Identity and Relationships

Personal identity questions open almost every Speaking and Writing task, so the phrases here are the ones you reuse most. The core verbs are llamarse (to be called), ser (to be), and tener (to have).

Spanish	English
Me llamo...	My name is...
Tengo quince años	I am fifteen years old
Mi cumpleaños es el diez de mayo	My birthday is the tenth of May
Soy de Inglaterra	I am from England
Soy inglés / inglesa	I am English (m/f)
Vivo en...	I live in...
Soltero/a, casado/a, divorciado/a	single, married, divorced

Note that age uses tener, not ser: you have years, so tengo catorce años, never soy catorce. Nationalities agree with the speaker, so a girl writes soy española and a boy soy español.

Learn one full self-introduction by heart. It gives you a reliable opening in the Speaking exam and a ready-made paragraph in Writing.

Family is the most common sub-topic in this area. Group the vocabulary by relationship so you can recall it quickly under exam pressure.

Spanish	English
los padres	parents
el padre / la madre	father / mother
el hijo / la hija	son / daughter
el hermano / la hermana	brother / sister
el hermano mayor / menor	older / younger brother
los abuelos	grandparents
el tío / la tía	uncle / aunt
el primo / la prima	cousin
el marido / la mujer	husband / wife
el hijo único / la hija única	only child
el padrastro / la madrastra	stepfather / stepmother
el novio / la novia	boyfriend / girlfriend

To say how many people are in your family, use somos plus a number: En mi familia somos cinco. To introduce a person, use possessive adjectives that agree in number: mi hermano, mis dos hermanas, nuestro perro.

Physical description mixes two verbs. Use ser for overall build and looks, and tener for specific features like hair and eyes. Llevar (to wear) covers glasses and clothing.

Spanish	English
ser alto/a — bajo/a	to be tall — short
ser delgado/a — gordo/a	to be slim — fat
ser guapo/a — feo/a	to be good-looking — ugly
tener el pelo corto / largo	to have short / long hair
tener el pelo rizado / liso	to have curly / straight hair
tener el pelo rubio / moreno / castaño	to have blond / dark / brown hair
ser pelirrojo/a	to be red-haired
tener los ojos azules / verdes / marrones	to have blue / green / brown eyes
llevar gafas	to wear glasses

Worked example: Mi madre es baja y tiene el pelo largo y rizado. Lleva gafas y tiene los ojos verdes. (My mother is short and has long curly hair. She wears glasses and has green eyes.) Every adjective here agrees with the person: baja is feminine to match mi madre.

Personality adjectives are high-value because you can attach them to yourself, family and friends. They must agree with the person: a woman is trabajadora, a man is trabajador.

Spanish	English
simpático/a — antipático/a	nice — unpleasant
gracioso/a, divertido/a	funny
amable, cariñoso/a	kind, affectionate
trabajador(a) — perezoso/a	hardworking — lazy
inteligente, listo/a	intelligent, clever
tímido/a — hablador(a)	shy — talkative
generoso/a — egoísta	generous — selfish
honesto/a, sincero/a	honest, sincere
terco/a, testarudo/a	stubborn

Add an intensifier to sound more natural: muy (very), bastante (quite), un poco (a bit), demasiado (too). For example, Mi hermano es un poco perezoso pero muy gracioso. Adjectives ending in -e or a consonant (like inteligente, amable) do not change for gender, only for number: mis padres son amables.

Relationships use several reflexive verbs, where the pronoun (me, te, se, nos) shows the action involves the people themselves. The essential phrase is llevarse bien/mal con (to get on well/badly with).

Spanish	English
me llevo bien con...	I get on well with...
me llevo mal con...	I get on badly with...
me peleo con... / discuto con...	I argue with...
confío en...	I trust...
me entiendo bien con...	I understand / get along with...
respetar, apoyar	to respect, to support
enamorarse (de)	to fall in love (with)
casarse (con)	to get married (to)
salir con	to go out with

Worked example: Me llevo muy bien con mi mejor amiga porque siempre me apoya, pero a veces me peleo con mi hermano menor. (I get on very well with my best friend because she always supports me, but sometimes I argue with my younger brother.) Notice the reflexive pronoun changes with the subject: me llevo, se lleva, nos llevamos.

Examiners reward a stated opinion with a reason. Combine an opinion phrase, a porque, and a connective to build longer, higher-scoring sentences.

Opinion phrase	English
creo que / pienso que	I think that
en mi opinión	in my opinion
me parece que	it seems to me that
lo bueno/malo es que	the good/bad thing is that
me llevo bien con... porque...	I get on well with... because...

Connective	English
porque	because
además	besides, moreover
también	also
pero / sin embargo	but / however
aunque	although
por eso	therefore, so

Aim to include at least one connective beyond y and porque in each spoken answer. Sin embargo and aunque signal a more developed response.

Learn these frames and swap in your own details. Each one shows a structure examiners look for in Theme 1.

• Me llamo Ana y tengo quince años. — My name is Ana and I am fifteen.
• En mi familia somos cuatro: mis padres, mi hermana y yo. — In my family there are four of us: my parents, my sister and me.
• Mi padre es alto y tiene el pelo corto y castaño. — My father is tall and has short brown hair.
• Me llevo muy bien con mi madre porque es comprensiva y me apoya. — I get on very well with my mother because she is understanding and supports me.
• A veces me peleo con mi hermano, aunque en general nos entendemos bien. — Sometimes I argue with my brother, although in general we get on well.
• Mi mejor amigo es simpático, gracioso y muy trabajador. — My best friend is nice, funny and very hardworking.
• En el futuro me gustaría casarme y tener hijos. — In the future I would like to get married and have children.

Reuse the structures, not the exact details: change the name, the number, and the adjectives to describe your own family.

1. Using ser for age

Age uses tener, not ser. Write tengo catorce años, not soy catorce. The same logic gives mi abuelo tiene setenta años.

2. Forgetting adjective agreement

Adjectives match the person in gender and number. A woman is alta and trabajadora; describing two brothers gives son altos. Writing mi hermana es alto loses accuracy marks.

3. Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Llevarse, casarse and pelearse need their pronoun. Say me llevo bien, not llevo bien; mis padres se casaron, not mis padres casaron.

4. Confusing ser and tener for features

Use tener for hair and eyes (tengo los ojos azules) and ser for the overall description (soy bajo). Mixing them, as in soy ojos azules, is a common slip.

5. Giving an opinion with no reason

Me llevo bien con mi madre on its own is thin. Add porque and a reason: ...porque es cariñosa y siempre me escucha. The reason is where the marks are.