Are these sentences natural? September 22

[musicgold]

Hi,

Are the following sentences natural to a native ear?

1. However, on a per square foot basis this house is cheap / cheaper as compared to the others in the area.

2. I wanted to know if (the) school is going to provide the equipment required for the game.

3. Can you please confirm the size of your portfolio? ( Actually I wanted to use a ‘what is…’ sentence instead of this sentence, but I was not sure if that was polite enough. How can say this better with a ‘can you please’ starting.

Thanks,
MG.

[billmcd]

Hi,

Are the following sentences natural to a native ear?

1. However, on a per square foot basis this house is cheap / cheaper as compared to the others in the area. cheap.

2. I wanted to know if (the) school is going to provide the equipment required for the game. the

3. Can you please confirm the size of your portfolio? ( Actually I wanted to use a ‘what is…’ sentence instead of this sentence, but I was not sure if that was polite enough. How can say this better with a ‘can you please’ starting. For example, "I would appreciate it if you would confirm the size of your portfolio."

Thanks,
MG.

b.

[BobK]

[quote]
1. However, on a per square foot basis this house is cheap / cheaper as compared to the others in the area. cheap.'

Well, yes; but it's very wordy (as sentences involving 'basis' often are ) You're making a comparison, so it'd be natural to say 'This house is cheaper per square foot than others in the area.'

b

[musicgold]

Thanks folks.

Billcmd said:
"I would appreciate it if you would confirm the size of your portfolio."

I was not sure if 'confirm' was appropriate here, as the person has never told us the size of the portfolio before. Can you use 'confirm' even when you are asking something for the first time?

2. I wanted to know if (the) school is going to provide the equipment required for the game. the

Also, I am assuming 'the' is required before school because we are not referring to school as a place of activity here. For example, we don't need 'the' before school in 'how was school today?". Is that correct?