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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > "How many are you?"
"How many are you?"
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customer
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"How many are you?"
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Hi everybody,
one of my Italian students wrote this sentence in a dialogue: a group of people enter a restaurant and the waiter asks "How many are you?". "We are four people" they answer. It �s a typical Italian-English translation, nothing to do with good English I guess- how could I correct it?
Thanks in advance,
Chiara |
16 Jun 2009
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anitarobi
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Maybe sth like...
How many of you are there? ili How many of you will be having dinner?
There are four of us./There will be 4 of us.
But let �s hear from others too...
Anita |
16 Jun 2009
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miyoko71
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What about:
How many people are there? |
16 Jun 2009
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Zora
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"How many are you?" ... I believe, is in fact correct, if somewhat formal. Usually you might hear this question when you book a table at a restaurant or reserve seats to a fancy event like an opera or a cruise.
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16 Jun 2009
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customer
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Thanks a lot, all of you!
(Great, great site...) |
16 Jun 2009
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hedgehog
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�how many are you? � seems correct but I would answer �we are four (persons) but not �people �. As far as I know, people in the plural refers to the inhabitants of a country not to individuals |
16 Jun 2009
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natabut
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I also met this very phrase in some texts. And it sounded weird to me. But as far as I understood it is al right.
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16 Jun 2009
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customer
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Thanks again!
Greetings from Italy, to all of you!
Chiara
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16 Jun 2009
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Sandro2007
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Hi there.
When you are in a restaurant and they ask " How many people?
you can answer.
There are 3 of us.
Or you can say: Table for 3.
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16 Jun 2009
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douglas
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=-I think Zora and Anitarobi are both right.
-It would be better to ask: " How many are in your group?"
--"How many are you?" sounds funny, but is technically correct (the second "you" being the group of which you are a part of).
--"People" can mean more than just inhabitants of a country (i.e. "How many people were at your party?"); but "persons", in this case, sounds more formal/proper.--"We are four persons." or "We are a group of four".
--Personally, as a native speaker, I would say: "There are four of us."
--My suggestion is that the student´s answer was correct, but there are better ways to say it (see above). |
16 Jun 2009
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Jayho
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mmm ... interesting question.
When I book a table at a cheaper eatery they usually say �for how many � or even just two words �how many �!. The more expensive that fine dining experience costs the more formal the language used, and yes it usually is �how many are you � or �how many would you like to book for �.
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17 Jun 2009
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