Vincent Teo  +  365043 Tue, 15 May 07 04:10 AM Can I say, (a) How many marbles does he have / has  left? (b) How many marbles does he left / leave? Vincent Teo Joined on Sat, Mar 31 2007 Veteran Member 5,660

	Clive  +  365051 Tue, 15 May 07 04:39 AM Hi, Can I say, (a) How many marbles does he have / has  left? Use 'have'. This is like asking how many remain in his possession. (b) How many marbles does he left / leave? To be grammatical, say 'leave'. But you would only use this sentencein a very odd context. It relates not to possession but to the remainder that he 'abandons' somewhere. eg He walked away and left 3 marbles. I don't think this is what you mean here. Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,626 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

	Vincent Teo  +  377049 Sat, 09 Jun 07 12:48 PM (b) How many marbles does he left / leave? So, which is the best answer? If I ask the pupils in Maths. Vincent Teo

	Clive  +  377070 Sat, 09 Jun 07 01:33 PM Hi, (a) How many marbles does he have left? Clive Clive

	MyShirley  +  377177 Sat, 09 Jun 07 07:04 PM  Clive wrote: Hi, (a) How many marbles does he have left? Clive To answer the question, we should say ' He does have left..blah blah.., right?' Why 'does' is used in the question? Can I say 'How many marbles has he left?' What is the difference? Thanks MyShirley Joined on Thu, Jan 26 2006 Full Member 239

	Clive  +  377224 Sat, 09 Jun 07 10:53 PM Hi, (a) How many marbles does he have left? To answer the question, we should say ' He does have left..blah blah.., right?' No. The normal answer is 'He has five left'. Why 'does' is used in the question? It's just the standard way of making a question. We use the auxiliary verb and position it in that way. Have you studied how to make questions yet? Can I say 'How many marbles has he left?' Yes. What is the difference? There is really no difference. The verb 'have' is an exception to the usual way of making questons. Best wishes, Clive Clive Verbs, Auxiliaries

	Clive  +  377225 Sat, 09 Jun 07 11:04 PM Hi, (a) How many marbles does he have left? To answer the question, we should say ' He does have left..blah blah.., right?' No. The normal answer is 'He has five left'. Why 'does' is used in the question? It's just the standard way of making a question. We use the auxiliary verb and position it in that way. Have you studied how to make questions yet? Can I say 'How many marbles has he left?' Yes. What is the difference? There is really no difference. The verb 'have' is an exception to the usual way of making questions. Best wishes, Clive Clive Verbs, Auxiliaries

	khoff  +  377287 Sun, 10 Jun 07 04:28 AM Can I say 'How many marbles has he left?' Yes. What is the difference? There is really no difference. The verb 'have' is an exception to the usual way of making questions. Clive - don't you think that "How many marbles has he left" could easily be misinterpreted as meaning "How many marbles did he leave", rather than the intended meaning of "How many marbles does he still have"??  I would caution against using it in place of "how many marbles does he have left" because of the ambiguity. khoff Joined on Sun, Mar 6 2005 Senior Member 3,271 Native speaker of American English (but not a grammar expert) Verbs

	Clive  +  377309 Sun, 10 Jun 07 08:39 AM Hi, I think the context would usually very much clarify any such ambiguity.  'How many marbles has he left?' is not at all uncommon as a question about mathematics and about remainders. Best wishes, Clive Clive