how many is "a couple of" ?

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Seraphin

#546026 Thu, 24 Jul 08 10:23 PM

When can we say - a couple of vs. many?

There are 3 ~ 4 (not counted, so can not be exact) tables in the restaurant - we say, there are a couple of tables in the restaurant.

There are ~ 100 seats in the theater, we don't say, there are a couple of seats in the theater, right?

So where is the cutoff for using a couple of, as opposed to, many?

Thanks

ps. can we use "a couple of" in writing (formal)?

Seraphin

Joined on Sat, Feb 9 2008

Full Member (146)

Clive

#546029 Thu, 24 Jul 08 10:40 PM

Hi,
When can we say - a couple of vs. many? Sorry, it's just not something that is clearly and precisely defined.
Here are a couple of things we can say.
Tom and Mary are a couple of nice people.
Honestly, Officer, I just had a couple of beers.
He just won the election by a couple of votes.

There are 3 ~ 4 (not counted, so can not be exact) tables in the restaurant - we say, there are a couple of tables in the restaurant. Yes.

There are ~ 100 seats in the theater, we don't say, there are a couple of seats in the theater, right?Right.

So where is the cutoff for using a couple of, as opposed to, many?

Thanks

ps. can we use "a couple of" in writing (formal)? Not usually.

Best wishes, Clive

Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004

Canada

Veteran Member (22,212)

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