How - Grammar - Cambridge Dictionary
The adverb how most commonly means ‘in what way’ or ‘to what extent’.
We use how when we introduce direct and indirect questions:
I haven’t seen you for ages. How are you?
How was the film? Was it as bad as you thought?
Do you know how I can get to the bus station?
I asked her how she was but she didn’t answer me.
We use how to introduce questions about measurements or amounts:
How old is your grandfather?
How often do you get to your cottage at weekends?
How much does the average DVD player cost these days?
[the ‘Prado’ is a museum and art gallery in Madrid]
How far is it to the Prado and how long will it take us to get there by taxi?
We often use how with verbs such as tell , wonder and know in indirect questions:
I just don’t know how she manages to cook so well in such a small kitchen.
I wonder how they do that.
In exclamations we use how before adjectives, adverbs and verb phrases. In verb phrases the word order is subject + verb:
They’ve bought her some flowers. How nice of them!
How fantastic!
How beautifully they sang!
How we love New York!
We don’t use how with a noun phrase. We use what :
What a gorgeous coat!
Not: How a gorgeous coat!
In informal speaking we commonly use how about + noun phrase and how about + -ing form when we make suggestions:
Liz, how about some more fruit juice?
How about going to the concert with us this weekend?
How I love real Italian ice-cream!
Not: How love I real Italian ice-cream!
What a nice idea!
Not: How a nice idea!
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Word of the Day
zoomies
UK
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/ˈzuː.miz/
US
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/ˈzuː.miz/
the act of an animal running around, sometimes in circles, in a very energetic way
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