這是你的第幾次?

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Rock
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這是你的第幾次?

文章 Rock »

HELP!!!
Would you please tell me how to say "這是你的第幾次?" in English.

It's possible that we might want to ask
這是你吃的第幾個蛋糕?
這是你打到的第幾隻蚊子?
etc.

Any idea?
Thanks in advance.
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Wayne
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Re: 這是你的第幾次?

文章 Wayne »

Rock 寫:HELP!!!
Would you please tell me how to say "這是你的第幾次?" in English.

It's possible that we might want to ask
這是你吃的第幾個蛋糕?
這是你打到的第幾隻蚊子?
etc.

Any idea?
Thanks in advance.
How many pieces of cake have you already had?

How many mosquitoes have you killed so far?

Actually, there's no English expression directly for "第幾". (Someone quoted from 吳炳鐘)

Counter-challenge: How do you say "Bill Clinton是美國第幾任總統?" if you are not to say "How many U.S. presiedents went before Bill Clinton?"
最後由 Wayne 於 週一 11月 08, 2010 4:08 pm 編輯,總共編輯了 1 次。
Knowledge is power -- when shared.
Michael-liu
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Re: 這是你的第幾次?

文章 Michael-liu »

I googled the challenge question and found out the below two possible answers

1. How many American presidents were there before Bill Clinton?

2. What number president was Bill Clinton?

please refer to this :http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_number_p ... n_franklin

Michael
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Rock
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Re: 這是你的第幾次?

文章 Rock »

To Wayne and Michael,

Thank you so much. The counter-question is so good.
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Wayne
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Re: 這是你的第幾次?

文章 Wayne »

Michael-liu 寫:I googled the challenge question and found out the below two possible answers

1. How many American presidents were there before Bill Clinton?

2. What number president was Bill Clinton?

please refer to this :http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_number_p ... n_franklin

Michael

Dear Michael.

The first answer seems to be all right. Using "before" has a similar effect to using the perfect tense". However, you still have to do the calculation. It does not directly mean "第幾".

Meanwhile, I am almost certain that the second answer is wrong, as "What number president" seems so awkward.

Look. "第幾" refers to an "ordinal", whereas a number is a "numeral".

Any other answers?
Knowledge is power -- when shared.
Michael-liu
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Re: 這是你的第幾次?

文章 Michael-liu »

Dear Wayne

http://www.americanpresidents.org/presi ... tNumber=42

In the above website, you can see they use " Presidency Number : 43 " as 第43任總統

I guess that is why they use "What number president was ......? " to ask the question.

或許加個of 聽起來會比較正確 What number "of" president was Bill Clinton ?

Anyway, I am not sure about it..

Michael
Sherry Liao
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Re: 這是你的第幾次?

文章 Sherry Liao »

Wayne 寫:Counter-challenge: How do you say "Bill Clinton是美國第幾任總統?" if you you are not to say "How many U.S. presiedents went before Bill Clinton?"
Which U.S. President was Bill Clinton in sequence?
Which U.S. President was Bill Clinton in chronological order?
Sherry Liao
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註冊時間: 週五 12月 07, 2007 12:15 pm

Re: 這是你的第幾次?

文章 Sherry Liao »

That sounds a bit tricky to me, Wayne. As you suggested, there's no English expression directly for "第幾". If that is the case, it means there's no perfect answer to this question. Did I get you right?

For me, a better "indirect" expression should be the one that a) makes listeners fully understand the question; b) makes it sound less awkward to native speakers. To comply with the said rules, the following solutions are what I have come up with:

Assignment: To ask a question for an answer as "Bill Clinton was the xxth President of the United States."

Solution 1: "As I know George Washington served as the first President of the United States. Which was Bill Clinton then?"
Solution 2: Make a wild guess. "Was Bill Clinton the 10th President of the United States?" Then an answer like this would be expected: "No. He was the 42th President of the United States."

I am supposed to meet an English native speaker later today. Let me ask him this question and see if he will agree with me.
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Rock
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Re: 這是你的第幾次?

文章 Rock »

Sherry Liao 寫:
Wayne 寫:Counter-challenge: How do you say "Bill Clinton是美國第幾任總統?" if you you are not to say "How many U.S. presiedents went before Bill Clinton?"
Which U.S. President was Bill Clinton in sequence?
Which U.S. President was Bill Clinton in chronological order?
Dear Sherry,

Just google "what number of president", and you will find it.

Happy Chinese New Year
Rock

Ps. I heard that they've changed it into "Happy Asian Lunar New Year" because some Koreans protested that it's also their day. :lol:
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Just JJ
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Re: 這是你的第幾次?

文章 Just JJ »

To me, "這是你的第幾次?" is asking about "experience".
So, I will say like: "How many times you have done this (before)?"
The answer might be" I have done this for three times."

Happy New Year
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Wayne
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Re: 這是你的第幾次?

文章 Wayne »

Michael-liu 寫:Dear Wayne

http://www.americanpresidents.org/presi ... tNumber=42

In the above website, you can see they use " Presidency Number : 43 " as 第43任總統

I guess that is why they use "What number president was ......? " to ask the question.

或許加個of 聽起來會比較正確 What number "of" president was Bill Clinton ?

Anyway, I am not sure about it..

Michael
Based on your information, the questions more likely would be "What presidency number is it for Bill Clinton?"
Knowledge is power -- when shared.
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Wayne
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Re: 這是你的第幾次?

文章 Wayne »

Dear Rock,

I went to the web site you referred to. However, there's no sign that the question (What number of president.is Mr. Barrack Obama) per se was correct or idiomatic.

What seems to be dubious in the expression "What number of president is Mr. Barrack Obama"?

It's because Mr. Obama is a person but not a number; it is the presidency that has a number assigned to it.
Knowledge is power -- when shared.
Sherry Liao
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Re: 這是你的第幾次?

文章 Sherry Liao »

Sherry Liao 寫:I am supposed to meet an English native speaker later today. Let me ask him this question and see if he will agree with me.
This guy (a native speaker from New Zealand) said that he would use this sentence "What number President was Bill Clinton?" to ask such a question.
Sherry Liao
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文章: 1483
註冊時間: 週五 12月 07, 2007 12:15 pm

Re: 這是你的第幾次?

文章 Sherry Liao »

Dear Rock,

Happy New Year. Thanks (and also many thanks to Wayne) for raising up such a bracing question to refresh me in such a draggy long holiday. :twisted: :twisted:
Michael-liu
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Re: 這是你的第幾次?

文章 Michael-liu »

Thanks, Sherry, I got one vote from you..

I also asked this question to an American internet friend on MSN, who is a 47 year old man teaching English in Shanghai, China

(以下為MSN對話)
Michael說:
Joe, got a question for you, if I ask you " What number president was Bill Clinton? " do you know what i mean and is there any better way to say this question?

Joe 說:
yes, i know what you mean. better way is just grammar arrangement and add U.S. for clarity.... "What number was Bill Clinton as President of U.S.?"

Michael說:
ok, thanks a lot
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