French - Family members

About this resource

What's inside this resource

In this worksheet you will learn the vocabulary to describe the extended family. You will also learn how to describe relationships and avoid using 'apostrophe s' (for example, le père de ma mère = my mum's dad). There is 1 exercise of phrases to translate from French into English and all necessary vocabulary is provided. Suitable for all levels of ability. Answers provided.

What's included

A two-column vocabulary table pairing masculine and feminine family terms with their articles, from le mari / la femme through to l'arrière grand-père / l'arrière grand-mère (page 1)
A note on articles: le for masculine, la for feminine, and l' before a vowel, with le / la / l' glossed as "the"
A note on possessives: mon before a single male relative or any word beginning with a vowel, ma before a single female relative (page 1)
The words de (of) and est (is) given separately, with worked examples of the sentence pattern they build (pages 1-2)
A statement that French has no possessive apostrophe, so "my sister's husband" must be expressed as "the husband of my sister" (page 2)
Exercise 1: twenty-four French sentences to translate into English, ruled with answer lines (pages 2-4)
A page headed "Les réponses" giving the English translation of all twenty-four sentences (page 5)

Resource types: Worksheets & Printables, Worksheets

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Name family relationships in French in both masculine and feminine forms, including step, half and in-law relations
Choose the correct article - le, la or l' - for a family noun according to its gender and first letter
Use mon and ma correctly, including mon before a feminine noun that starts with a vowel
Translate the French pattern "X de Y est Z" into natural English, recognising that de expresses possession where English would use an apostrophe
Work out an unfamiliar relationship term from its parts, such as demi-frère, beau-fils or arrière grand-mère

Teaching tips

The twenty-four sentences all use the same frame - one relative, de, another relative, est, the answer - so students can be pushed for speed once the vocabulary is secure
The pattern reverses neatly for oral practice: read the English translation from the answers page and ask for the French sentence back
The compound terms repay a minute of explicit teaching - beau- and belle- cover both step and in-law relations, demi- marks half and step siblings, and arrière- marks a great-grandparent
Two entries in the table are deliberately identical - l'enfant appears as both child (boy) and child (girl) - which is a useful way in to nouns that do not change form with gender
The sheet assumes only de, est and the possessives, so it can be given before any verb work beyond être has been covered

Skills covered

French family vocabulary - students meet paired masculine and feminine terms across seventeen relationships, from husband and wife out to great-grandparents.
Noun gender - every term is printed with its article, so le, la and l' are learned alongside the word rather than as a separate rule.
Possessive adjectives - mon and ma replace the article in all twenty-four exercise sentences, with mon also required before a vowel.
Translation from French to English - students render sentences built on the frame "Le fils de mon oncle est mon cousin" into English.
Working without a possessive apostrophe - the de construction is taught explicitly as the way French expresses what English marks with 's.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Why are the sentences built as "the father of my mother" rather than with an apostrophe?

Because French has no possessive apostrophe. The sheet states it directly and then drills the alternative: relationships are expressed with de, so "my sister's husband" becomes "le mari de ma soeur", and all twenty-four exercise sentences follow that frame.

Which direction do the translations run?

French into English. Every one of the twenty-four sentences is printed in French with a ruled line underneath for the English, and the answers page gives the English versions. Reading the answers aloud and asking for the French back turns the same page into a reverse exercise.

How does the vocabulary table handle gender?

In two columns - masculine terms on the left behind le, feminine on the right behind la, and l' wherever the noun opens with a vowel, as in l'oncle and l'arrière grand-père. One entry appears in both columns: l'enfant is glossed as child (boy) and child (girl), because the noun does not change form.