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Azz Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Family
Can one use
a. We are family.
instead of
b. We are a family.
?
I think (a) can be used instead of (b). But it is ambiguous. It could also be used meaning: We are the family members of someone mentioned in the context.
He won't betray us because we are family. (.... we are members of his family)
We do say: He is family.
Is that correct?
Could (a) be used in two different contexts?
Many thanks.
a. We are family.
instead of
b. We are a family.
?
I think (a) can be used instead of (b). But it is ambiguous. It could also be used meaning: We are the family members of someone mentioned in the context.
He won't betray us because we are family. (.... we are members of his family)
We do say: He is family.
Is that correct?
Could (a) be used in two different contexts?
Many thanks.
Top answer
azz Can one usea. We are family. instead of b.
- azz Can one usea.
- We are family.
- instead of b.
- We are a family.
- We generally use A when we are talking about close personal bonds; it is often used when 'we' are unrelated.
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4 Answers
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azzCan one usea. We are family. instead of b. We are a family.We generally use A when we are talking about close personal bonds; it is often used when 'we' are unrelated.
We generally use B when 'we' are genetically closely related.
I don't really understand the rest of your question.
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"b" can also be used, for example, when buying a discount (family) ticket at the zoo or fairground ... etc.
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Thank you both very much,
So there is a difference between (a) and (b). (a) does not mean we are a 'family unit'.
Many thanks.
So there is a difference between (a) and (b). (a) does not mean we are a 'family unit'.
Many thanks.
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azz (a) does not mean we are a 'family unit'.No, it does not.
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