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ESL forum >
Ask for help > Please help me!
Please help me!
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ihtiyaryer
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Please help me!
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How do you say this sentence "My family has lunch at 12" or "My family have lunch at 12"
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12 Oct 2013
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Messdjef
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"family" is singular, so we say "my familiy has ...".
But, "the members of my family have ...". Am I right, dear native speakers of English ?
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12 Oct 2013
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kleopatra12
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hi family is a collective noun. You use the singular when referring to the group as a whole unit and the plural form when the focus is on the group as a collection of individuals.
Generally it makes little difference which is used and the singular form is more common.
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12 Oct 2013
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Teacher Tammy Abreu
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My family can be replaced by "it". So, you should say "My family has..." |
12 Oct 2013
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ueslteacher
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These illustrations might help you understand collective nouns better |
12 Oct 2013
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MoodyMoody
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In the USA, we would say, "My family has lunch at 12." However, I think in British English (correct me if I �m wrong) they say, "My family have lunch at 12." I �m not sure about the other English speaking countries. |
12 Oct 2013
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cunliffe
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With collective nouns, like the family, the team and the police etc, you can use either singular or plural. I think it is becoming more prevalent in England as MoodyMoody suggests, to treat them as plurals e.g. the police have arrested a man. |
13 Oct 2013
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