Family Types and Definitions: A Comprehensive Guide

The Childless Family

This family includes a husband and wife, but doesn’t include children.

The Nuclear Family

This is the traditional type of family which consists of two parents and an only child or siblings. The parents are usually a married couple.

Important Definitions

Couple

Two people who are married or romantically involved.

Spouse

Refers to either a husband or a wife.

Partner

Refers to a person who you have an intimate relationship with and who you may or may not be married to.

Household

A social unit that refers to people who live in the same house.

To Raise

To take care of and teach a child, to bring up a child.

Sibling(s)

Brothers and sisters.

An Only Child

A person who doesn’t have brothers and sisters.

Nota: “To raise” y “to bring up” pueden ser utilizados como sinónimos, pero el primero más bien se refiere a “criar”, mientras que el segundo a “educar”.

Nota: “Couple” se refiere a las dos personas que forman una pareja, mientras que “partner” se refiere solo a una de ellas.

Consist of = Made up of = Composed of

Nota: “Consist of” se refiere a “consiste de” (es decir, las partes), mientras que “consist in” se refiere a “consiste en” (es decir, definir lo que es).

Definitions and Word Families

Definitions

To Rear

A synonym for “raise” a child.

Rivalry (n)

Competition.

A Widow (female) or a Widower (male)

Describes a person whose spouse has died.

Loyalty

A feeling of strong support for someone or something.

Word Families

• 1 verb 2 noun 3 adjective
• 1 no hay 2 self-confidence 3 self-confident
• 1 no hay 2 maturity 3 mature
• 1 no hay 2 stability 3 stable
• 1 lose 2 loss 3 no hay
• 1 support 2 support 3 supportive

Verbs of Change, Adverbs, and Expressions of Cause and Effect

Verbs of Change

Hacia arriba: increase -> increased; rise -> rose; jump -> jumped; go up -> went up

Hacia abajo: fall -> fell; drop -> dropped; decrease -> decreased; go down -> went down; decline -> declined

Adverbs

Slightly = “ligeramente”

Steadily = “de manera constante”

Sharply = “bruscamente”

Dramatically = “dramáticamente”

Gradually = “gradualmente”

Significantly = “significativamente”

Expressions of Cause and Effect

As a result of = “como resultado de”

Due to = “debido a”

Because of = “a causa de”

Definitions, Opposites, and Collocations

Definitions

(Be) at risk (of) -> In a situation in which something bad or harmful could happen.

Belittling -> Behaviour or comments make a person feel small or unimportant.

Seek -> A formal synonym for “look for” = “buscar”

Caretaker -> A person who takes care of another person.

Deny -> To not accept that something is true.

Self-loathing -> A feeling that you hate yourself = “auto-desprecio”.

Inadequacy -> Feeling that you are not good enough = “insuficiencia”

Random -> Without a plan or order.

Take precedence (over) -> To be more important than something else.

A put-down (to put something down) -> An insult.

Opposites

Adequate -> Inadequate

Secure -> Insecure

Predictable -> Unpredictable

Loyalty -> Disloyalty

Trust -> Mistrust

Collocations

Meet -> Someone’s needs

Take on / Assume -> Responsibilities

Form / Maintain -> Relationships

Play -> A role

More Definitions

To Cope With -> “hacer frente”

To Overcome -> “superar”

To Approach -> A way of doing or thinking something

Welfare -> “bienestar”

To Remove -> To take away from a place.

To Assure -> “asegurar”.

Legal Guardian -> A person who has the legal authority to care for another person, often a child.

Foster -> “orfanato”

Some Family Members

Niece / Nephew = “sobrina/sobrino”

Aunt / Uncle = “tía/tío”

Types of Crime I

Robbery —> To steal money from a bank.

Pickpocketing —> To rob a person in the street, often without the person noticing.

Burglary —> To illegally enter a property (e.g. a house) to steal something.

Theft —> To steal in general.

Shoplifting —> To steal something from a shop.

Mugging —> To use violence to rob someone in the street.

Note: To rob is used for who or what has been robbed, the victim (a person or a place). To steal is used for the thing that was taken (e.g. money)