# EN: Je n'ai pas de frères et sœurs



## gregodelph

I haven't got any brothers or sisters.
I have no brother(s) and sister(s).

Can you use the singular or the plural for both sentences?

Thanks in advance.


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## wildan1

gregodelph said:


> I have no brother(s) and *or *sister(s).



Normally I would use the plural except if I were correcting someone who thought that I had one brother or sister (and I have none).

_A: Are you coming with your sisters and brother?
B: I have no brother--but yes, my sisters are coming with me._


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## Aeg45

Je vais essayer de répondre en français, désolé si c'est pas tout correct...

"I have no brothers or sisters" c'est bon.

Mais à mon avis, la phrase "I haven't got any"  à l'air de ne pas être de bon anglais, et c'est pas vraiment jolie.

Au lieu de dire ça, on peut dire "I do not have any brothers or sisters" ou "I don't have any brothers or sisters", je crois que c'est mieux.


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## wildan1

In my opinion, it's simply a regional difference:

_I don't have any_ is more common in AE and
_I haven't got any_ is more usual in BE

I think you can use both; depending on the style of English you prefer. Both forms will be understood on either side of the Atlantic...

PS_ I *don't got* any/no_ is poor English no matter where it is used (often heard in the mouths of young children)


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## gregodelph

"have got" is correct but it's British English...

Thanks for your reply though,


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## mplsray

_Have got_ is also used in American English. From the _American Heritage Book of English Usage_ article "got/gotten":


> In American English, _have got_ is chiefly an intensive form of _have_ in its senses of possession and obligation and can only be used in the present tense.


 
_I haven't got any brothers or sisters_ does not, to me, have any particular British feel to it--or, for that matter, any particular intensive force.


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## spikegomez

I think_ have got_ is also using in american english...


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## Angle O'Phial

The most natural in AE, as wildan said, is _I don't have any_ (a) while from my perspective _I haven't any_ (b) has a distinctly BE feeling to it. _I haven't got any_ (c) is neutral but less formal. In a formal, written context, I'd avoid (c) and use (a).


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## LV4-26

I agree with Wildan that the plural is better in both sentences.


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## ponspa

Le souvenir me revient : quand j'apprenais l'anglais en Angleterre on me disait de ne pas utiliser "do" avec les verbe avoir et être. Après avoir vécu aux Etats-Unis j'ai oublié cette règle en ce qui concerne le verbe avoir.


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## falsone

*he has no brothers or sisters*

dans cette phrase, faut-il mettre "brother" et "sister" au singulier ou au pluriel ? et pourquoi ?


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## pieanne

Je pense que tu peux utiliser les deux, comme en français


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## marget

I would tend to use the plural after "no", even after "any".  Otherwise, I might say "He doesn't have a brother or a sister" if I wanted to use the singular.


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## Suehil

It should be plural, though you would be more likely to hear 'he has no siblings', or 'he is an only child'.


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## marget

In American English, I don't hear "siblings" used on an everyday basis.  We would always say "he is an only child".


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