[General] How long haven't you gone there since you got here in the city

[Ferdie11]

Hello teachers,

Can you please tell me whether these sentences are correct or not.

1. How long haven't you gone there since you got here in the city.
2. Do you prefer riding in a car to riding a motorcycle.

Thanks so much in advance.

 

[sato]

1. How long haven't you gone there since you got here in the city.
2. Do you prefer riding in a car to riding a motorcycle.

1. This sentence makes no sense, is really hard to correct since you've given no context. Could you explain in more detail, in particular where is 'there'?

2. This is fine, but you've forgotten the question mark - ?

 

[Ferdie11]

What about this:

How long haven't you gone in the province since you got here in the city?

 

[bhaisahab]

What about this:

How long haven't you gone in the province since you got here in the city?

No, that's not good either. It's still not clear what you want to say.

 

[5jj]

How about:

"How long has it been since you went to the provinces?" Forget the idea of 'since you arrived in the city', which is irrelevant to the time since your last trip to the provinces.

Or:

"You haven't been to the provinces much since you arrived in the city. How long is it since the last time?"

 

[sato]

I agree with five there, his guess at what you're trying to say makes the most sense.

If you'd rather go closer to your original expression, I suggest rather than using a negative - 'not been' use the word 'away' or something similar.

Maybe
"How long have you been away from the province since you last came back to the city?"

In general though, as five has said, it's preferable to avoid the absence from 2 places (the city and the province) in the same sentence.

 

[Ferdie11]

Yes, fivejedjon's guess is what I was trying to say.