One of my ex-students...,

[Silverobama]

A few days ago, an old acquaintance told me Zhi killed himself. I once taught him English when he was young. I was so surprised and sad. I wrote the sentence:

One of my ex-students killed himself due to depression; it was a shame because he was only 17.

Is my sentence natural?

 

[tedmc]

It's okay but I would say "committed suicide".

 

[emsr2d2]

It's okay but I would say "committed suicide".

Saying "committed suicide" is certainly more formal than "killed himself". I've noticed recently that many websites have stopped using those terms or even any version of "dead". Instead, I've seen "unalive" and "unalived himself/herself" to mean the same thing. I can only assume that some sites that use those terms have been strangled or shut down due to the presence of "harmful content".

 

[Silverobama]

I thought "ex-" was exclusively for one's former spouse or partner.

 

[PeterCW]

I thought "ex-" was exclusively for one's former spouse or partner.

"Ex" is often used colloquially as a separate word to mean a former spouse or parter.

There is nothing wrong with "ex-" being used in expressions such as "ex-student" although in most cases my personal preference would be to use "former".

 

[TJP5]

*note a teacher

Because we use “commit” to mean “broke the law” it is more polite to say that your student “died by suicide”.

Grammar aside, I am very sorry to hear your student died. I’m sure this is a very difficult time for you.

 

[Skrej]

TjP5, you're welcome to responds to questions, but we ask that you put a 'not a teacher' disclaimer in your posts. Rather than manually add it each time, it's easiest to add it to your signature. Also, your IP suggests your current location is not accurate - please update that as well.

Because we use “commit” to mean “broke the law” it is more polite to say that your student “died by suicide”.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here - there's nothing polite or impolite about using 'committed' here. It's the commonly used phrase.
The use of 'commit' certainly isn't restricted to acts of lawbreaking.

 

[emsr2d2]

I think the change from "commit suicide" to "die by suicide" has come about due to the old-fashioned thinking that killing oneself is a crime (or, in religious circles, a sin). The word "commit" does, for many people, suggest that the person who killed themselves has done something wrong.

 

[TJP5]

TjP5, you're welcome to responds to questions, but we ask that you put a 'not a teacher' disclaimer in your posts. Rather than manually add it each time, it's easiest to add it to your signature. Also, your IP suggests your current location is not accurate - please update that as well.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here - there's nothing polite or impolite about using 'committed' here. It's the commonly used phrase.
The use of 'commit' certainly isn't restricted to act

Sorry about the “not a teacher. “ I am not sure how that got in there because I am, in fact, a teacher.

From an American point of view it is impolite to say “commit suicide” because it was a term first used when suicide was indeed a criminal act.

 

[emsr2d2]

Sorry about the “not a teacher”. I am not sure how that got in there because I am, in fact, a teacher.

From an American point of view, it is impolite to say “commit suicide” because it was a term first used when suicide was indeed against criminal act.

Perhaps when you first posted your response, your Member Type did not read "English teacher". That might have led to a moderator adding the required "Not a teacher".

Please note that I've added missing punctuation to your post above. We're all aware that such typos are possible from everyone. However, please bear in mind that, based on your member profile, learners here will assume that everything you write is correct. It's always a good idea to double-check your posts before submitting to avoid such typos.

I'm not sure what the underlined part means though. I believe there's another typo there.

 

[Rover_KE]

It's always a good idea to double-check your posts before submitting to avoid such typos.

... and also after submitting them while you still have time to edit them (24 hours).