Suppose two close friends are talking about a problems which recently has occurred between them; then does the bold segment in the sentence bellow seem redundant to you or not:
I have a grievance from you that I need to air with you.
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2 Answers
I have a grievance from you that I need to air with you.
Since you're not asking for the phrase appropriate in the situation, this sentence, taken alone, doesn't make sense to me.
To air one's grievances is an idiom, which means "to complain; to make a public complaint", and as such, it may be followed by the preposition either against (someone) or about/over (something).
"I have my grievances against you to air" doesn't match your situation at all. Or does it?
On thinking twice, I'd sooner say it does because in many cases the expression carries along with it a good-natured touch of satire, even parody.
Collocations for the noun grievance see here.
answered Jul 27, 2016 at 10:08
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thank you for responding me, but you mentioned: ""I have my grievances against you to air" doesn't match my situation at all."; then could you please let me know how can I alter this sentence to make a better sense in the second person? I need to know how can I enter the word "grievance" in a simple interpersonal relationship e.g. between two close friends; (Where I live, there is such a word which people freely can use against each other to make their complaint more friendly and avoid being so harsh); do you have any other idea or something? :)– A-friendCommented Jul 27, 2016 at 12:15
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1@A-friend - On the contrary, after saying that, I'm asking myself "Or does it?" and answering yes, it does". To me personally, "I have my grievances against you to air" said in a humorous, reconcilable, friendly way seems to be not at all bad phrase to ease the tension in the interaction of two friends. Commented Jul 27, 2016 at 12:27
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Perhaps I'm from a different background from @Rompey, but I find it hard to imagine being able to say "I have my grievances against you" in a friendly way. I would be using an expression that implies the possibility that we both have a grievance. "Are there issues we need to discuss", "Is there a problem" or "I'm concerned that we seem to have a disagreement".– djnaCommented Jul 27, 2016 at 14:08
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@djna - What about "Next time you take my slippers, I'll kill/sue you!" Do you find that, too, hard to imagine to hear between, say, brothers or sisters? If your answer is yes then we are definitely from the different background. I'm from Russia, by the way. Commented Jul 27, 2016 at 14:20
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Well the last guy that said that to me is pushing up the daisies ;-) You're right, if we're in an already "knowing" situation it's fine. I'm probably being over-cautious, fearing a non-native speaker inadvertently giving offence.– djnaCommented Jul 27, 2016 at 14:27
We don't use **from*, it is sufficient to say "I have a grievance", if you want a preposition use "grievance against".
However I would be reluctant to use the word "grievance" at all when speaking to someone directly, it is more appropriate to formal procedures. Companies may have particular procedures for "raising a grievance".
In a simple interpersonal relationship, or with an immediate colleague or manager, I would be saying something along these lines:
Could we talk about what happened yesterday? There seems to be a problem between us.
As soon as you use the word "grievance" you are portraying yourself as the injured party and the other person as the offender. Even if that is the case (and more likely you are also at fault) it's not a great way to start to fix things.
