原书 PDF 第 668—670 页
How is he? / What is he like?
How is he? 和 What is he like? 我觉得它们的意思是一样的：“他怎么样？”
这两个句子的意思不同。How is he? 一般是询问人的健康情况。What is he like? 则是询问人的性格、能力、成就或外表。
“How is he?” “He is very well.” “他身体好吗?” “他身体很好。”
“What is he like?” “He’s a tall man with a grey beard.” “他是个什么样的人？”“他高高的个儿，留着灰白胡子。”
——How is your mother? —— ____.
how long/how soon/how often
how long 与 how soon 都可译作“多久”，它们有区别吗？又，它们与 how often 有什么不同？
how long 用于询问时间的延续长度。在这种问句里要使用持续性动词，可用现在时、将来时、过去时等。在答句里要使用表示时段的词语，例如，for two weeks, since 1999:
How long will he stay here? 他将在这里呆多久？
How long is the speech? 发言有多长?
how soon 用于询问某个事件要在多久以后发生。
——How soon will they come back? ——In two days. ——他们多久回来？——两天后。
How soon can you be ready? 你多久能准备好？
how often 是询问事件发生的频率, 意为“多久一次”:
“How often do you go there?” “Once a month.” “你多长时间去那里一次?”“每月一次。”
How often do you visit her? 你多长时间去探望她一次？
The grand hotel has been completed, but we don't know ____ come into use.
He asked me ____ stay.
“How often did you lend him money?” “____ than I can remember.”
——How long ____ at this job? ——Since 1990.
how 能否作关系副词?
I will show you (the way) how I solved the question. (钱歌川编著《英文一日一题》，pp. 44–45)
作者指出,句中的 the way how 可略为 how。作者把 how 看作是能引导定语从句的关系副词,这使我感到很陌生。
英美的英语语法学家们都没有把 how 划为能引导定语从句的关系副词。CGEL 认为，能作为关系副词只有 where, when, why 和 that(p.1254):
能作为关系副词只有 where, when, why 和 that (p. 1254): “There is no relative how parallel to where, when, and why to express manner with an antecedent noun [4], but only [4a]:
※That's the way how she spoke. [4]
That's she spoke. [4a]
“英语里并不存在与接在先行名词之后 where, when 和 why 平行的表示方式的关系词 how。因此，不能说： That's the way how she spoke.
而必须说：
<div class="mineru-algorithm" style="white-space: pre-wrap; font-family:monospace;"> That's $\left\{ \begin{array}{l} how \\ \text{the way (that)} \end{array} \right\}$ she spoke. " (CGEL, p. 1254) </div>。附带提出，That is how he got rich. 的说法是正确的，而 That is the way how he got rich. 的说法却是错误的。
张道真教授编著的《英语语法大全》(外研社,1998,p.367)在 §591 中将 how 看作是关系副词,并作了如下阐述:
“how 是表示方式的副词, 必须放在表示方式的名词后面, 总是用在限制性关系从句中, 而且通常都省略:
This is the manner (how) (= in which) you treat me. Can you tell me the way (how) he did it? This is the way (how) it was and will always be. That (or This) is how (= the way how) he got rich. (这里先行词未出现)”
《英语语法大全》关于 how 用作关系副词的论述是不符合英语实际的，见