the brother I never had vs the brother I have never had

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in slightly different contexts. 'The brother I never had' implies that the speaker has always wanted a brother but never had one. 'The brother I have never had' emphasizes the current state of not having a brother. The choice between them depends on whether the focus is on the past desire or the present situation.

Last updated: March 21, 2024 • 6604 views

the brother I never had

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to express a longing for a sibling relationship that never existed.

This phrase is used to convey the idea that the speaker has always desired to have a brother but never actually had one.

Examples:

He's like the brother I never had.
Growing up, I always wished for the brother I never had.
She's the sister I never had.

Show examples from the web [+]

Sep 13, 2012 ... I got a little chuckle thinking of this sewing machine as the the Brother I never had , and it only feels fitting to give him a name of his own.
Jul 11, 2015 ... By using our services you're agreeing to the updated policy. Pause. Aaron Krogh. 147-B - The Brother I Never Had (Loop). 4 years ago4 years.
Mar 2, 2016 ... "You are like the brother I never had. I am going to cherish that for the rest of my life. We have lived together for four years. I know sometimes ...
Alice: You've been a good friend of me Steve. You're like the brother I never had. Steve: Thanks. (goes home and cries...) Noooooo, I have been brother zoned.

Alternatives:

the sister I never had
the friend I never had
the mentor I never had
the parent I never had
the family member I never had

the brother I have never had

This phrase is also correct and is used to emphasize the current state of not having a brother.

This phrase is used to highlight the fact that the speaker currently does not have a brother, without necessarily implying a past desire for one.

Examples:

He's like the brother I have never had.
I wish I had the brother I have never had.
She's the sister I have never had.

Show examples from the web [+]

Sep 30, 2011 ... Alex became the brother I have never had, and Carmen became a friend, mother and sister all in one. Every evening, Carmen and I would ...
For me you have not only been the fiance of my sister bianca, you have been like the brother i have never had. I read your letters to my sister, it has been such a ...
7; 0. @stesaie · @valerio_abbruzzese · @francesco__w · @ francesco_evangelisti · silviafrancescut Happy birthday Monty! You are the brother I have never had.
Oct 14, 2015 ... ... i can depend on him and that he has my back when I need him. He is like the brother I have never had I.am blessed to have him in my life.

Alternatives:

the sister I have never had
the friend I have never had
the mentor I have never had
the parent I have never had
the family member I have never had

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023
"Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"
martin.roy June 2023
"This is the best app that I have ever seen"
Burulai May 2023

the brother I never had vs the brother I have never had