Three pairs of sneakers or three sneakers?
When someone says “I have three sneakers”, which means “3 pairs of sneakers”, does it sound natural to native speakers?
Thank you!
Maki
You need to use pair of sneakers. This sounds more natural. One sneaker is one shoe. One pair of sneakers is 2 - hopefully for left and right foot. So if you say 3 sneakers that's only 3 total (and one missing :( ) AND if you say 3 pairs, then you have 6 shoes in total for 3 outfit changes :)
July 28, 2023
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Interestingly in American English it is also possible to say ‘three pair of sneakers’. ‘Pairs’ is usually still preferred except in some cases such as poker hands, where hands are labeled ‘one pair’ and ‘two pair’. But the singular ‘pair’ doesn’t sound too wrong to us.
July 25, 2023
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In your question, you need to say "to" instead of "which" and drop the comma:
"When someone says 'I have three sneakers' to mean "3 pairs of sneakers", does it sound natural to native speakers?"
July 25, 2023
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3 sneakers = 3 shoes.
3 Pairs of sneakers = 3 x 2 Shoes
July 25, 2023
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In English, you would always say "I have 3 pairs of sneakers." as "3 sneakers" means just 3 single sneakers. Shoes are always in pairs. :-)
Hope that helps.
July 25, 2023
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