2. Things that happen in a family or belong to a family:

family [adj. only before noun]

family home / business / holiday / argument etc - something that belongs to a

family or happens in a family: I stopped going on family holidays when I

was 15. Dino’s family home is in Palm Springs.

domestic [adj. only before noun]-domestic violence / trouble / argument -

fighting, arguments, or problems between members of the same family: Victims

of domestic violence are often too frightened to tell the police. I’m worried

about Jim – I think he has some sort of domestic trouble.

3. Someone that belongs to your family:

relative / relation [n C]- someone who is a member of your family although they do not live with you: Over 100 friends and relatives came to the funeral. There may be relatives – grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and in-laws in the same community, but American families usually maintain separate households

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close relative / relation (= someone who is closely related to you)

distant relative / relation (= someone who is not closely related to you): We

have some distant relations in Australia who we’ve never met.

be a relative / relation of smb: She is a relative of the Queen, you know.

Note: Use relatives and relations to talk about members of your family who do

not live with you in the same house. The people you live with (your parents,

sisters etc) are your family, not your relatives and relations.

4. To belong to the same family as someone:

be related – if two people are related, they are both members of the same family. Use this about cousins, grandparents etc., but not about your parents or your brothers and sisters. “I didn’t know you and Ted were related.” “Yes, Ted’s wife is my sister.” to be related + to – John told me he was related to Mel Gibson – is it true? to be descended from smb – to be related to someone who lived a long time ago, especially someone famous or important: She is descended from the Duke of Marlborough.

5. People who are related to you because of marriage:

mother-in-law / son-in-law etc [n C]- someone who is related to you because

someone in your family is married to them; for example, your mother-in-law is

the mother of your wife or your husband, and your sister-in-law is the sister of

your wife or husband. Plural: mothers-in-law, sons-in-law etc.

stepmother / stepson etc [n C] stepmother / stepfather / stepsister / stepbrother /

stepson / stepdaughter- someone who becomes your mother, sister, son etc. when

you or a person you are related to marries for a second time: My father married

Jenny, who already has a daughter, so now I have a stepmother and stepsister.

half-brother / half-sister [n C]- if one of your parents marries a second time and

has a child, that child is you half-brother or half-sister.

by marriage - if you are related to someone by marriage, they are married to

someone in your family or you are married to someone in their family: John’s

my cousin by marriage. (= he is the cousin of my wife or husband).

in-laws [n plural] (informal)- the parents of your husband or wife: We lived

with my in-laws until we had enough money to buy a house of our own.