how much is it?
- Thread starter nike20008
- Start date
The sentences both have other problems (for instance, failing to start with a capital letter and failing to end with a question mark), but you should not use "it" in that sentence. B is the better sentence.
-How much is it a traditional sci-fi short?
I don’t think I could really answer that! It depends on the kind of science fiction you’re trying to make. It was a traditional short film in that it was hard to make - we ran a KickStarter crowdfunding campaign, raising just over £4000, and even then had to pull in a lot of favours.
Local Short Film White Lily Showing at Mayhem Film Festival
why not? I think it adds more emphasis on the subject being talked about. And I don't think doing so might lead to confusion.
I don’t think I could really answer that! It depends on the kind of science fiction you’re trying to make. It was a traditional short film in that it was hard to make - we ran a KickStarter crowdfunding campaign, raising just over £4000, and even then had to pull in a lot of favours.
Local Short Film White Lily Showing at Mayhem Film Festival
why not? I think it adds more emphasis on the subject being talked about. And I don't think doing so might lead to confusion.
Last edited:
which one is correct ?
a)how much is ita ride to The Empire State Building.
b)how much is a ride to the The Empire state Building.
As GR has said, nike, it's wrong to include it in your first sentence, and here's why:
We only use a "referent it*" -- referring back to a noun or noun phrase that had been mentioned before, but now is to be employed in a new phrase or sentence.
Ex:
Speaker 1: "I hear that a ride to The Empire State is very expensive."
Speaker 2: "Yes, it* is.
Speaker 1: "Well, how much is it*?"
Speaker 2: "It depends, but New York cab drivers these days set their taxi meters at a starting point of ten dollars even before your trip begins."
"it" here refers back to: [a ride to The Empire State is very expensive."] (What we're talking about.
)Your sentence a) incorrectly inserts a back-referencing "it" into a sentence that starts off what were talking about about, so it's not needed, and is incorrect.
The main reason A is "wrong" is convention: we just don't use "it" that way. We might accept it with a pause/comma afterwards, but it isn't common.
Meanwhile your other examples are not the same structure. I will try to explain:
1 how much is it a month ?
Here the speaker wants to know the price PER month. She is not buying "a month". This is not the same as buying a ticket
To be the same as your structure we'd say:
How much is the rent each month?
2-How much is it a yard ?
This is also about PER yard. The "it" here is the material being bought.
= How much is this fabric per yard?
3-How much is it a traditional sci-fi short?
This means "to what extent?" Nothing to do with prices at all.
Meanwhile your other examples are not the same structure. I will try to explain:
1 how much is it a month ?
Here the speaker wants to know the price PER month. She is not buying "a month". This is not the same as buying a ticket
To be the same as your structure we'd say:
How much is the rent each month?
2-How much is it a yard ?
This is also about PER yard. The "it" here is the material being bought.
= How much is this fabric per yard?
3-How much is it a traditional sci-fi short?
This means "to what extent?" Nothing to do with prices at all.
It's a very common speech convention in French, though, to pose such questions, often starting off with the subject, and using commas.
"John and Mary, how are they these days?" Eng: "How are John and Mary these days?"
"The book, is it on the table?" Eng: "Is the book on the table?"
If you were to take away the commas in my attempt at typifying some French constructions, they would be incorrect as written sentences.
In speech, they are possible, as suzi suggests, but they would requires pauses of breath.
"John and Mary, how are they these days?" Eng: "How are John and Mary these days?"
"The book, is it on the table?" Eng: "Is the book on the table?"
If you were to take away the commas in my attempt at typifying some French constructions, they would be incorrect as written sentences.
In speech, they are possible, as suzi suggests, but they would requires pauses of breath.
Last edited:
I don't think this sentence has anything to do with the expression "how much is it?" meaning "how much does it cost?" In this sentence, it means "to what degree is it ...?". The question could be rephrased as "To what degree is this film a traditional sci-fi short?"
Yes I know. Suzy explained it in post # 5.Thanks you for reminding me again, thou.
And Thank you Dale,Glen and Suzi