Couple

Question

Can the term 'couple' be used for animals?

And by this, I mean two animals, supposedly a male and female?

If so, which is correct?

"While we were lying on the park, a couple of swans came from the water and approached us."

"While we were lying on the park, a swans couple came from the water and approached us."

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THANK YOU.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Christine ChristieCan the term 'couple' be used for animals?And by this, I mean two animals, supposedly a male and female?

Not really, but informally as anthromorphism it is possible. The main problem is that "couple" means nothing more than "two" in most cases. A couple of swans is not a mating pair, it is simply two swans, but among people who think of swans as mates for life, you could say that the swans paddled across the lake in couples with some hope of being understood to mean that they went two-by-two, cob and pen.

Christine Christie"While we were lying on the park, a swans couple came from the water and approached us."

in the park

"Swans couple" is unidiomatic, so the question of the suitability of "couple" is moot. "Swan couple" would say what you mean, but it's pretty awkward. I might make it "While we were lying on the park, two swans, obviously a couple, came from the water and approached us." But be aware that "couple" is used of people to mean a romantic pairing, and to use it of swans is a bit jocular. Swans don't have Valentine's Day or engagement parties.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Christine ChristieAnd by this, I mean two animals,

Yes, couple means 2 of anything.

There are a couple of donuts left over from breakfast.
Pull up a couple of chairs. There are two more people coming for dinner.
I like most of my teachers, but there are a couple that that I don't like because they give too much homework.
I deleted a couple of messages just now.

Christine Christie"While we were lying on the park, a swans couple came from the water and approached us."

No. You need "breeding pair" (Swans generally are mated for life).

"While we were lying on the grass by the lake in the park, a breeding pair of swans came out of the water and approached us."

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/breeding-pair

Example from this dictionary:

These species are on the brink of extinctions.
There are only a couple of breeding pairs left.

Couple

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