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Grammar fix

raise a family

bring up children

To take care of and support your children as they grow up, teaching them and helping them become adults.

collocationB1common

Hear it in context

Notice where the phrase sounds natural.

  • Many people move to the suburbs because they want to raise a family in a quieter environment.family
  • In my opinion, it can be challenging to raise a family while working full-time, but with good support, it is possible.IELTS speaking

Fix the pattern

Pattern: raise a family

WrongThey want to grow a family.

RightThey want to raise a family.

You RAISE a family (or 'start' one); 'grow a family' sounds off.

Patternraise a family

Use it right

Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.

Stiff They aspire to nurture and rear their offspring.

Natural They want to raise a family.

'Nurture and rear offspring' is biology-textbook; 'raise a family' is the set phrase.

Build natural chunks

Words that usually travel with it.

  • raise a family
    raise a familystart a familya good place to raise a familybring up a family

Don't confuse it

Not the same as 'start a family', which means to begin having children.

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