Level 3 · Lesson 8

你有几本书？
How many books do you have?

你有几本书？你们学校有多少学生？

有 for possession, and the two 'how many' words: 几 for a small number, 多少 for an open one.

听 · Listen

你家有几个人？
 王老师 —  李明，你有手机吗？ 
Li Ming, do you have a mobile phone?  
 李明 —  有，我有一个手机。 
Yes, I have one.  
 王老师 —  你家有几个人？ 
How many people are there in your family?  
 李明 —  五个人：爸爸、妈妈、姐姐、弟弟和我。 
Five: dad, mum, my elder sister, my younger brother and me.  
 王老师 —  弟弟几岁？ 
How old is your brother?  
 李明 —  他八岁。老师，您有多少本书？ 
He's eight. Teacher, how many books do you have?  
 王老师 —  八十本。 
Eighty.  
 李明 —  八十本书！ 
Eighty books!  

讲解 · Explanation

我有一个手机。你家有五个人。

有 yǒu is 'to have', and it is one of the busiest verbs in the language. Owner + 有 + number + measure word + noun: 我有一个手机, 他有两本词典, 我家有五个人. The measure word never drops out — 我有三书 is not a sentence. To ask yes or no, add 吗 as usual: 你有手机吗？, and Chinese answers with the bare verb: 有. One warning to file away: 有 is the single verb that 不 may never negate. It has a negator of its own, and you will meet it in level 4; until then, keep 有 on the positive side.

你有几本书？你们学校有多少学生？

Chinese has two words for 'how many', and they are chosen by the size of the answer you expect. 几 jǐ expects something small and countable — a handful, roughly under ten: 几个人, 几本书, 几位老师. 多少 duōshao is open-ended and can take any answer at all: 多少本书, 多少学生. Both sit exactly where the number would sit, so the measure word stays put after them: 几本书 answers 三本书. Only 多少 may run straight into a common noun without one — 多少人, 多少学生 — while 几 always keeps its measure word.

弟弟几岁？他八岁。现在几点？

Some words are measures already, and then no other measure word joins them. 岁 suì 'years of age' is one: 几岁？八岁, never 几个岁. Note that the sentence needs no verb — 他八岁 is complete, with no 是. 几岁 is the question you ask a child; for an adult it sounds blunt. 点 from your clock lesson is another such measure, so 几 now unlocks the commonest question of the day: 现在几点？ 'What time is it?'

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
有	to have; there is, there are	我有一个手机
几	how many (a small number)	几本书，几个人，几岁
多少	how many, how much (open-ended)	second syllable neutral tone
岁	year of age	a measure word itself: 八岁
手机	mobile phone	一个手机

练习 · Practice

你们学校有______学生？ 'How many students does your school have?'

弟弟______岁？ Ask a small boy how old he is.

我______一个手机。 'I have a mobile phone.'

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'How many books do you have?'

有、几、多少、岁、手机 Match each word to its meaning.

用一用 · Use it

我家有四个人。我有一个手机，两本词典。

Say how many people are in your family, then list three things you own, each with its number and measure word: 一个手机, 两本书, 三件衣服. Now turn it around and ask a friend: 你家有几个人？你有几本书？你们学校有多少学生？ Ask the small questions with 几 and the big ones with 多少.