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“She conceives with Tom.” “She is pregnant with Tom.” Do these sound natural to mean Tom is the father of the baby?

Same-Technician9125
https://www.reddit.com/r/EnglishLearning/comments/1hqjcf4/she_conceives_with_tom_she_is_pregnant_with_tom/

27 comments

corneliusvancornell
Neither of these sounds natural to me, but what is idiomatic depends somewhat on the mother's relationship with Tom. If they are a couple, I'd most likely say "she and Tom are having a baby." In contrast, "She's having a baby with Tom" or "she's having Tom's baby" puts one or the other partner somewhat in the background.
Stuffedwithdates
No she conceives with Tom implies they perform the act that results in a baby. it's about the act rather than the result. She is pregnant with Tom implies she's going to have a baby called Tom. Try she is having a baby with Tom. or she and Tom are having a baby.
Middcore
No, these sound very weird. If anything this sounds like Tom is the baby she is carrying. Say, "She and Tom are having a baby."
Phaeomolis
Nope.  "She is pregnant by Tom" would work. It's also common to say "She and Tom are pregnant", but there's a divide among native speakers about whether that wording is weird. I would typically say "She and Tom are expecting". 
king-of-new_york
"She is pregnant with Tom" means that Tom is the baby.
ExtinctFauna
"She and Tom are expecting a baby." "She and Tom are pregnant." "She's pregnant with Tom's baby."
mothwhimsy
"She conceived with Tom" is correct but sounds awkward. "She is pregnant with Tom" means Tom is the baby. "She is having a baby with Tom" is how I would say this
culdusaq
"She conceives with Tom" - Using the verb "conceive" here sounds very weird and kind of inappropriate as it puts too much attention on the act of sex rather than the state of pregnancy. Not to mention the fact that it's in the present simple, which makes it sound like she routinely gets impregnated by Tom, rather than just being pregnant now. Overall it is a very strange and somewhat dehumanising way of describing pregnancy. "She is pregnant with Tom" sounds like Tom is the name of the baby. You could say "she is pregnant *by* Tom" or "she is pregnant with Tom's baby", although both of these might sound a bit "gossipy", and more like something you would use when the identity of the father was not already obvious. You probably wouldn't say that if she and Tom were already known to be in a relationship. In that case, I would just say "She and Tom are expecting a baby"
MonikerWNL
You have lots of great feedback here giving you the right kinds of phrasing. But given the posts I've seen over the last few days, I am really wondering what kind of English language writing you're working on! Haha
_SilentHunter
In the English-speaking world, it's generally considered ***extremely*** rude and intrusive to get into ***any*** discussion of paternity unless you are specifically invited to by the soon-to-be parents. Their sex life is none of your business at all. If she and Tom are a couple who are expecting a child, it doesn't matter how or with whom she concieved. "She and Tom are expecting/having a child/baby." If they're a long-term couple, just saying "She's pregnant!" or "she's having a baby!" is enough because it's implied that the long-term partner is the father (and, again, if he isn't, *it's none of your business and shouldn't be commented on*.)
UncleEarthIsHere
"She is pregnant with Tom" = Tom is the baby "She conceives with Tom" = Nonsense The best thing to say would be "She is pregnant with Tom's baby."
WillingLoquat1873
"She conceives with Tom" literally means she reproduces with Tom. "She is pregnant with Tom" literally means that she is pregnant with a baby named Tom Try "She and Tom are conceiving" literally meaning they are creating a baby
BottleTemple
Neither sound natural. “She and Tom are having a baby” sounds more natural.
VeronaMoreau
"She's pregnant by Tom" "She's having a baby with Tom"
Friend_of_Hades
The first one sounds like it's describing the conception actively taking place. The second sounds like Tom is the baby. To fix the first, I would say, "She *conceived* with Tom." (Past tense). For the second I would say "she is pregnant *by* Tom" or "she's pregnant with *Tom's baby*"
SteampunkExplorer
Nope. "She conceives with Tom" sounds vaguely inappropriate and extremely clinical at the same time, like how a space alien might say it. 🙃 Native speakers also wouldn't use that tense unless we mean she *habitually* conceives children with him. We would use the past tense: "she conceived". And we would say "she's pregnant *by* Tom". A mother is pregnant *with* the child, *by* the father. So if she's pregnant with Tom, Tom is the baby.
Aylauria
She and Tom are expecting She and Tom are having a baby
ThirdSunRising
You are pregnant with a child, by a father. She is pregnant by Tom. She is pregnant with their child.
MrsVivi
No, both of these are extremely alien. People mentioned this in your last post about this topic, but in English we don’t describe pregnancy at all in terms of who receives/delivers an act of pregnancy or impregnation, which is how your questions come out.
k464howdy
Her and Tom are having a child but no. 1st sounds weird, second sounds like the baby's name is Tom
DeviatedPreversions
"She conceives with Tom" makes it sound like an ongoing process, like it's something they do on a regular basis.
StrongTxWoman
They both sound awkward. It sounds like a pregnancy kink. Just say, "They are pregnant" or "Tim and she are having a baby." I guys you can say "Tom impregnated her" if you want to.
RaphaelSolo
She is carrying Tom's baby. She is pregnant with Tom's baby. She and Tom are pregnant. (I will be honest I hate this one but it's common in the Midwest) >She conceives with Tom would just mean there is an ongoing process of them producing offspring and would be both weird and crass to say >She is pregnant with Tom Indicates the unborn baby is to be named Tom
renzhexiangjiao
"She is pregnant. Tom is the father." is how I would put it
Thinking_Emoji
"She conceive**d** with Tom" would be technically correct but a very unnatural way to say it. "She is pregnant with Tom" implies Tom is the baby.
Maleficent_Scale_296
You could say “Tom her baby daddy”, at least in America everyone would know what you mean. But the correct way to express this would be “Tom is the father of her child”.
not_just_an_AI
Neither of these sound natural, maybe try "she is pregnant with Tom's child" or "she and Tom are having a baby"