Goal
You’ll be able to talk about family members and describe people using basic vocabulary, genuinely common in everyday introductions and conversations.
Learn
Common family vocabulary: mother, father, sister, brother, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, cousin.
This is my mother. I have two brothers and one sister. My grandmother lives in Chicago.
To describe a person’s appearance or personality: She is tall., He has brown hair., She is very kind. Notice the genuinely important distinction between is (used for a direct characteristic) and has (used when the characteristic is expressed as something a person “possesses,” like hair or eyes): She is tall but She has brown hair, not She is brown hair.
This is versus has distinction genuinely matters and trips up many learners — you can’t simply swap them, since English treats physical features like hair, eyes, and height using different sentence patterns depending on the specific feature being described.
Decision Task
You want to describe someone’s hair color, saying it is brown. Before reading on: would you say She is brown hair or She has brown hair?
Show Answer
She has brown hair. — hair color uses has, treating hair as something a person possesses, not is, which would be used for a direct characteristic like She is tall. She is brown hair is not correct English.
Common Mistake
Using is where has is actually required, especially when describing hair, eyes, or similar features. English genuinely distinguishes direct characteristics (is tall) from possessed features (has brown hair) — this isn’t optional or interchangeable.
Practice Questions
1. Complete correctly: My brother ___ tall.
Show Answer
is
2. Complete correctly: My sister ___ blue eyes.
Show Answer
has
3. Write a sentence introducing your mother (or an imagined family member).
Show Answer
Any correct example, e.g. This is my mother.
4. Why does She has brown hair use “has” instead of “is”?
Show Answer
Hair is treated as something a person possesses in English, requiring “has,” not a direct characteristic requiring “is.”
5. Name three family member words.
Show Answer
Any three of: mother, father, sister, brother, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, cousin.
Try It Yourself
Without looking back, write two sentences describing a person (real or imagined): one using is for a direct characteristic, and one using has for a possessed feature.
Show Answer
For example: He is short. He has black hair.
Quick Check
1. What word describes a direct characteristic, like height?
Show Answer
is
2. What word describes a possessed feature, like hair color?
Show Answer
has
3. Is She is brown hair correct English?
Show Answer
No — it should be She has brown hair.
4. Name two family vocabulary words.
Show Answer
Any two of: mother, father, sister, brother, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, cousin.
5. Complete correctly: He ___ kind.
Show Answer
is