Why does this sentence:
冬休みは家族でイタリアやイギリスへ行きました。
have で there instead of と?
Wouldn't "with family" be 家族と?
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2 Answers
家族で should be taken as "as a family" rather than "with family"
(Both と and で could be used, though IMHO, 家族で implies that all family members were present whereas 家族と implies you only went with some/maybe all family members.)
Both 家族で and 家族と are correct.
で can sometimes mark an organization/group which makes some action, as if it were a subject.
It's the third definition on デジタル大辞泉.
動作・作用を行う主体となる組織・団体を表す。「政府側―検討中だ」「気象庁―光化学スモッグ警報を発令した」
東京外国語大学言語モジュール treats this as an extension of で as a location marker, as follows:
10 場所を表わす用法の拡張として、主語を場所風に表わすときに用いることがあります。
- 警察で事件を調べています。
- クラスで旅行に出かけました。
- その仕事は自分でやります。
This question is also related:
I think it's also possible to think of this as an extension of 1人で, みんなで, 全員で, etc.
