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Should I say “they're my brother and sister” or “that's my brother and sister”?
Planned maintenance scheduled April 23, 2019 at 23:30 UTC (7:30pm US/Eastern)
Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara
Unicorn Meta Zoo #1: Why another podcast?Why is “Sheila couldn't come to the party, it was a pity.” wrong?plural or singular verb after “which”?Can “where” be used as “from which”?Usage of “that” in this sentencecan “which” act as a demonstrative pronoun?Using 'any' with plural nounsWhen is 'what' used for living beings?“High unemployment led to him not being able to find a job”“something which” or “something that”singular vs plural problem of “profile” in “We first build up a detailed profile of our customers and their requirements.”
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This is a stand alone sentence, used as an exercise in learning Mandarin Chinese. It has no context. I feel that it is more natural to say "that's my brother and sister", in English. Am I wrong?
singular-vs-plural relative-pronouns compound-subjects
asked Mar 24 at 2:41
NatalieNatalie
184
migrated from english.stackexchange.com Mar 24 at 16:07
This question came from our site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts.
add a comment |
This is a stand alone sentence, used as an exercise in learning Mandarin Chinese. It has no context. I feel that it is more natural to say "that's my brother and sister", in English. Am I wrong?
singular-vs-plural relative-pronouns compound-subjects
asked Mar 24 at 2:41
NatalieNatalie
184
migrated from english.stackexchange.com Mar 24 at 16:07
This question came from our site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts.
add a comment |
This is a stand alone sentence, used as an exercise in learning Mandarin Chinese. It has no context. I feel that it is more natural to say "that's my brother and sister", in English. Am I wrong?
singular-vs-plural relative-pronouns compound-subjects
asked Mar 24 at 2:41
NatalieNatalie
184
This is a stand alone sentence, used as an exercise in learning Mandarin Chinese. It has no context. I feel that it is more natural to say "that's my brother and sister", in English. Am I wrong?
singular-vs-plural relative-pronouns compound-subjects
singular-vs-plural relative-pronouns compound-subjects
asked Mar 24 at 2:41
NatalieNatalie
184
asked Mar 24 at 2:41
NatalieNatalie
184
edited Mar 29 at 23:32
Natalie
asked Mar 24 at 2:41
NatalieNatalie
184
asked Mar 24 at 2:41
NatalieNatalie
184
asked Mar 24 at 2:41
NatalieNatalie
184
184
migrated from english.stackexchange.com Mar 24 at 16:07
This question came from our site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts.
migrated from english.stackexchange.com Mar 24 at 16:07
This question came from our site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts.
add a comment |
add a comment |
1 Answer
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Both sentences are fine—but context will determine which is more appropriate.
For instance:
"Who are those two people?"
"They're my brother and sister.
Here, you are answering a question.
But:
I pointed at the two of them and said, "That's my brother and sister."
Here, you are describing something you've introduced yourself in a demonstrative way.
answered Mar 24 at 16:17
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
18.3k22441
@Natalie I don't think there's any problem adding clarification to a question—so long as it's not edited in a way that it makes existing answers confusing. Maybe add something like a Note clarification at the end.
– Jason Bassford
Mar 29 at 2:28
add a comment |
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Both sentences are fine—but context will determine which is more appropriate.
For instance:
"Who are those two people?"
"They're my brother and sister.
Here, you are answering a question.
But:
I pointed at the two of them and said, "That's my brother and sister."
Here, you are describing something you've introduced yourself in a demonstrative way.
answered Mar 24 at 16:17
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
18.3k22441
@Natalie I don't think there's any problem adding clarification to a question—so long as it's not edited in a way that it makes existing answers confusing. Maybe add something like a Note clarification at the end.
– Jason Bassford
Mar 29 at 2:28
add a comment |
Both sentences are fine—but context will determine which is more appropriate.
For instance:
"Who are those two people?"
"They're my brother and sister.
Here, you are answering a question.
But:
I pointed at the two of them and said, "That's my brother and sister."
Here, you are describing something you've introduced yourself in a demonstrative way.
answered Mar 24 at 16:17
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
18.3k22441
@Natalie I don't think there's any problem adding clarification to a question—so long as it's not edited in a way that it makes existing answers confusing. Maybe add something like a Note clarification at the end.
– Jason Bassford
Mar 29 at 2:28
add a comment |
Both sentences are fine—but context will determine which is more appropriate.
For instance:
"Who are those two people?"
"They're my brother and sister.
Here, you are answering a question.
But:
I pointed at the two of them and said, "That's my brother and sister."
Here, you are describing something you've introduced yourself in a demonstrative way.
answered Mar 24 at 16:17
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
18.3k22441
Both sentences are fine—but context will determine which is more appropriate.
For instance:
"Who are those two people?"
"They're my brother and sister.
Here, you are answering a question.
But:
I pointed at the two of them and said, "That's my brother and sister."
Here, you are describing something you've introduced yourself in a demonstrative way.
answered Mar 24 at 16:17
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
18.3k22441
answered Mar 24 at 16:17
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
18.3k22441
answered Mar 24 at 16:17
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
18.3k22441
answered Mar 24 at 16:17
Jason BassfordJason Bassford
18.3k22441
18.3k22441
@Natalie I don't think there's any problem adding clarification to a question—so long as it's not edited in a way that it makes existing answers confusing. Maybe add something like a Note clarification at the end.
– Jason Bassford
Mar 29 at 2:28
add a comment |
@Natalie I don't think there's any problem adding clarification to a question—so long as it's not edited in a way that it makes existing answers confusing. Maybe add something like a Note clarification at the end.
– Jason Bassford
Mar 29 at 2:28
@Natalie I don't think there's any problem adding clarification to a question—so long as it's not edited in a way that it makes existing answers confusing. Maybe add something like a Note clarification at the end.
– Jason Bassford
Mar 29 at 2:28
@Natalie I don't think there's any problem adding clarification to a question—so long as it's not edited in a way that it makes existing answers confusing. Maybe add something like a Note clarification at the end.
– Jason Bassford
Mar 29 at 2:28
add a comment |
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