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Victorycountry Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

what about you vs how about you

0Hi02br
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00I am just wondering if there is a difference between "what about you" and "how about you".02br
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00On google, I got more sites with "what about you".02br
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00I believe they are interchangeble, but I am not so sure either.02br
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00Please help.02br
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00Thanks in advance.0-
  

Top answer

02i 02br 02br 00i) We have all decided to go to the beach tomorrow. )02br 02br 00ii) Some students are eligible to join the club. 02i 02br 02br 00i) Everybody has chipped in to pay for the picnic.

— Dehbaash

  • 02i 02br 02br 00i) We have all decided to go to the beach tomorrow.
  • )02br 02br 00ii) Some students are eligible to join the club.
  • 02i 02br 02br 00i) Everybody has chipped in to pay for the picnic.
  • )02br 02br 00ii) Most of the students have found work during the summer vacation.
  • )0-
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12 Answers
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0There is a slight difference between01i00 "How about you?"02i00 and 01i00"What about you?".02i00 Perhaps the following sentences will help accentuate it:-02br
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01i00a) How about you?02i02br
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00i) We have all decided to go to the beach tomorrow. 01i00How about you?02i0
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0I must respectfully disagree with Dehbaash; in my opinion, all four samples could be completed with equal accuracy by either question (i.e., "We have all decided to go to the beach tomorrow. 01i00What about you02i00?" is a valid set of statements). I hold again that there is no measurable difference in meaning. 02br
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00Aaron0-
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0(01b00o02b00) How about going for a walk? 02br
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00(01b00o02b00) What about going for a walk?02br
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00(01b00o02b00) How about another piece of cake?02br
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00(01b00o02b00) What about another piece of cake?02b
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0 (o) Mom, how about I cook for you instead?02br
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00(?) Mom, what about I cook for you instead?02br
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00These are colloquial and are not grammatically correct. In fact I would say they are more likely to be used in AmEng than BrEng.02br
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00There is a slight difference between "how about" and "what about" but I can't figure ou
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0Does this help:02br
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00'How about' translates as: How do you feel about...? (Asks for a more emotional rendering.)02br
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00'What about' translates as: What can you say about...? (Asks for a more intellectual rendering.)02br
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00Granted, it's not very definitive.0-
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0 I seem pretty much aligned with Eimai Anglos on this. 0-
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0AHan,02br
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00How about the following pair of sentences? Are they the same or is there a slight difference?02br
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00i) He had something to say01b00 about02b00 almost everybody. 01i00What about you02i00? ( 01i00What 02i00did he have to say 01i00about you02i00?
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0 01blockquote
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10(11b10o12b10) Mom, how about I cook for you instead?12br
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10(11b10?12b10) Mom, what about I cook for you instead?12br
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10I think the sentences should be:-12br
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10(11b10o12b10) Mom, how about (it)
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It could also be:


i) He had something to say about almost everybody. What about you? ( What do you have to say about everybody?)

ii) He had something to say about almost everybody. How about you? ( Do you also have something to say about everybody? or How did he say what he said about you?)
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Use “How about?” to suggest an action and to “open” possibilities:


“I’ve got the day off from work tomorrow. What should we do?”
“How about spending the day in the city?”
“Nah. I don’t really feel like traveling.”
“How about we clean the house?”
“No way. I want to do something fun.”
“OK. How about doing some shopping and the
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