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/lit/ - Literature

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22138598 No.22138598 [Reply] [Original]

Why is it "How many" and not "What many"?

>> No.22138659

>>22138598
euphony

>> No.22138673

Older use of “how”. “How now?” also used to mean, “what’s this?” “How’s that?” also for “what’s that?”

>> No.22138807
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22138807

>>22138673
How now brown cow

>> No.22139568

>>22138598
Its not even a thing in just english its the same in German as well so it goes back to a more ancient root. Wie = How, Wie Viele = How Many.

>> No.22139577

>>22138598
"What many" today would be used as a form of emphasis not interrogation. Think about replacing many with "a lot". "What a lot of money you have". "What many teeth you have". "What" in this case would be showing the many quanitity is exceptional.

>> No.22139924 [DELETED] 

>>22138598


Same general reason why certain heterosexual (?) Unitedstatian men casually refer to one another as: "baby": custom.

Incidentally: does this have anything to do with "Eastcoasters" being unable able to pronounce "r's"?

>> No.22139930

>>22138598


Same general reason why certain heterosexual (?) Unitedstatian men casually refer to one another as: "baby": custom.

Incidentally: does this have anything to do with "Eastcoasters" being unable able to pronounce "r"?

>> No.22139974

Because language is arbitrary.

>> No.22139977

>>22138598
Same reason it isn't 'who many', that's not what the words mean and it makes no sense you dumb frogposter.

>> No.22140585

>>22138598
"many" is an ascribed quality to which you are asking the degree of, so you use "how" to ask for that degree, similarly to how you would ask "how red" or "how deep" something is.