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I have to make the following sentence less ambiguous

I stay with my family in a small house in Porbandar which includes my grandparents.

My attempt is:

I stay with my family which includes my grandparents in a small house in Porbandar.

Have I corrected the right part? Does the original sentence make it ambiguous as to what includes my grandparents?

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  • What is "porbandar"? If it's a city name, it needs to be capitalized. – Catija♦ Jul 8 '16 at 19:08
  • @Catija I believe Porbandar is the birthplace of Mahatma Ghandi, unless I've confused the spelling. – ColleenV Jul 8 '16 at 23:58
  • Both sentences make it quite clear that everybody lives in Porbandar. – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica Aug 8 '16 at 9:51
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In your sentence

I stay with my family in a small house in Porbandar which includes my grandparents.

a nonfamiliar reader might think think "Porbandar" somehow incorporates your grandparents due to the placement of the "which" phrase.

Less ambiguous would be

I stay with my family, which includes my grandparents, in a small house in Porbandar.
I stay with my family and my grandparents in a small house in Porbandar.
I stay with my extended family in a small house in Porbandar.

In the last sentence, "extended family" could potentially include more than just your grandparents.

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  • Surely "I stay with my family, including my grandparents, in a small house in porbandar." would be more natural... – Catija♦ Jul 8 '16 at 19:08
  • @Catija I agree - "including my grandparents" was the first thought I had to rephrase it. – ColleenV Jul 9 '16 at 0:03
  • It's an interesting point, I was reading it as if the speaker was staying with their own family (wife and kids) instead of staying with their original family (mother and father). @Catija what would you say is the difference between "and" and "including" in this context? – Peter Jul 9 '16 at 14:51
  • It's really strange that you make a distinction between the "wife and kids" family and the "grandparents" family - I consider that all one family. I don't understand how "my grandparents" could be something other than "my family". You could say "my family and my wife's grandparents". It just seems like 'I stay with my family and my grandparents" is an awkward way to phrase it unless there was something more to the story to explain why your grandparents aren't considered part of your family. – ColleenV Jul 9 '16 at 19:13
  • @ColleenV On why grandparents are mentioned - it may be an attempt to cross cultural norms: nuclear family vs extended family. – Lawrence Sep 7 '16 at 4:27

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