你驕傲地宣布「My family has five people」，對方愣了那麼一瞬間才禮貌點頭。他們聽懂了——但沒有任何母語人士會這樣講。為什麼？因為在英文裡，家庭不是一個擁有成員的東西，家庭本身就是那些人。一個小小的文法轉換，整個語感截然不同。
快速解答
英文避免使用「my family has X people」這種說法，因為family通常被視為一個整體，而不是一個容器。自然的選擇包括：「There are five of us」、「We're a family of five」、「There are five people in my family」，或者乾脆說**「There are five of us at home」**。這四種都很順耳。用「has」的版本一聽就是翻譯腔。
母語人士實際怎麼說
| 英文說法 | 何時使用 |
|---|---|
| There are five of us. | 快速、口語、最常用 |
| We're a family of five. | 聽起來俐落；自我介紹時很適合 |
| There are five people in my family. | 比較像教科書但也可以接受 |
| It's just me and my mom. | 小家戶、隨意的語氣 |
| There are four of us at home. | 強調的是家戶，不是大家族 |
| My immediate family is small. | 指的只有父母和兄弟姐妹 |
| I come from a big family. | 暗示有很多兄弟姐妹或親戚 |
| I'm an only child. | 沒有兄弟姐妹 |
| We're a household of three. | 稍微正式——用在表格或調查上 |
| My extended family is huge. | 包括表親、叔伯姑姨、祖父母等 |
常見錯誤
- "My family has five people." → "There are five of us." · Family 是一個整體，不是一個裝可數物品的容器。
- "I have a big family with seven members." → "I come from a big family." · 「Members」聽起來像社團；直接說「big family」。
- "We are five persons." → "There are five of us." · 「Persons」是法律或正式用法；日常英文用「people」——甚至完全省略。
- "In my home, we live four people." → "There are four of us at home." · 用「there are」重新組句。
- "My family is consist of mom, dad, and me." → "My family is my mom, dad, and me." · 「Consists of」可以用，但「is consist of」是文法錯誤。
迷你對話
認識新同學 A: So, tell me about your family. B: There are four of us — my parents, my younger brother, and me. A: Nice. I come from a big family. Six kids. B: Six! Wow. Are you the oldest? A: Middle child. Forever invisible. B: Classic.
一起填表格 A: It says "household size." B: Hmm. Does that mean my whole family or just the people I live with? A: Just the ones you live with right now. B: Then it's three. My parents and me. A: Same. Three for me too — just me and my two flatmates. B: Wait, flatmates count as household? A: For this form, yeah. Same address.
語氣筆記
在英文裡，family和household並不相同。Family通常指因血緣、婚姻或領養而連結的人——即使你的兄弟姐妹住在地球另一端，他們仍然是你的 family。Household指的是現在跟你共用一個屋簷下的人，不管有沒有血緣關係。室友可以是 household；住在另一個國家的兄弟姐妹是 family，但不是你的 household。另外值得知道的是：immediate family＝父母、兄弟姐妹、配偶、子女。Extended family＝叔伯姑姨、舅舅、表/堂兄弟姐妹、祖父母及更外圍。Nuclear family帶點社會學色彩，指的是父母加他們的小孩，比較常出現在書面而非聊天。
練習：選出最自然的句子
在輕鬆的派對上，哪一句聽起來自然？
- A. My family has six members.
- B. There are six of us.
你想為一份調查描述住在你公寓裡的所有人：
- A. My family is four people.
- B. There are four of us in the household.
哪一句的意思是「沒有兄弟姐妹」？
- A. I'm an only child.
- B. I have a single family.
解答
- B — 「There are six of us」是日常最自然的說法。
- B — 「Household」才是指共用一個屋簷下成員的正確字。
- A — 「Only child」是固定說法；「single family」並沒有那個意思。
一句話總結
不要把「my family has X」逐字翻譯。英文偏好**「there are X of us」或「we're a family of X」**。記住 family 和 household 的差別，你第一次開口就會很自然。五秒鐘的修正，一輩子受用。