son

son — noun

1. a boy or man in relation to his parents — the male child that someone has raised

1.名詞A1
釋義

a boy or man in relation to his parents — the male child that someone has raised or given birth to.

例句

The Okonkwo family were proud when their son won the school science prize.

possessive determiner + son for family relationship

Imran sat next to his son on the bus and helped him with his homework.

同義詞
  • boy

    focuses on youth and gender, not the parent-child relationship

  • child

    gender-neutral; can refer to a son or daughter

  • offspring

    formal and biological; not used in everyday conversation

反義詞
  • daughter

    female child in relation to parents

文法句型

[possessive] + son

son of [person]

常見錯誤

❌His son name is David.
✅His son’s name is David.
💡a possessive apostrophe is needed before the name.
❌She has a son of three years.
✅She has a three-year-old son.
💡age is expressed as a compound adjective before the noun, not with “of”.

2. a friendly term that an older male speaker uses when talking directly to a boy o

2.名詞B1
釋義

a friendly term that an older male speaker uses when talking directly to a boy or younger male, often to encourage or comfort him.

例句

The coach patted the boy’s shoulder: “Keep trying, son, you’ll get it.”

direct address in quoted speech between commas

"Don't you worry, son," the old carpenter said to his young helper.

同義詞
  • boy

    neutral term; can be used by anyone

  • kid

    informal, used across genders

文法句型

[", son," in quoted speech]

用法筆記

Only used by an older man to a younger male. Can feel patronising if the speaker is a stranger. Not used between women or by women addressing boys — use “dear” or “young man” instead.

常見錯誤

❌Son, can you help me?' (said by a woman to a young boy)
✅Young man, can you help me?
💡“son” as an address term implies a fatherly or older-male relationship, which sounds unnatural from a woman.

3. a man connected by birth or lifelong association to a specific town, region, or

3.名詞B2
釋義

a man connected by birth or lifelong association to a specific town, region, or country — often used when speaking of him with local pride.

例句

Felix is a proud son of Dublin and still goes back every Christmas.

son of + place name for place of origin

The statue in the square honours the town's most famous son, a Nobel-winning poet.

同義詞
  • native

    can be used for both men and women

  • local

    informal; focuses on current residence, not birthplace

反義詞

文法句型

a son of [place]

[place]'s son

[place]'s native son

用法筆記

Typically appears with a place name in the pattern “a son of [place]” or “[place]’s son.” Carries positive connotations of belonging and pride. The female equivalent is “daughter.”

常見錯誤

❌She is a son of Taipei.
✅She is a daughter of Taipei.
💡use “daughter” for women; “son” applies only to men.
❌New York's son is famous.' (without article or possessive context)
✅He is a famous son of New York.
💡requires an article or a clear possessive construction.

son — combining form