r/language • u/Person_pers0n • 6h ago
Question using 'we' to refer to a group of other people excluding yourself.
idk how to word it in google so im coming here.
im writing an analysis for eng lang, and wondered if there is a way to describe using we in this context.
'I see we're lacking common sense'
with 'we' referring to a group of other who are the ones lacking common sense. it is said by someone who is criticising them for lacking common sense but says 'we' , even though theyre not including themselves as lacking common sense.
it reminds me of how a teacher might refer to a class. eg. 'are we going to behave now?' , although the teacher is not misbehaving but rather the students misbehaving are the 'we'.
i hope i worded it well enough to understand.