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KB Lee
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:32 am
Post subject: Question |
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I am confused with parent and parents. My friend tried to explain the
difference, but I still can't get it.
As you know parent means father and mother. Then doesn't parents mean
fathers and mothers?
Please anyone tell me the difference of parent and parents, and the examples
of the word.
Thank you.
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Don Phillipson
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2004 6:09 pm
Post subject: Re: Question |
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"KB Lee" <hehe@he.he> wrote in message news:2t11hkF1qpajrU1@uni-berlin.de...
| Quote: | I am confused with parent and parents. My friend tried to explain the
difference, but I still can't get it.
As you know parent means father and mother. Then doesn't parents mean
fathers and mothers?
|
Not quite: parent (singular) means only one father
or one mother. When you say XYZ has one living parent
you mean that either the father or mother is dead
and the other is still alive. (This is not a statement
about biology e.g. parthenogenesis.)
No individual has more than two parents, but there
can be many parents in that (for example) all the
parents of all the children in a school might convene
for a meeting, numbering dozens or hundreds,
every individual qualified (being either the mother or
father of one or more of the children in the school.)
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada) |
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meirman
Guest
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| Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2004 2:08 pm
Post subject: Re: Question |
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In alt.english.usage on Tue, 12 Oct 2004 08:09:37 -0400 "Don
Phillipson" <d.phillipson@ttrryytteell.com> posted:
| Quote: | "KB Lee" <hehe@he.he> wrote in message news:2t11hkF1qpajrU1@uni-berlin.de...
I am confused with parent and parents. My friend tried to explain the
difference, but I still can't get it.
As you know parent means father and mother. Then doesn't parents mean
fathers and mothers?
Not quite: parent (singular) means only one father
or one mother. When you say XYZ has one living parent
you mean that either the father or mother is dead
and the other is still alive. (This is not a statement
about biology e.g. parthenogenesis.)
No individual has more than two parents, but there
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Not sure about that. There is the egg donor, the sperm donor, the
gestation mother, and the mother and father who rear the child. If
later they die, the child may be adopted by two more people. Are only
two of these 7 people parents?
| Quote: | can be many parents in that (for example) all the
parents of all the children in a school might convene
for a meeting, numbering dozens or hundreds,
every individual qualified (being either the mother or
father of one or more of the children in the school.)
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s/ meirman If you are emailing me please
say if you are posting the same response.
Born west of Pittsburgh Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis, 7 years
Chicago, 6 years
Brooklyn NY 12 years
now in Baltimore 20 years
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