Meaning & use
belong
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To be owned by someone or to be a possession of someone.
Grammar: Always followed by to: This jacket belongs to my brother; not belongs my brother.
Patterns
- belong to someone
The red bicycle belongs to my neighbor.
Who does this umbrella belong to?
The land belonged to her family for generations.
verbintransitive
To be a member of a group, club or organization.
Grammar: Followed by to or in: belong to a club; belong in a category.
Patterns
- belong to something
- belong in something
He belongs to a chess club that meets on Tuesdays.
My cousin belongs to the school orchestra.
Whales belong to the mammal family, not the fish.
verbintransitive
To be in the right or usual place, or to fit in naturally.
Grammar: Often followed by a place word: The books belong on the shelf.
Patterns
- belong in something
- belong on something
- belong here
Those dishes belong in the top cupboard.
She felt she belonged in the city, not the countryside.
I don't belong here; I'm only visiting.
Word forms
| third person singular | belongs |
|---|---|
| past tense | belonged |
| past participle | belonged |
| -ing form | belonging |
Common combinations
- belong to a club
- She belongs to a running club in town.
- belong together
- Salt and pepper belong together.
- belong here
- New students often wonder if they belong here.
- belong to the past
- Those old traditions belong to the past.
- feel you belong
- The team made her feel she belonged.
Synonyms and how they differ
- own
- Own is transitive and flips the subject: I own the book, whereas the book belongs to me.
- fit in
- Fit in is an informal phrasal verb for being accepted socially, while belong can also mean being owned or properly placed.
- pertain
- Pertain is formal and means to relate to something, rather than being owned or a member.
- be a member of
- Be a member of is plainer and specific to groups, while belong to covers more uses.
Opposites
Word family
- belongings noun
- The things a person owns.
- belonging noun
- The feeling of being accepted in a group.
Commonly confused: belong or belong with?
belong vs belong with
Belong with means to fit together with something, while belong to means being owned by or a member of.
Practice
Who does this notebook ______?
Choose one answer.
Belong is intransitive and needs to before the owner; the question already has does, so the base form belong to is correct. Belongs to would double the third-person ending.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “belong”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.