12.6 The Question Expression 幾多歲 gei2 do1 seoi3 / 幾歲 gei2 seoi3 (‘how old’)

The question expression 幾多歲 gei2 do1 seoi3 is similar to how old in English. We form the expression by combining 幾多 gei2 do1 (‘how many, how much’) and the classifier 歲 seoi3 (‘year old’). We can use 幾多歲 gei2 do1 seoi3 to form a question that elicits an age as the answer.

In Grammar and Vocabulary 11.6, we learned that when 幾多 gei2 do1 is followed by a classifier, 幾多 gei2 do1 can be contracted to 幾 gei2. Since 歲 seoi3 is a classifier, we can contract 幾多 gei2 do1 to 幾 gei2 and say 幾歲 gei2 seoi3.

When we are not sure where we should put 幾多歲 gei2 do1 seoi3, we can always think of the answer to the question. We put 幾多歲 gei2 do1 seoi3 at the position where the age appears in the answer.