The adverb "ever"

Question

(1)Is it possible to say "How many times have you ever been abroad?"

(2)Is it possible to use "How many times" and "ever" in one sentence?"

(3)What's the difference between the sentences "How many times have you

EVER been abroad?" and "How many times have you been abroad?"

Dimsumexpress · Accepted Answer

Anonymous(1)Is it possible to say "How many times have you ever been abroad?"

Imagine 2 people having a friendly conversation, the proper question to ask is to leave out "ever".

# 1 is correct in form but it will be likely to end the conversation.

When "ever" (which is an adverb) is used in this tone, it carries a predisposed notion that the person to whom you are asking this question has never at any time gone anywhere, or done anything positve.

CalifJim · Answer

This is asking, How many times have you been abroad at any time? which is a strange combination of two questions: How many times have you been abroad? and Have you been abroad any number of times?

It's an attempt to combine a question-word question with a yes-no question, like When did you leave at three o'clock? or Where did you put it in the garage? both of which are wrong. It's like asking How many times have you been abroad any number of times?

So using both how many times and ever in the same question doesn't really make sense.

CJ

Dimsumexpress · Answer

CalifJimThis is asking, How many times have you been abroad at any time? which is a strange combination of two questions: How many times have you been abroad? and Have you been abroad any number of times?

Hi CJ,

After reading your last post, something strikes my curiosity....

Is the notion that "ever" has a challenging element in these questions an incorrect perception? Or it's simply a wrong construction?

How do these sound to you if I say:

How many times have you [ever] traveled more than 200 miles from the town in which you were born?

(I am suggesting that the person never had this privilege)

How many times have you [ever] tried to go the the market and get some grocery.

(I am telling the person that I can't remember, or he never does).

How many times have you [ever] filled up the tank after borrowing my

car to go on a date

CalifJim · Answer

dimsumexpressIs the notion that "ever" has a challenging element in these questions an incorrect perception?

No. That perception is correct. It's just that in my answers I don't like to get into the more advanced or unusual usage until I'm sure that the learner has mastered the basics first.

The use of how many times and ever together gives just the meaning you suggest. It actually expects, or even assumes, that the answer is Never, i.e., "no times". As such, it is not a real but a rhetorical question, a question that can express various emotions such as frustration, anger, or superiority, or can be a sort of reprimand.

I think it is probably the logical contradiction we feel when we take the question literally that makes us understand it less as a real question and more as the expression of some emotion. A similar case is "How could you do such a thing?" where we are not interested in how, literally, the thing was done, but wish to express our dissatisfaction that the thing was done at all.

CJ

Kooyeen · Answer

CalifJim Where did you put it in the garage?

Hi,
is that really wrong? Isn't that the same as "Where in the garage did you put it? - On the shelves? In one of the boxes over there?"

Thanks.

CalifJim · Answer

KooyeenIsn't that the same as "Where in the garage did you put it? - On the shelves? In one of the boxes over there?"

One-in-every-crowd department.

Yes. But, as is customary, a person who says "That's wrong" means it is wrong in the intended reading.

But maybe it was a bad example.

Anyway, I was referring specifically to cases where a person asks a content question and a yes-no question all in one sentence. Hearing or reading a lot of these (Mid-Westernisms?) at once can make some people a bit giddy, though they are fun to invent.

Why | did you do that | because you ran out of money?
How often | does the bus stop here | every half hour?
What | did he say | he liked the gift?

Since where breaks down into yet more wheres -- until we reach some subatomic particle level, I suppose (Stay tuned to CERN.) -- it seems that where can never be used completely successfully in this sort of example. There'll always be someone

who will point out the problem of the continuity of space. I guess the same would happen for time, leavingwhen out in the cold as well. (When did you do it yesterday? is thus an equally bad example because it, too, can be understood in more than one reading.)

I suppose we could still use where and when to illustrate the point if we used 'absolute' locations and times.

Where did they put the flag at the South Pole?
When did he finish at 6:30 pm?

By the way, if you come back with the idea that the South Pole can be a general area rather than a specific point, and therefore the sentence above with whereis perfectly fine, then you are again not taking the sentence "in the intended reading".

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you very much for your answers and explanations.

You're all very earnest over teaching and helpful as well.

Whiton

Dimsumexpress · Answer

CalifJimNo. That perception is correct. It's just that in my answers I don't like to get into the more advanced or unusual usage until I'm sure that the learner has mastered the basics first.

Thanks Jim for the validation. I thought I need to clarify it for my own sake. You are absolutely right about the "never" presumed answer in this type of "how many" + "ever" question.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Anonymous · Answer

Hello, CJ

Thank you for your precious time.

You helped me a lot about my question.

I cannot understand the expression "the intended reading" you used in your explanation.

Could you explain it to me?

Thanks,

Whiton

Kooyeen · Answer

CalifJimBy the way, if you come back with the idea that the South Pole can be a general area rather than a specific point, and therefore the sentence above with where is perfectly fine, then you are again not taking the sentence "in the intended reading".

That's what I thought as soon as I read that sentence, hahaha.
But I get the point. I was just afraid there was something wrong I didn't know. I didn't mean to make you write such a long post! Sorry

Everything is clear now, thanks!

The adverb "ever"

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