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I caught the flu from my friend vs. My friend gave me the flu

ChibiFlounder
Could someone tell me if there's a nuance difference between "I caught the flu from my friend" and "My friend gave me the flu"? Does the former simply state a fact with little to no blame toward my friend, while the latter implies that it's their fault or carries a negative connotation? I'm looking for two different sentences, one that neutrally states the fact without sounding accusatory, and one that does carry an accusatory tone toward my friend. If the two sentences above don’t fully capture that difference, I would really appreciate any suggestions on how to phrase them instead. Thank you in advance!

13 comments

OldTimeyBullshit•
In my opinion, there's no real difference between the two, but "my friend gave me the flu" sounds a bit more natural.
Matsunosuperfan•
I think you nailed it.
Matsunosuperfan•
Even stronger would be "my friend **got me sick with** the flu," as this removes any doubt that "gave me" might just be being used in the general sense of "was the reason I contracted" without implying blame. But I prefer your "gave me" as a more elegant/common wording.
Easy_Philosopher8987•
I think that the first one is less accusatory, but the difference is small and what would really be important is how it is said. If you wanted to have a sentence that didn't accuse your friend the best way would be not to mention them. E.g: "I caught the flu". If you want to not sound so accusitory but do want to mention your friend, it's a bit hard. You could try something like "I think I caught the flu from my friend" or "I might have caught the flu from my friend" to sorten the statement a bit.
BouncingSphinx•
“I caught the flu from my friend” sounds more like you went to be near them while they were sick, or at least more neutral. “My friend gave me the flu” sounds like they came to be near you when they were sick, and sounds more that they might have some fault like knowing they were sick before. Both can be neutral depending on other context. “I went to my friend’s house and caught the flu” vs “I went to my friend’s house and they gave me the flu” both are kind of equal, with the second having more of a tone of jest to me.
zebostoneleigh•
I can’t decide if one or the other is more accusatory. They both seem pretty neutral - with blame likely being attribute as more a matter of context or delivery. On the other hand, you could say this to leave no doubt, “It’s her fault I got the flu.”
ScreamingVoid14•
>I caught the flu from my friend You are the one acting and taking responsibility for having the flu. This is what you are looking for. >My friend gave me the flu Phrasing it this way makes your friend the one taking action. While this phrasing wouldn't usually be understood to imply that your friend did it on purpose, it is possible for someone to misunderstand.
san_souci•
The first form is referred to as passive voice, and the second as active voice. Passive voice is said to rob writing of power. So yes in this case at the emphasizes your friend giving you the flu and puts the emphasis on you catching the flu.
brokebackzac•
In the first, I usually hear "got" instead of "caught," but both are equally common and fine.
Nondescript_Redditor•
The second is more natural
igotshadowbaned•
The latter comes across as directly blaming the friend for you being sick, though it's usually taken in a lighter less serious tone.
OneGunBullet•
The second one sounds SLIGHTLY more like you're blaming the friend, but honestly both are interchangeable.
ebrum2010•
There's no difference, but saying "my friend gave me the flu" is used more when someone is putting the blame on the friend rather than themselves, though not always, and not always in a serious way. If you don't want to be misconstrued "I caught the flu from my friend" would be better.