Proofreading Service - Pain in the English
Proofreading Service - Pain in the English

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Proofreading Service - Pain in the English
Proofreading Service - Pain in the English

Your Pain Is Our Pleasure

24-Hour Proofreading Service—We proofread your Google Docs or Microsoft Word files. We hate grammatical errors with a passion. Learn More

We, I, or my wife had a baby?

As a father of a newborn, do I say:

1. We had a baby. 2. I had a baby. 3. My wife had a baby.

Which one is it?

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Comments

1 and 3 are fine. 2 is likely to raise a smile, since it is not commonly used, and implies you personally have given birth to a child -- it will still be generally understood, however.

Dave3 Mar-09-2005

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I'd like to point out the utterly obvious, which is that your usage depends on context. You can easily see which to use in the following sentences:

____ had a baby, and we're both tired from getting up all night.

____ had a baby, and her obstetrician made her stay one extra day in the hospital.

____ had a baby, but now I have a teenager.

speedwell2 Mar-10-2005

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*Did* you have a baby? If so, congratulations :)

speedwell2 Mar-10-2005

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The first and the Second one sound good to go...:)

The meaning implied in the first is that you and your wife have a new addition in the family.

The second makes it explicitly clear that your wife has had a baby.

Archna Mar-22-2005

2 votes   Permalink   Report Abuse

When Mary had a little lamb
the doctors were surprised.
But when Old MacDonald had a farm
the doctors almost died.

1. The idea of using "we" is, I'll bet, a more recent form used to be more iclusive of the father, or at least share the blame ;-)

Works if both parents are present but sounds a bit odd if the father (alone) is speaking to someone; then 3 works better.

2. Works if you're the mother.

3. Works if you're the father.

Wayne Apr-08-2005

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Dyske still hasn't mentioned if he really is "...a father of a newborn...." LOL

speedwell2 Apr-13-2005

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Hi Speedwell,

Yes, thank you. My wife did have a baby.

Dyske Apr-14-2005

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Excellent. Hooray :) Best wishes to all of you.

speedwell2 Apr-14-2005

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Why not say "My wife and I had a baby" or "I became (or have become) a father"? I've actually heard these versions more often than those you mention, dyske.
Anyway, congratulations!!

Diana1 Apr-16-2005

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if your talking to someone say "we" but if your talking to the family say "my wife"

user109342 Nov-25-2020

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