"Why don't we have a cup of coffee?"
"we" means more than two people.
So "Why don't we have cups of coffee?" sounds more correct to me.
I know it's wrong.
But I want to know why not.
2007-06-29 11:40:50 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
By saying "Why don't we have a cup of coffee" - The meaning is "Why don't we EACH have a cup of coffee"
2007-06-29 11:45:37 · answer #1 · answered by HappyStarz 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We means me (the speaker) and another person. So it actually means two or more people (including the speaker).
In the sentence "Why don't we have a cup of coffee?" cups isn't plural because you aren't inviting the other person for a lot of coffee, you are inviting them to sit and chat for a limited amount of time. The coffee is singular to each of you, even though there is more than one of you. It isn't necessary to transmit the plural to the coffe.
When you say why don't we have cups of coffee, you are inviting them to sit and have more than one cup of coffee at that one time, which implies a longer time period and also a lot of caffeine.
If you want to spend that much time with somone, it is customary to offer a meal instead.
2007-06-29 12:18:21 · answer #2 · answered by nicolemcg 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's sort of implied that we will each have a cup of coffee. You don't add the coffee together.
Also, when people say that, they usually mean something like "Let's sit down and chat while we drink something." Maybe one person would order tea, and that would be OK. In that way, it's sort of a set expression.
Hope this helps.
2007-06-29 11:51:42 · answer #3 · answered by Insanity 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because 'we' refers to the people participating in the activity not the number of cups of coffee to be drunk. You could say:
Why don't we have several cups of coffee?
and then make the direct object 'cup' plural.
2007-06-29 11:44:44 · answer #4 · answered by ΛLΞX Q 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It just is. There is no other reason. We don't say that, that's all. And English is far from being unique in that. We don't say "Why don't we have cups of coffee?" in Italian either. Or Spanish!
2007-06-29 11:47:17 · answer #5 · answered by Cosimo )O( 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Another example: We rode bikes.
Great catch! It's weird, huh? I have no clue why it is the way it is, but, mathematically and logically speaking, it should be "Why don't we have cups of coffee?"
2007-06-29 17:08:16 · answer #6 · answered by cve5190 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually "we" can refer to two people, not just more than two and it implies each of the we having one cup.
2007-06-29 11:50:20 · answer #7 · answered by awake 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋