My Younger Brother?

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Farhad - 27 May 2009 22:22 GMT

Dear All,

Imagine John, 23, has two brothers older than him; George, 27 and
Jack, 30. He also has another brother named Jason, who is younger than
him.

If John wanted to describe his brothers to his teacher, how would he
refer to his bothers? Would you please fill in the blanks below:

"I have three brothers. My oldest brother, Jack, is a lawyer.
My ........... brother, George, is a dentist. And my ...........
brother, Jason, is a student at college."

In fact, I'm a bit confused about the use of older and younger. Would
John refer to George as his older brother because he (George) is older
than him? Or would he refer to him as his younger brother because he
(George) is younger than Jack?

Many thanks,
Farhad

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Ian Jackson - 27 May 2009 22:48 GMT

In message
<0881b3bd-460f-401b-a514-d50e98b506a4@o30g2000vbc.googlegroups.com>,
Farhad <fvafajoo@gmail.com> writes

>Dear All,
>
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>than him? Or would he refer to him as his younger brother because he
>(George) is younger than Jack?

I don't think you need to make things complicated.
Having said that Jack is "my oldest brother", John could refer to George
as "my other (or 'another') older brother" (who would obviously be
younger than Jack). [It's a good idea to add the little word "other" -
just to make things clear.] And, of course, Jason would be "my younger
brother".

On the other hand, stand back, and re-think want to say. What about "I
have two older brothers and one (who is) younger. The oldest is Jack, a
lawyer, followed by George, a dentist. And my younger brother, Jason, is
a student at college."

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Ian

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Sunil - 28 May 2009 04:38 GMT

> In message
> <0881b3bd-460f-401b-a514-d50e98b506a4@o30g2000vbc.googlegroups.com>,
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> lawyer, followed by George, a dentist. And my younger brother, Jason, is
> a student at college."

How about the use of word "elder" instead of "older" when referring to
one's siblings?

In school I was taught to use "elder" in place of "older" when referring
to someone who is blood-related. Please comment.

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Ian Jackson - 28 May 2009 07:55 GMT

>> In message
>><0881b3bd-460f-401b-a514-d50e98b506a4@o30g2000vbc.googlegroups.com>,
[quoted text clipped - 33 lines]
>In school I was taught to use "elder" in place of "older" when
>referring to someone who is blood-related. Please comment.

"Older" is not wrong. However, "elder" is an 'old' variant of "older",
and also carries a meaning of 'respect' (which "older" does not). It is
usually used only when referring to family, and in expressions like
"elder statesman", "elders and betters", "town/village elders" etc. But
for your brothers, "older" and "elder" are essentially interchangeable.

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Ian

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Default User - 28 May 2009 00:21 GMT

> Dear All,
>
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> "I have three brothers. My oldest brother, Jack, is a lawyer.
> My ........... brother, George, is a dentist.

"Second oldest".

> And my ...........
> brother, Jason, is a student at college."

"Younger".

> In fact, I'm a bit confused about the use of older and younger. Would
> John refer to George as his older brother because he (George) is older
> than him? Or would he refer to him as his younger brother because he
> (George) is younger than Jack?

Pity me. I am the oldest of eight. Refering to the order of my siblings
is often tough. I have two sisters. How do you I refer to them? "The
oldest of my younger sisters"?

Then there's my five brothers! I do at least have a youngest brother
and youngest sister.

Brian

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Day 114 of the "no grouchy usenet posts" project

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tony cooper - 28 May 2009 04:23 GMT

>> Dear All,
>>
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
>is often tough. I have two sisters. How do you I refer to them? "The
>oldest of my younger sisters"?

My wife, who is the youngest of eight, refers to her siblings as her
"oldest brother" (or "sister") and then her "next-oldest brother" (or
"sister"). Sometimes. Usually, though, it's "George is the oldest,
and then...." with the "and then"s continuing down to "and then there
was me".

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Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

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Sunil - 28 May 2009 04:34 GMT

>> Dear All,
>>
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
>
> Brian

smile :)

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Tasha Miller - 28 May 2009 14:57 GMT

> Dear All,
>
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> Many thanks,
> Farhad

I'd probably use next-oldest if I had only two older brothers and second-,
third-, etc. oldest for more than two.
George is "one of John's older brothers", Jason is his younger brother.

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / May 2009

My Younger Brother?