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Options:

A) Parent(s) / Parent[s] / Parent{s}

B) Parents

C) Parent

I think the question title is my entire question, I do not mean to be rude just clear (just I am being pretty powerfully judged/moderated/corrected for using the "Parent(s)" spelling), is that enough explanation?

I am bothered/liable if I say Parent because that implies one parent or a single parent, while Parents can make it seem/sound like it was both parents involved, whilst Parent(s) meaning either parent/parents equally gives the veneer of the only grammatical security and objectivity I can speak for explicitly.

Speaking with your voice, you might seem to have to specify a full sentence to explain and describe clearly and unequivocally what you mean, but with text I thought there could be greater security (and necessary brevity).

For legal reasons (for example, there are a lot of reasons a kid and or adult may/might want to officially not say who, for control, to strangers, about family, there are heavy/triggering/medical side effects, to directionally talking about your mother or father pointedly on the record, even a hint of "mom"/"dad" can lead to severe medical/legal determinations that only activate upon nameable mention, often irreversible authoratative determinations only require saying/hinting "mom" or "dad" in English), I do not want to describe which parent or if both parents were involved. Besides, I wish to not explain a full sentence (often repeating that I am not specifying which parent to be clear again, to not let people misread me) every time, while still accounting to use my "200 character count" letters wisely which can be an extremely serious factor, though not as costly as telling you which parent(s) I mean.

Is this/that a grammar err legal question? I want to make clear I am not specifying, and that the parent(s) are unspecified, in grammatical number by wording with parenthesis to mean unspecified clearly, in writing.

(Related/Disclaimer: https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/56985/how-to-talk-about-your-family-parents-without-saying-if-its-your-mother-or-fath is what I mean by liability, thus how/can I defend usage/meaning/imporance/validity of "parent(s)", hypothetically, realistically, theoretically, backed by [Standard] English rules?)

prosody-Gabe Vereable Context
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  • While familiar, is https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/52244/how-do-you-make-a-word-like-parents-possessive related? – prosody-Gabe Vereable Context Nov 24 '20 at 14:56
  • It seems to me a reasonable way to express 'one or both parents'. – Kate Bunting Nov 24 '20 at 15:39
  • Context needed. – Hot Licks Nov 24 '20 at 15:50
  • Context can make a lot of difference. Compare: “any parent may lodge the form” vs “every parent must be present” vs “parents must wait in designated spaces”. None of these work with the “parent(s)” form. Without context, we can’t say which form works best. – Lawrence Nov 24 '20 at 16:31
  • To echo what Lawrence says, there is a lot of difference between how you would write a heading on a form or instructions on a sign, compared to how you would write formal prose. Hence we require context (e.g. alternative sentences, together with a description of the context in which they will be used). The question claims to want to be brief, but could be edited to be far more to the point in accordance with posting guidelines. Note that a legal question (including about the interpretation of legal texts) may be off-topic. – Stuart F Jan 06 '21 at 14:21

0 Answers0