	father’s side / mother’s side
奶奶 / 外婆	grandmother	father’s side / mother’s side
叔伯舅等	uncle	relationship phrase
姑姨婶等	aunt	relationship phrase
堂/表兄弟姐妹	cousin	age/gender/side if relevant

The lesson is not “English has fewer words, therefore English is less precise.” English can be precise, but it often puts precision in an added phrase instead of the base kinship word.

49. First weak link diagnosis | 第一个卡点诊断

I know Chinese kinship terms but cannot choose an English category → category mapping.
I know the noun but omit is → be sentence repair.
I use have for everyone → third-person has.
I say Does she has → do/does mechanism.
I confuse his/her → listening and pronoun mapping.
I can describe one person but not connect sentences → reference chains.
I can read a family tree but cannot explain it → retrieval and relationship reasoning.
I do not want to share personal information → use fictional data; not a language weakness.

50. Retrieval lab | 提取练习

这是我的妈妈。 → ______
这是我的兄弟。 → ______
这是我的姐姐。 → ______
我有两个姐妹。 → ______
她有一个孩子。 → ______
这是谁？ → ______
他多大？ → ______
我家有四个人。 → ______
这是 Mei 的爸爸。 → ______
她是我的 cousin。 → ______

Suggested answers: This is my mother. / This is my brother. / This is my older sister. / I have two sisters. / She has one child. / Who is this? / How old is he? / There are four people in my family. / This is Mei’s father. / She is my cousin.

51. Spaced practice | 延时复习

Today: learn the core family map.
Tomorrow: redraw it from memory.
Three days later: describe a fictional family photo.
One week later: explain a new family tree.
Two weeks later: give a 60-second family introduction without notes.

52. Ten-minute daily routine | 每天十分钟

2 min	family vocabulary map	关系词
2 min	This is my… / Who is this?	人物识别
2 min	I have / he has	have/has
2 min	age + job + place	人物信息
2 min	30-second family talk	短口语

53. Seven-day training cycle | 七天训练

Day 1	parents + siblings	父母与兄弟姐妹
Day 2	children + grandparents	孩子与祖辈
Day 3	uncle/aunt/cousin/niece/nephew	大家庭分类
Day 4	I have / she has / does she have	关系语法
Day 5	his/her/’s + pronoun chains	所有格与指代
Day 6	age + job + location	人物描述
Day 7	family tree + one-minute talk	综合输出

54. Self-test: 30 questions | 30 题自测

Translate: 这是我的妈妈。
Translate: 这是我的爸爸。
What English word can mean 哥哥 or 弟弟?
How do you say 哥哥 when age matters?
How do you say 妹妹 when age matters?
What is a sibling?
What is the plural of child?
What broad English word can cover many 叔伯舅 relationships?
What broad word can cover many 姑姨婶 relationships?
What word can cover many 堂/表兄弟姐妹 relationships?
Translate: 我有两个姐妹。
Translate: 她有一个孩子。
Correct: He have a brother.
Correct: Does she has children?
Ask: 这是谁？
Ask: 她多大？
Translate: 我家有五个人。
Translate: Mei 的爸爸。
Translate: 他的妈妈。
Translate: 她的兄弟。
Translate: 他们的父母。
Ask: 你有兄弟姐妹吗？
Ask: 她住在哪里？
Translate: 她住在北京。
Translate: 我妈妈是一名老师。
Why does English say cousin where Chinese may use several different words?
What pronoun follows “my mother”?
What pronoun follows “my parents”?
Give a three-sentence description of a fictional family member.
Explain one relationship in a fictional family tree.

Answer key | 答案

1 This is my mother; 2 This is my father; 3 brother; 4 older brother; 5 younger sister; 6 a brother or sister; 7 children; 8 uncle; 9 aunt; 10 cousin; 11 I have two sisters; 12 She has one child; 13 He has a brother; 14 Does she have children?; 15 Who is this?; 16 How old is she?; 17 There are five people in my family; 18 Mei’s father; 19 his mother; 20 her brother; 21 their parents; 22 Do you have any brothers or sisters?; 23 Where does she live?; 24 She lives in Beijing; 25 My mother is a teacher; 26 English groups those relationships more broadly and adds detail separately when needed; 27 she; 28 they; 29–30 answers vary.

55. For parents and teachers | 给家长和老师

Do not teach the kinship list as if every Chinese term must have one exact English word. That creates false equivalence. Teach a comparison map: what distinctions Mandarin lexicalises, what distinctions English lexicalises, and what English adds through phrases.

不要做“一个中文词 = 一个英文词”的假地图。要告诉学习者，两种语言分类方式不同。

Use family trees, fictional photos and role cards. They allow repeated practice without requiring personal disclosure. Privacy and emotional safety matter, especially for children or learners whose family situation is sensitive.

When a learner makes an error, identify the mechanism: vocabulary category, be, have/has, do/does, plural, possession, pronoun, age syntax or third-person verb. Then repair only that layer first.

Move from naming → sentence → question → paragraph → family tree → spoken explanation. This gives the learner a visible progression from vocabulary to connected language.

56. Final real-world challenge | 最终真实任务

Name ten family relationships in English.
Explain brother/sister vs 哥哥弟弟姐姐妹妹.
Explain why cousin can cover several Chinese labels.
Introduce four fictional people using This is my…
Use I have, he has and Does she have correctly.
Give ages for two fictional family members.
Use my/his/her/their correctly.
Use one possessive ‘s phrase.
Read a family tree and answer five relationship questions.
Give a one-minute family introduction without full notes.

If you can do this, family English has moved beyond vocabulary. You are now controlling a small network of people, relationships and information.

如果能完成，你已经不是“背家庭单词”，而是在控制一张人物关系网络。

Next: Lesson No.008 | 下一课

Now put these people into everyday life.

I get up at seven. I have breakfast. I go to work.
我七点起床。我吃早餐。我去上班。

Lesson No.008 · My Daily Routine · 第 008 课

Reference floor: British Council A1 Elementary · British Council A1–A2 Vocabulary · Cambridge English Vocabulary in Use: Elementary · Cambridge Essential Grammar in Use A1–B1.

Small Group Tutorials

How to Learn Basic English (Chinese Edition) | Lesson No.007 | My Family | 我的家人