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Ask for help > Girlfriends and boyfriends
Girlfriends and boyfriends
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banska bystrica
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Girlfriends and boyfriends
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Dear fellows,
I �d like to clarify something, or let �s say, make sure, although it might sound silly 
When do we use these words - "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" ? I know that if a boy says that she is my girlfriend, and if a girl says he is my boyfriend, they are both talking about their partners, or people who they fall in in love with, right? I know that if a girl wants to emphasize that she �s been, for example, for a cup of coffee with a female friend, she says - "I �ve been out with my girlfriend....." (right?)... and what about boys, do they use "I �ve been out with my boyfriends" when they want to say that only males have been there? This sounds strange to me, could anyone help to clarify this? In Slovak we have two words, differing in the suffixes, for denoting a female and male friend. In English it �s basically a "friend"only... Or? are there any other ways how to say that you �ve been out with a female/male friend, without saying her/his name??
thank you for reading my post in advance,
zuzana
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10 Jun 2010
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stexstme
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Hi Zuzana,
Let me quote you : �if a girl wants to emphasize that she �s been, for example, for a cup of coffee with a female friend, she says - "I �ve been out with my girlfriend....." (right?)... �
Well,I wouldn �t use �girlfriend � in that case...I �d say : � with my friend / best friend / mate ... �
To me, girl/boyfriend both refer to Love...Hope I �m not telling you sthg wrong!( & I feel quite sure about it! )
Let �s wait for other posts! |
10 Jun 2010
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Babs1966
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And boys goes out with : Pals, bodies,[ friends, best friends, mate ... to add Sylvie �s word as well] 
eg. a boy talking to his friend when he sees him :"Hey buddy, what you up to?"
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10 Jun 2010
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Kate (kkcat)
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Good question.
Boys will usually say �buddy �, �mate �...
Girls may say �best female friend � (bff), girlfriend. I ve heard girls referring to their female friends as �girlfriends � and nothing was wrong with that, nobody even noticed.
have a good day ;)
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10 Jun 2010
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alien boy
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Where I �m from girls go out with : girlfriends (exactly the case you gave as an example), friends (can include men), mates (very casual & a little rough, can include men).
girlfriend means exactly that - a friend who is a girl. It implies either a close relationship to a female friend or a group of women (not necessarily extremely close friends) having a group outing.
boys would only go out with/meet up with/ hang out with their boyfriends if it was a homosexual relationship. Boys/guys/men/blokes would go out with their mates, bro�s, friends (can include women), buddies, pals, diggers.
I �m sure there are a lot of others synonyms available but this is just a really quick selection for you!
Cheers, AB
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10 Jun 2010
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stexstme
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Gee! Better not be that sure, then! Still, I �d find it difficult to use girlfriend for a female friend...
Thx! |
10 Jun 2010
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banska bystrica
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Thank you for your posts!
When I worked in the Uk as an aupair, I often heard this expression in my temorary family: "My girlfriend told me"..... when the mum was speaking!!... So I learnt that when a girl (woman) says this, she just emphasizes female sex. I have never heard boys saying "my boyfriend told me"... but today I was asked this Q, so I wanted to be sure....
Thanks again for your attention to my post.
zuzana
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10 Jun 2010
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douglas
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AB has it right-on (as usual) |
10 Jun 2010
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stexstme
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This is what I found in Wikipedia ( ...!) :
Although nuanced, for some there is a significant difference between "girlfriend" (one word) and "girl friend" (two words), or "boyfriend" (one word) and "boy friend" (two words). In a strictly grammatical sense, a "girlfriend" or "boyfriend" is an individual with whom one shares a romantic relationship. A "girl friend" or "boy friend", however, is simply a friend identified on the basis of gender.
Could that be correct ???
Thx for your answers!
Sylvie |
10 Jun 2010
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lshorton99
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I think the use of �girlfriend � to refer to a close female friend is American English as my American friends here would use it but I wouldn �t and nor would any of my British friends, except ironically.
I don �t think anyone uses �boyfriend � to refer to anything other than a romantic partner!
hope that helps!
Lindsey
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10 Jun 2010
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alien boy
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Hi Sylvie!
The artcile in Wikipedia is actually awaiting further citations (specifically to do with the noun vs noun phrase) in order for the article to be verified. Please be aware that when using online resources (even Wikipedia) that not all information may actually be verified & may, in fact, be nothing more than an unsupported opinion.
Essentially, just because it �s in writing, doesn �t necessarily make it true in all cases.
Cheers, AB
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10 Jun 2010
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