Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[juliete]

Are the following sentences natural?

[A]
Office worker A: How many workers do you have in your company?
Office worker B: Around one thousand.

[B]
Friend A: How many people do you have in your family?
Friend B: Five.

[juliete]

Let me change my question/
Are the following dialogues natural?

[A]
Office worker A: How many workers have you got in your company?
Office worker B: Around one thousand.

[B]
Friend A: How many people have you got in your family?
Friend B: Five.

[2006]

A: Both sentences are natural and acceptable, but I like the first one more. You can also say 'How many workers are there in your company?'
It is much more natural to say "Around a thousand' which would be said quickly as 'Arounda thousand.' Of course you cannot normally write it that way.

B: Neither one sounds very natural to me, especially the second one. 'How many people are in your family?' is more natural.
The answer,'Five', of course is fine.

[juliete]

Hello 2006,

Thank you very much for your kind relply. I understand well.
Could I ask a little more?

[C]
You said, 'I like the first one more.' What do you mean by 'the first one'?
Do you mean the sentence 'How many workers do you have in your company?'?

[D]
Which is better, my 'first one' or your 'How many workers are there in your company?'? And why is that?

[E]
In [A], is it OK for office worker A to ask by using have? Office worker B isn't the owner of the company so it sounds a little bit strange to me. I think office worker A shouldn't use 'have' or 'have got' and the persons who can say 'I've got aournd a thousand workers in my company' is only the president of the comopany, the main stock holders of the company, and so on. What do you think about that?

[F]
You said 'especially the second one.' I think you mean 'How many people have you got in your family? by using 'the socnod one.' I thought 'have got' is always preferred to 'have' in daily speaking in the United States. Is my understanding incorrect? Is 'have' sometimes preferred to 'have got'?

[G]
Why do you think ' 'How many people are in your family?' is more natural'?

[H]
Is the following dialogue natural?
Friend A: How many people have you got in your town?
Friend B: Around a thousand.

[I]
Is the following dialogue natural?
Student A of an Eglish conversation school: How many students have you got in your class?
Student B of an Eglish conversation school: Around fifteen.

[J]
Is the following dialogue natural?
Friend A: How many members have you got in your team?
Friend B: Around thirty.

[K]
I think the way of speaking is a little bit differernt from country to country. If you don't mind, would you tell me your nationality or in which country you spent the main part of your life?
Of course, if you do, please ignore this question.

Thank you.

[2006]

C) Yes, and I just personally prefer 'do you have' over 'have you got', but both are often said.

D)E) As you suggest, '...do you have?' might be more appropriate for a boss or manager while '...are there?' might be more appropriate for a worker. However, if you ask a worker, 'how many workers do you have?', it will be understood that those are not the worker's workers; they are the company's workers. 'you' will be taken as the collective 'you' and the worker will say 'we have', not 'I have'.

F) Don't be too obsessed with 'US English'; other countries speak English too. Although 'got' is often used that way, 'got' is the past tense of 'get', so I just prefer 'have'. I think it sounds better, maybe more 'educated'. Other people may disagree with me and you can use whatever you want. Have your own style, as long as it is correct. You don't always have to follow the crowd.

G) I am big on not using more words than necessary. There is nothing wrong with 'How many people do you have in your family?' Maybe what I meant by 'more natural' is that 'how many people are (there) in your family?' is a little less wordy.

H) I don't like the question at all. If you mean, 'how many people live in your town?', say that. Your question sounds like 'how many workers do you have in your town?'

I)J) Natural or not, it's just not very good English. Use 'are' instead of 'have you got'. Say 'on your team'. I would suggest that you largely wean yourself off 'have you got' but maybe others will disagree with me. Language can be a very individual thing. Adopt a style you like.

K) Except for when I studied in the U S for four years, I have lived my entire life in Canada. Where are you?

[juliete]

Hello 2006

Thank you very much for your detailed reply. I understand very well.

I've wondered if there's any difference between 'have' and 'there is' sentences for a long time. It seems that a lot of people, except for those who use English as the only or main language, for example, Americans, Canadians, British, and so on, feel no difference between the two sentences and use them quite interchangebly.

But now I undestand there is a clear difference between them.

I live in Greece and have stayed in New York and the West coast for seven days on a sightseeing trip. I'd like to visit Canada in winter some day.

Thank you.