a few/ a couple of days

[Winwin2011]

If I want to say "I will visit Australia after 3 to 9 days, is it correct to say "I will visit Australia in a few days"?

When people say "a few/ a couple of days" how many days do they mean?

 

[Rover_KE]

When people say 'in a few/a couple of days', we can't say how many days they mean — they may not even know themselves at that stage — but probably less than a week.

 

[Winwin2011]

I will visit Australia in a few days.

Does "in" mean "after" in the above sentence?

 

[Tdol]

If I want to say "I will visit Australia after 3 to 9 days, is it correct to say "I will visit Australia in a few days"?

It's OK. 9 may be a high-end number for these phrases, but if your listener wants to know more precise information, they can ask.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think 'several days' is possible, assuming the OP is thinking about “幾天” in their native language.

 

[Winwin2011]

The problem with that, Matthew. is that native speakers are unlikely to say 'I will visit Australia in several days'.

We can say "I will visit Australia for several days" and " I Visited Australia several days ago". Why are native speakers unlikely to say "in several days"? I would like to explain it to kids. Please help.

 

[Matthew Wai]

How about 'after several days'?

 

[Tdol]

I can't think of a convincing reason. Perhaps another member will be able to come up with something.

I'm equally stumped- I think it's probably a case of we-don't-because-we-don't.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Native speakers would not say 'in/after several days' for no reason, and saying it would betray the fact that the speakers are non-natives like the OP and me.

Is it acceptable to say so?

 

[Tdol]

It's certainly a good reason to tell them not to do so- when native speakers do something that seems to defy logic, it makes sense to copy them if you're trying to get to that level. The absence of any sort of explanation does not mean that something is wrong- some rules and forms are completely arbitrary.