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Los tíos del niño hablan español.

Los tíos del niño hablan español.
The boy's uncles speak Spanish.
From Lesson 17:Possession (de)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Los tíos del niño hablan español.

Why is it del niño and not de el niño?
When the preposition de (of) is followed by the masculine singular article el (the), they must combine to form the contraction del. So, instead of saying de el niño, you always say del niño.
Why doesn't Spanish use an apostrophe 's' for "the boy's"?
Spanish doesn't use an apostrophe 's' to show ownership. Instead, it always uses the formula "[Owned thing] + de + [Owner]". To say "the boy's uncles", you have to say los tíos del niño, which literally translates to "the uncles of the boy".
Could los tíos also include the boy's aunts?
Yes! In Spanish, when referring to a mixed group of males and females, the masculine plural form is used. Depending on the context, los tíos could mean just "the uncles" or a mixed group of "the uncle(s) and aunt(s)".
Why isn't the word español capitalized here?
In Spanish, the names of languages (like español, inglés, or francés) are treated as common nouns and are not capitalized unless they happen to be the very first word in a sentence.

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