They have broken

paok70 631 post s 3-Jul-2008 7:37 AM	Is it grammatically correct and natural to use just "They have broken" instead of "They have broken up" with the meaning of "They have ended their relationship"? As always, many, many thanks for your kind help. paolo
Pogo 457 post s 3-Jul-2008 9:09 AM	While the marriage is broken, the couple breaks up, or the couple has broken up. "Break up" is a phrasal verb used of the separation of a group (two or more) so that the group no longer exists. When "break" all by itself is used of a person, it means that the person's resistance to questioning or brainwashing has gone. No, you cannot say a couple is broken.
Sparky 790 post s 3-Jul-2008 10:44 AM	I agree with Pogo, though referring to someone as "broken" could have other figurative meanings. You might say someone was "a broken man" if he was so emotionally damaged that his personality was affected. There's a related idiom you might find interesting if you don't already know it. When a couple who have children divorce, this is sometimes called "a broken home." This used to often used to excuse bad behavior. "I think Johnny gets in so much trouble at school because he comes from a broken home." But as divorce became more common the expression became less common.
TheMudge The Real Mudge 2805 post s 3-Jul-2008 2:07 PM	Both Sparky and Pogo are correct, Paolo. We wouldn't say that a couple who have ended a relationship have broken, but we would say that they have broken up. Broken is a word that has many interesting applications in colloquial English. Of course, something that is broken literally doesn't function anymore – or, if it does function, it doesn't function well. We extend this literal meaning to figurative uses of broken: a broken home (one in which husband and wife are divorced or estranged) or a broken man or woman (someone who is emotionally devastated). Not all meanings are completely negative. If someone is "broken in" on a job, the person has learned the basics and is ready to work. When shoes have been "broken in," they are more comfortable. When a horse is "broken," we mean that it has been trained, that it is no longer wild. It's a funny language. If we have a theft, we say that a robber has broken into a house. When a dog is a housebroken, we mean that it has learned not to defecate in the house but to go outside. ---------- Rich Turner (The Curmudgeon Himself)
Sparky 791 post s 4-Jul-2008 6:00 AM	Not all meanings are completely negative. If someone is "broken in" on a job, the person has learned the basics and is ready to work. When shoes have been "broken in," they are more comfortable. When a horse is "broken," we mean that it has been trained, that it is no longer wild. It's a funny language. If we have a theft, we say that a robber has broken into a house. When a dog is a housebroken, we mean that it has learned not to defecate in the house but to go outside. On the other hand, shoes are comfortable when they are "broken in" because the stiff leather has softened and stretched just enough to accomodate our feet. The shoe is broken in because it is actually sllightly broken. We also speak of breaking a habit. This is why our dog is "housebroken," he has been trained out of his natural habit of defecating whenever he wants to, and had learned a new habit of asking to go outside.

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