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I was out with a friend today (only me and him), and I told my girlfriend that "we walked around with Joe", and she asked me who else was there besides Joe. When I told her that it was only me and Joe, she said that I should have said "I walked around with Joe".

When I say "We walked around with Joe.", does it imply that there was more than one person with me?

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    Unless you’re Queen Elizabeth or you have a mouse in your pocket, yes, we means there’s more of you there than just a single person.
    – tchrist
    Commented Jun 23, 2013 at 17:07
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    @Carlo_R., thanks for letting me know. I wasn't aware that there was an English Language Learners SE. I'll flag it right away.
    – hattenn
    Commented Jun 23, 2013 at 17:16
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    What language is it?
    – MetaEd
    Commented Jun 23, 2013 at 20:00
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    Oh, then merhaba!
    – MetaEd
    Commented Jun 24, 2013 at 2:53
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    If you omit "with Joe," then you can say "We walked around," which does not imply that there was a third person.
    – Gaʀʀʏ
    Commented Jun 24, 2013 at 18:36

1 Answer 1

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"We walked around with Joe" implies that there were at least three people there. The action in this sentence is "walking around with Joe," which Joe is not doing. Joe is Joe. Joe is not walking with Joe. The subject of the sentence is whoever is doing the action. Since Joe is not doing the action, he is not included as a subject of the sentence. The only subject is you, so the correct sentence is, "I walked around with Joe."

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