List of Family Members and Their Spelling

Knowing the list of members of the family in English is more important, especially for the students. They can learn the names of family members to improve and enlarge their English vocabulary. Whether you get along with your family or not, we all have one, and learning how to talk about them in English means knowing how to refer to distinct family members.

This knowledge will also come in handy when listening to native speakers talk about their own families or while reading a text that contains family member names.

You can learn about your family members by reading articles like these or asking your parents for help.

List of Family Members

Immediate Family

Examples

• You are a parent when you have children.

• You are a father if you are a male parent.

• You are a mother if you are a female parent.

• He is your son if one of your children is a boy.

• She is your daughter if one of your children is a girl.

When a man and a woman marry, the man becomes the husband and the woman becomes his wife.

The parents of a brother and sister are the same.

Siblings is a term used to denote brothers and sisters as a group. This word, however, is usually only used in written English and not spoken English.

Different Generations

Relatives and Extended Family

• Grandparents: they are the parents of your parents

• Grandfather: he is the father of your mother or father

• Grandmother: she is the mother of your mother or father

• Grandchildren: they are the children of your children

• Grandson: he is the son of anyone of your children

• Granddaughter: she is the daughter of one of your children

• Great grandfather: He is the father of your grandmother or grandfather

• Great grandmother: She is the mother of your grandmother or grandfather.

• Uncle: He is the brother or brother-in-law of your father or mother

• Aunt: She is the sister or sister-in-law of your father or mother

• Cousin: He/she is the child of your uncle or aunt

• Nephew: He is the male child of your sister or brother

• Niece: She is the female child of your sister or brother.

The In-Laws

The in-laws are family members of your spouse (the person you are married to) or relatives who have married into your family:

• Father-in-law: He is the father of your spouse

• Mother-in-law: She is the mother of your spouse

• Son-in-law: He is the husband of your daughter

• Daughter-in-law: He is the wife of your son

• Brother-in-law: He is the husband of your sister

• Sister-in-law: She is the wife of your brother.

Note: To refer either to more than one brother-in-law or sister-in-law etc. we will add an S to the sister or brother.

For example, My sisters-in-laws and My brothers-in-law are fun and crazy.

The Family Mix

In many countries nowadays, a person can marry many times. When someone remarries, these are the terms used to characterize the "new" members of the family.

"Step-" means, you are related as a result of one parent remarrying.

• Stepfather: He is the (new) husband of your mother but not your biological father

• Stepmother: She is the (new) wife of your father but not your biological mother

• Stepson: He is the son of your (new) wife or husband (and he is not your biological son)

• Stepdaughter: She is the daughter of your (new) wife or husband (and she is not your biological daughter)

• Stepsister: She is the daughter of your stepfather or stepmother

• Stepbrother: He is the son of your stepfather or stepmother.

Sometimes one of your parents gets remarried and they have more children. Then they are called:

• Half-brother: He is the brother that you have only one parent in common with.

• Half-sister: She is the sister that you only have one parent in common with.

Your half-brother or half-sister is still your half-brother or half-sister if your parents never married (and had the child outside of marriage).

However, your half-brother or half-sister may still be referred to as your brother or sister (without adding the half- part).

Members of The Family

Conclusion

Learning about the family members is good to know and it helps you to explain to your younger family members, and you can come to know the relation by yourself. You can also identify how many generations that your family is with at present.