Girlfriend and I tried

[Encolpius]

Good morning ladies & gentlemen, a 34-year old British man wrote this on a SNS: Girlfriend and I Tried the new pizza place. Shouldn't I write: My girlfriend and I... ? Can I use the word girlfriend without any article just like Father, Mother, daddy, etc? Thank you in advance and have a productive weekend. Encolpius.

 

[grassy]

a 34-year old British man wrote this on a SNS

What's an SNS?

Shouldn't I write: My girlfriend and I... ?

It depends on the broadly understood context. If you saw this in a title or a caption for a photograph, then it's fine to omit the article.

 

[sound shift]

I reckon he did that just to save time and space. "My" is understood.

 

[PaulQ]

I assume you mean SMS. My main objection is the capitalised T in "Tried" - otherwise, "Girlfriend and I Tried the new pizza place." is simply an abbreviated form, which is fine in casual SMSs

 

[Encolpius]

SNS - social networking site

 

[Encolpius]

I had a different feeling, of course my English is very bad. It made me feel he wanted to express something like when you say "Father and I tried.. , no?

 

[grassy]

"Father and I tried.. , no?

It would be a bit odd to use girlfriend as a proper name like that.

 

[Welsh_Sion]

If he was really into saving space on as part of an SNS, he could have omitted the articles and used common abbreviations:

"GF & I tried new pizza place"

 

[Encolpius]

Yes, but some people prefer oddities, no? That's why I am interested what natives think.

 

[Encolpius]

and sorry it is "tried" not Tried" it was a typo of mine.

 

[grassy]

Yes, but some people prefer oddities, no? That's why I am interested what natives think.

Then you should provide the information I requested in #2...

 

[kentix]

No, it's not used like a name. It's just the dropping, in a very casual context, of a small first word that is easily understood.

Someone could write:

- Just got back from the store. Come see what I bought.

Everyone knows the complete sentence begins with I.

 

[Cagey]

It made me feel he wanted to express something like when you say "Father and I tried.. , no?

I think this is possible; people like to play with language and vary common forms. It could also be the case that 'my' was dropped, as other people have said. We really can't know.

Shouldn't I write: My girlfriend and I... ?

My answer to this question is 'yes'. If you are not a native speaker, it is better to stick to the conventional forms. Otherwise people may think you are making a mistake because you don't know English well. In addition, you may not know when the unconventional alternatives are acceptable and when they aren't.