Where are you from?
- Tony Patterson
- Apr 13, 2020
- 1 min read
Updated: May 29, 2020
Where are you from?
I'm from London.
But what does that mean. Let's look at me:
I was born in Cambridge.
I have lived in Cambridge, Bristol, Tokyo and London.
I've lived in London for 15 years - which is a most of my adult life.
Can I say "I'm from London" when I was born in Cambridge? Yes, is the answer. Imagine this conversation.
A: Where are you from?
B: I'm from Cambridge.
A: Oh, me too. Have you been to the new pub on the High Street?
B: No, I haven't been there for 15 years.
A: But you said you were from Cambridge?
B: I am, but I live in London.
Here the person said they were from Cambridge but didn't know anything about Cambridge. This is not helpful.
My rule is: say you are from the place you know the best.
Example conversations
A: Where are you from?
B: I'm from London.
A: Were you born there?
B: No, I'm originally from Cambridge.
Originally from = the first place you were from
A: Where are you from?
B: Cambridge originally, but I live in London.
A: Where are you from?
B: London, but I now live in Tokyo.
A: Were you born in London?
B: No, I was born in Cambridge but moved away 15 years ago.
You are correct. They were typing errors which I've now fixed. Thank you.
If you ask "Where were you born in London?" you're asking for a specific location in London in which you were born.
You said 'Where you born there?' and 'Where you born in London?' in your writing. Are they grammartically right? I thought they should be 'Were you born there?' and 'Where were you born in London?'