In the middle of a conversation he had with my father, [Mr. X] asked him: “What does your son want to do in future?”. “He wants to do religious studies,” my father replied.
He talked on my behalf without talking to me about it beforehand.
(This is not a quote from a book, it's my own translation from a weird language into English.)
In the above context, when the child and his father are both present and the father doesn't let the child answer the question, is it correct to say "my father talked on my behalf without talking to me about it beforehand"?
Is absence of the child needed?
Is it polite for the child to say "my father speaks for me without talking to me beforehand" or does it have a negative connotation that the child is angry with his father because of what he has done?
Best Answer
On someone's behalf is correct, unobjectionable and fine in the context. on behalf of does not require the absence of the person – there's no such connotation in the expression.
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