plural or non-plural

Question

I wonder if these two (types of? must we have this here) fruits belong to the same or different family (families?) of plants.

Should we use "family" or "families"? Should we just make a longer sentence? Or should we just use EITHER "the same" or "different" but NOT both in one sentence?

Thanks

Seraphin · Accepted Answer

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CalifJim · Answer

I wonder if these two (types of? must we have this here No.) fruits belong to the same or different family (families?) of plants.

Should we use "family" or "families"? "families". "same family". "different families". "different" is closer, so it takes precedence in the agreement.

CJ

Mr Wordy · Answer

Either "types of fruit" or "fruits" will do.

"types of fruits" sounds wrong to me (but the evidence is that plenty of other people do not share this view).

There are various possibilities for the end of the sentence, that differ only in emphasis:

"... belong to the same family." -- This is the most straightforward and, I guess, commonest form. You might say this if you thought it was probable that they belonged to the same familiy, or if belonging to the same family explained some observation that had been made.

"... belong to different families." -- You might say this if you thought it was probable that they belonged to different families, or if belonging to different families explained some observation that had been made.

"... belong to the same family or (to) different families." / "... belong to the same or different families." -- You might say this to indicate neutrality, or just as a kind of "belt and braces" version.

"... belong to the same or different family." -- This sounds slightly odd to me, but Google throws up some fairly credible-looking examples.

plural or non-plural

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