How to Ask Questions: HOW LONG, HOW MUCH...

TRANSCRIPT

Hi there. My name is Emma, and in today's video I am going to teach you a very, very important grammar point. I'm going to teach you about a mistake many, many students make. So I don't want you to make this mistake, so let's get started. In this video I am going to teach you the difference between "How long", "How long time", "How much time" and "How many times". Students often confuse these four expressions. So let's look at some of the differences.

So I have here a question. I actually have three different sentences, here. One of them is right, two of them are wrong. Okay? So let's look at these together. The first one: "How long time have you been here?" The second one: "How long have you been here?" And the third one: "How many time have you been here?" So one of these is correct. Which one do you think is right? If you said: "How long time have you been here?" that's incorrect. This one, it's wrong. Number two: "How long have you been here?" If you said this one, you are correct. This is right. What about the last one? "How many time have you been here?" This one is also wrong, but we can make it right if we add an "s". So let's go over each of these so you can find out why some of these are wrong, and why some of them are right.

To get started, let's look at "How long". So when we ask somebody: "How long...?" we are asking them about time. Okay? We want to know the amount of time for something. So, for example: "How long have you been here?" I want to know, maybe, how many minutes. Or maybe I want to know how many hours you've been here. Okay? If I ask you: "How long have you lived in England?" an answer would be a number that has to do with time. You might say: "Five years.", "Four weeks.", "Two months." Okay? So when we ask: "How long...?" the answer and what we want to know is about time; minutes, hours, days, months, weeks, years. Okay?

So let's look at another example. "How long have you lived in Spain?" The answer is going to be something about time. "Three years." Okay? You'll notice not always, but many times we use: "How long" with the present perfect. It's possible to use it with the past tense, the simple past, and also the future, but you will often see it with the present perfect. "How long have you been married?", "How long have you worked here?", "How long have you studied English?" Okay? So a lot of the questions you probably want to ask somebody, you're probably going to use: "How long have you...?" Okay? Very common way we ask questions.

So, what about: "How long time"? Can I say that also? Can I say: "How long time have you lived in Spain?" or: "How long time did you sleep on the plane?" No. If you're asking how long, you don't need the word "time". Okay? We never say in English: "How long time". Many students say: "How long time", but this is not correct. The correct expression: "How long". Not: "How long time". All right, so now let's look at "How much time" and "How many times".

Okay, so we've talked about "How long", which is good, "How long time", which is bad. Now let's look at: "How much time...?" I think this is why many students get confused. I think they confuse: "How long" and "How much time", and they... As a result, they create: "How long time", which is incorrect.

So: "How much time" actually is pretty much the same as "How long". When you ask: "How much time...?" you want to know about the amount of time. You want to know about maybe it's minutes, days, weeks, months, years. It's the same as "How long". Okay? So, for example: "How much time does it take to get to work?" I could also say: "How long does it take to get to work?" They have the same meaning. Or: "How much time have you waited?", "How much time have you been in line for?" Okay? So, the answers to these questions are going to be about time. -"How much time does it take to get to work?" -"For me, it takes one hour." -"How much time have you waited in line?" -"I've waited in line five minutes." Okay? So, for both "How long" and "How much time", they're pretty much the same. In conversation, we usually use "How long". Okay? You can use both, but native speakers are more likely to use "How long". So if you're trying to decide: Do I use "How much time" or "How long"? "How long" is more natural and it's more common. Okay? But they mean the same thing.

[zkvxnkl]

This lesson was great! Your speech was distinct, clear and at a normal speed. Your explanation was complete & clear. I did your quiz at once! Thanks, Emma!
Only 3 days left to the end of 2019. Happy New Year, Emma! Be happy!

[marcocarneiro]

Hi Emma! I am from Brazil. We are in february 2022, and I am watching your classes. The classes are excelent, you are an excelent teacher, study watching your classes turns the learning of english easier. Thank you very much for your dedication.

[manuelcampos]

Hello Emma. You are a great teacher. This lesson was really efective. Thanks a lot.

[tesfse]

Thank you teacher Emma! I've learnt a lot of from this video. Now i know the difference between HOW LONG, HOW MANY, HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH TIME and HOW MANY TIMES.

[anp]

God bless you maam
U r the best teacher ever
Wish I had a sister like you
You look so pious simple and God loving
Lot of blessings
Thanks to YouTube we see such good people on earth many kilometres away 😘😘😘
Lots of love sister

[fernandopenasfont]

Thanks Emma, I fully understand everything you say. You speak very clearly.
Congratulations, you are a very good teacher.

[amjathalibinfazeel]

You are the best English teacher I have ever seen .
Love from Sri Lanka 🇱🇰

[syedhaider]

i adore you appreciate your cool way of teaching, thank you so very much, your scarf looks awesome at you, GOD BLESS YOU

[adrianadossantos]

Another studant here from Brazil who want to learn english. Thank you so much for the video and I hope that I'm writting correctly.

[edgeseguridadinformaticays]

Emma you're the only one professor that I really understand, greatest lessons thank you so much

[Abderrazak]

Thank you so much Emma, you are wonderful teacher, I hope there are other lessons like this

[soulefb]

Hello Emma, I am very pleased to be able to watch your video. Your way of teaching is so simple and exceptional! I really like it .Thank you very much.

[fernandabertolini]

The best teacher! This channel is helping me with english. Thanks emma!

[canberkgenc]

Teacher, you told this subject great! I wanna thank you for your effort.

[soulafaali]

I am Soulafa from Syria I searched a lot for English teachers on YouTube but I couldn't find anyone have more beautiful and simpler than your teaching and explanation Thank you, Miss Emma

[donbayardkonan]

I am also a teacher and this course helps me to coach my students.Thanks a lot.

[papaadam]

Interesting....Emma teached the lesson clearly and easy to understand

[ThuyNguyen-jint]

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Hi my wonderful teacher, I love your lessons so much!
It's really useful and easy to understand
No words to say, it's really great lessons and you are a talented teacher
Wishing you will success and happy

[tcmylsp]

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[alisharif]

Thank you for your marvellous lessons, you're a good teacher.