A pregnant woman is in a car accident and falls into a deep coma. Asleep for nearly six months, she finally wakes up and sees that she's no longer pregnant. Frantically, she asks the doctor about her baby.
The doctor replies, "Ma'am, you had twins, actually. A boy and a girl. The babies are fine. Your brother came in and named them."
The woman thinks to herself, "Oh no, not my brother, he's such an idiot!"
Expecting the worst, she asks the doctor, "Okay, what's the girl's name?"
"Denise," Says the doctor.
The new mother thinks, "Wow, that's not a such bad name. I guess I was wrong about my brother. I like the name Denise." Then she asks the doctor, "What's the boy's name?"
The doctor replies, "Denephew."
The word spouse refers to a husband or a wife. It is the equivalent of "conjoint" in French. These days, because we are having more and more same-sex marriages,
the word "partner" is also becoming popular. Married people are wedded, and from this latter word we have the verb to wed, a wedding ring, a wedding cake and a wedding dress.
Quite recently, we have begun to hear "co-brother" and "co-sister". Your co-brother is your sister-in-law's husband [Laissez-moi le dire en français : c'est le mari de la soeur de votre femme], whereas your co-sister is your brother-in-law's wife [la femme du frère de votre mari]. Est-ce clair, ou pas encore?
| Your spouse | Your husband | your wife |
|---|---|
| Your spouse's family | Your family-in-law | your in-laws |
| Your spouse's siblings | Your brother or sister-in-law |
| Your spouse's parents | Your parents-in-law |
| Your spouse's father | your father-in-law |
| Your spouse's mother | your mother-in-law |
| Your child's husband | Your son-in-law |
| Your child's wife | Your daughter-in-law |
| Your child's children | Your grandson | granddaughter |
| The husband of your spouse's sister | Your co-brother |
| The wife of your spouse's brother | Your co-sister |
| The husband of your mother | Your step-father |
| The wife of your father | Your step-mother |
| The daughter of your sibling | Your niece |
| The son of your sibling | Your nephew |
| The daughter of your step-parent | Your step-sister |
| The son of your step-parent | Your step-brother |
| Someone who looks after a child not his/her own | A foster parent |
| Blood relation | Someone you're related to by birth |
| Extended family | Grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc |
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