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teacher drica
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Hello! I �ve aqsked my students to organize the words and make a question: many/ how/ are/there/ table/ the/ on / ?. And one of them organized the sentence like this: How many cakes are on the table there? Does it make sense??? I �d like some help about this question... Thanks in advance...
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18 Nov 2011
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maryse pey�
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I am afraid it makes no sense at all !
You can only say : How many cakes are there on the table ?
Have a splendid Friday. |
18 Nov 2011
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zoemorosini
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Sorry, I have to disagree with Maryse. It �s colloquially acceptable English. Also, it could be said if you �re focusing on one particular table of cakes (versus other tables nearby that also have cakes).
However, if you �re practicing "there is/are" structures, use Maryse �s example.
Hope this helps! |
18 Nov 2011
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Apodo
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Yes, I agree with zoemorosini it is a colloquially correct sentence.
but it�s better to ask, �How many cakes are on that table? � for a specific table.
The correct answer in a written English test using your example, would be, �How many cakes are there on the table?�.
Giving an example of the type of answer required is the only thing I can think of to avoid wrong answers. So many things in English can be written another way ;-) |
18 Nov 2011
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ruisleipa
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I �m with the yanks and the ozzies.
Although I probably would not teach my students that particular sentence but would rather stick with Maryse �s suggestion, simply because I �m pretty sure that �s what the student originally meant!
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18 Nov 2011
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douglas
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I think you have to give the student full points for the answer--it is not wrong. It is a little unusual, but it is correct.
Douglas
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18 Nov 2011
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Apodo
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Yes. Correct it may be, but unless they are a native speaker it was probably just good luck.
Most serendipitous! |
18 Nov 2011
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Mariethe House
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Good god, Apodo! Don �t you serendipitous me again!  Thought it was Word of the Day and had to look it up!!!
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18 Nov 2011
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Lina Ladybird
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Me too! Had never heard it before... What a word!! 
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18 Nov 2011
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savvinka
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Apolo, can you use that word in another sentence to get the translation better, please?
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18 Nov 2011
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mariec
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How about," How many cakes are on the table over there?"
so you can be sure that the student hasn�t misunderstood the verb "there be" |
18 Nov 2011
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