Improper use of interrogative

疑问代词使用不当

　　几

　　a few, several

　　Example:

　　Wrong：北京语言学院有几个外国留学生？

　　Right：北京语言学院有多少个外国留学生？

　　In Chinese, “几”represents a proximate number larger than one and smaller than ten. It is unreasonable to use “几”to inquire the number of students in such an institute as Beijing Language Institute. Covering a much wider range of numbers, “多少”proves to be a more efficient, flexible way of asking about number. Thus, we use “多少”instead of “几个”.

　　Example:

　　Wrong：您要几苹果？

　　Right：您要几个（公斤）苹果？

　　There must be a measure word between “几”and its head word in a sentence using “几”to inquire number. Apples are usually calculated in units of “个”or “公斤”, so either “个”or “公斤”should be added before “苹果”.

　　Example:

　　Wrong：老大爷，您今年几岁了？

　　Right：老大爷，您今年多大岁数（年纪）了？

　　The use of “几岁”doesn't fit the context here. In Chinese, to inquire the age of old people, “多大岁数”or “多大年纪”is used. In the case of small children, one should say “几岁”.

　　Example:

　　Wrong：请问，这种毛衣多少?

　　Right：请问，这种毛衣多少钱？

　　“多少”is for asking about quantity. But it is unclear here whether the sentence is a question about the number or a question about the cost of the sweaters. Such a problem can be solved by putting the head word “钱”after “多少”.

　　Example:

　　Wrong：长江比黄河多少长公里？

　　Right：长江比黄河厂多少公里？

　　“多少”normally premokifies a noun or a combination of a noun and a measure word. It can not stay in front of the predicate to serve as an adverbial adjunct. We shift it to the position before “公里”.