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How do you say this in English?
Posted: 01 Dec 2008, 19:02
by Philondra
The below three phrases are fine:
Several hundred books
Several thousand books
Several million books
Yet these two phrases are not:
Several ten books
Several tens of books
So how can I express an undefined number of objects that range from 20-99 in number?
Re: How do you say this in English?
Posted: 01 Dec 2008, 19:07
by midi
The closest I can think of is "several decades" or "several dozens".... I've never heard several being used under a hundred as there isn't, to my mind, a general denominator like there is in japanese.
I think I got that right.... ><
Re: How do you say this in English?
Posted: 01 Dec 2008, 19:17
by Philondra
I might have to go with several dozen and hope that the number is greater than 36. Thanks Midi!
Re: How do you say this in English?
Posted: 01 Dec 2008, 19:19
by midi
I just hope I'm on the right track. I'm just an IT nerd
Re: How do you say this in English?
Posted: 01 Dec 2008, 23:36
by Cartollomew
Dozen sounds right to me - before we used the metric system, we didn't count that high anyways
Re: How do you say this in English?
Posted: 08 Jan 2009, 13:13
by Takius
Old way of counting: One, two, three, many, lots.
Re: How do you say this in English?
Posted: 08 Jan 2009, 13:18
by midi
one, two, many, many one, many two, lots
Ah good ol' Discworld.
Re: How do you say this in English?
Posted: 08 Jan 2009, 14:15
by Xact
A fair few books.
I win
Re: How do you say this in English?
Posted: 08 Jan 2009, 15:57
by Johnnyrico
many books.
Re: How do you say this in English?
Posted: 08 Jan 2009, 16:03
by Xact
"between 20 and 99 books."
Re: How do you say this in English?
Posted: 08 Jan 2009, 16:08
by Cartollomew
Xact wrote:"more books than I will ever read."
ftfy...
Re: How do you say this in English?
Posted: 08 Jan 2009, 16:16
by Xact
fuck me, 20 would be a push.
The only thing i read is articles. Or non-fiction books.
Why the fuck would i want to read something that is some made up crap, waste my fucking time, if I cant grow from it in some way, I may as well be reading the herald sun.
The urge that people get to read fiction books just baffles me, i don't want to read about some snake man in nebulus quad 69 trying to masterbate a 4 headed goose while saving his planet.
fucking retarded.
*edit* don't get me started on romance novels, sex deprivation should be sorted in other ways.
Re: How do you say this in English?
Posted: 08 Jan 2009, 16:21
by Kayleb
*edit* don't get me started on romance novels, sex deprivation should be sorted in other ways.
Refer here ->
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/5249132
Re: How do you say this in English?
Posted: 08 Jan 2009, 16:43
by Philondra
Xact wrote:
The urge that people get to read fiction books just baffles me, i don't want to read about some snake man in nebulus quad 69 trying to masterbate a 4 headed goose while saving his planet.
Yet last year at this time (give or take a couple weeks...) you were pretending to be a goat woman priestess whose interdimensional space ship crashlanded on a ficticious planet after sustaining multiple attacks from demons and crazed blood elves.
Re: How do you say this in English?
Posted: 08 Jan 2009, 16:49
by Cartollomew
Philondra wrote:Yet last year at this time (give or take a couple weeks...) you were pretending to be a goat woman priestess whose interdimensional space ship crashlanded on a ficticious planet after sustaining multiple attacks from demons and crazed blood elves.
Maybe that makes him "grow"?