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SeroMack Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

'family' or 'my family'; 'mother' or 'my mother'

What (determiner, article, pronoun etc.) are we supposed to put before such words as 'mother', 'father', 'family'?

For example, in a sentence "I've been on holidays with my family" do we have to use the possessive adjective 'my'? Isn't it obvious whose family it was?

And in the following:

"Each member of my family was content. The father/my father/father expressed his satisfaction..."

which form should I take? Can I say just "Father expressed..." ?
  

Top answer

) are we supposed to put before such words as 'mother', 'father', 'family'? It depends on the context. eg a father should take care of his family eg At the wedding, I talked to the father of the bride Generally speaking, if you are talking about your own family members, say 'my'.

— Clive

  • ) are we supposed to put before such words as 'mother', 'father', 'family'?
  • It depends on the context.
  • eg a father should take care of his family eg At the wedding, I talked to the father of the bride Generally speaking, if you are talking about your own family members, say 'my'.
  • eg My father, my brother.
  • For mother and father, we sometimes use the word as a title, usually with a capital.
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3 Answers
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Hi,
What (determiner, article, pronoun etc.) are we supposed to put before such words as 'mother', 'father', 'family'? It depends on the context.
eg a father should take care of his family
eg At the wedding, I talked to
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I hope you get paid for your contribution here, Clive.

Thanks!
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Hi,

I wish.

But 'thanks' are appreciated.
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