Si compone la musica!

Author: Tony

Born and raised in Malaysia between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Educated at Wycliffe College in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, England. Living in the foothills of Mount Etna since 1982 and teaching English at Catania University since 1987. View all posts by Tony

10 thoughts on “Si compone la musica!”

Barbara says:

05/04/2016 at 09:40

Hi Prof.
Could I say:” In my family, we are five of us”?.
I think I found it somewhere….
Bye

Reply
1. Tony says:
  
  05/04/2016 at 09:53
  
  Mettere “we” e anche “us” è un po’ ridondante. Meglio o “we are five” oppure “there are five of us”.
  
  Reply
Patrizia says:

02/04/2016 at 20:19

In my family there are five of us.
Is it right?

Reply
1. Tony says:
  
  02/04/2016 at 20:31
  
  Yes, that’s another valid possibility. 🙂
  
  Reply
eleonoramaria says:

02/04/2016 at 15:18

There are four people in my family . One of them is the boss : the cat ! 🙂

Reply
1. Tony says:
  
  02/04/2016 at 15:50
  
  Ahah! Well said! 🙂
  
  Reply
Gusi Marta says:

02/04/2016 at 13:23

Hi, just a curiosity: is it possible to say also “My family is composed by five people”?

Reply
1. Tony says:
  
  02/04/2016 at 13:29
  
  No, Marta. That’s just the point. English families simply aren’t ‘composed’.
  You could say, “My family is made up of five people” but it is much easier (and far more common) just to say, “There are five people in my family”.
  
  Reply
  1. Moira says:
    
    17/01/2017 at 08:43
    
    it’ very beautiful speaking whit them. My family have four persons composed. It’ all rigth!!
    
    Reply
    1. Tony says:
      
      17/01/2017 at 09:45
      
      Hi Moira. No, it’s not alright because you are using “compose” to talk about your family and we don’t use “compose” in this context. The easiest way is to say, “There are four people in my family.”
      
      Reply