Can anyone show me how to put a question to the bold part of the following sentence?
"There are two days left."
I've come up with one question and it is “How many days left are there”. Is it correct?
By the way, why do we say “How many days do you have left?” rather than “How many days left do you have?”
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2 Answers
How many days left are there?
That is correct and idiomatic. So is this:
How many days are there left?
And there's nothing wrong with "How many days left do you have?" even though some online grammar checkers may tell you otherwise.
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1+1 There's also no requirement to include the existential "there": "How many days are left?" "Two days are left." Aug 27 at 1:09
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@MarcInManhattan No requirement to use there in the second but there is a requirement to use there in the first. Aug 27 at 1:13
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Do you mean that "How many days are left?" is incorrect? It is idiomatic in my dialect (Northeast U.S. English) and, I believe, AmE generally. Aug 27 at 1:56
There are two days left. Question: How many days are left? ('There' is just introductory, and need not be used. But, to a sentence, "There are two days.", the question is, "How many days are there?"
//How many days do you have left?//
The first part should, again, be: 'How many days have you left?' or 'How many days do you have?'
"Do you have left..." is incorrect.
//How many days left do you have?// It could be answered as, "I have two days left."
It is a matter of understanding the use of 'there' as an introductory pronoun, and tense in sentences.
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2You seem to be saying that there is something wrong with How many days do you have left?. If that is what you are saying, then I disagree vehemently. In my British English I would rather say How many days have you got left?, but the "do you have" form is perfectly acceptable. Dec 26, 2022 at 21:26
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