Give me an estimate

[Silverobama]

I was chatting with Rosa who works in a travel agency. I told her that I am planning to go to the UK.

Silver: I've been thinking about traveling to the UK to meet some of my friends.
Rosa: That's a good idea. How much money do you want to spend on it?
Silver: Maybe 100,000 yuan. How long can I say there with my budget? All included.
Rosa: With 100,000 yuan you can stay there for at least one month.
Silver: How about Edinburgh? Give me an estimate.

Is the italic sentence natural? The intended meaning is "Give me an estimate of how much money I will spend on the trip to Edinburgh, all included".

 

[jutfrank]

The sentence is grammatical and natural but the preceding sentence is wrong, which makes the italic sentence wrong too. Rosa will understand that you're asking how long 100,000 yuan will last you in Edinburgh. After all, that is what you're asking. Look:

Silver: I've been thinking about traveling to the UK to meet some of my friends.
Rosa: That's a good idea. How much money do you want to spend on it?
Silver: Maybe 100,000 yuan. How long can I say there with my budget? All included.
Rosa: With 100,000 yuan you can stay there for at least one month.
Silver: How about Edinburgh? Give me an estimate.

The blue sentence is the main question. The red sentence is the follow-up question. The words there and Edinburgh have a relation of meaning. So the second question means 'How long can I stay in Edinburgh?' Therefore, the italic sentence means 'Give me an estimate of how long I can stay in Edinburgh.'

 

[Silverobama]

Much appreciated, teacher jutfrank.

First of all, I need to correct my mistake in the blue sentence. I typed too fast. My bad.

The blue sentence should read "How long can I stay there with my budget?" and the intended meaning is "How long can I stay in the UK with that 100,000 yuan?".

I think Edinburgh is part of Scotland, I'm sorry but please correct me if I'm wrong, is Scotland a part of the UK? If so, I know where the problem is.

Last but not least, I want to ask Rosa "Tell me how much money I need if I want all-included trip in Edinburgh?" Is this italic sentence okay?

 

[jutfrank]

The blue sentence should read "How long can I stay there with my budget?" and the intended meaning is "How long can I stay in the UK with that 100,000 yuan?".

Yes, I understood all of that perfectly well.

I think Edinburgh is part of Scotland, I'm sorry but please correct me if I'm wrong, is Scotland a part of the UK? If so, I know where the problem is.

Yes. Edinburgh is in Scotland, which is part of the UK. That's exactly the issue. The first question is about the UK in general and the second question is still about the UK but more specific. That's precisely what makes it a follow-up question.

Last but not least, I want to ask Rosa "Tell me how much money I need if I want all-included trip in Edinburgh?" Is this italic sentence natural?

Don't ask whether it's natural.

It doesn't make sense if you don't say how long you want to stay. Let me suggest what I think you mean:

How much would I need for four weeks, all-inclusive, in Edinburgh?

It still doesn't make a lot of sense, does it? How does Rosa know what you mean by 'all-inclusive'? How does she know what activities you want to do, or whether you want to stay at a five-star hotel or a youth hostel, for example?

 

[Silverobama]

Don't ask whether it's natural.

It doesn't make sense if you don't say how long you want to stay. Let me suggest what I think you mean:

Right, I changed "natural" to "okay" as you can see it in my post, but I suppose you were replying to the previous post (with the old question, natural) while I was editing the old one.

How much would I need for four weeks, all-inclusive, in Edinburgh?

This is superb.

It still doesn't make a lot of sense, does it? How does Rosa know what you mean by 'all-inclusive'? How does she know what activities you want to do, or whether you want to stay at a five-star hotel or a youth hostel, for example?

Good questions. Hmm, here are my two cents worth. Rosa used to work as a TOEFL listening teacher in one of the best language schools here in Chongqing, I think she knows what "all-inclsuive" mean but you're right, "all-included" isn't good. And during the conversation, she seemed to understand what that meant, however, the second question is also to the point. I'll give her more details about that.

Again! Thank you so much for your detailed, clear and perfect explanation and suggestions, teacher jutfrank.

 

[emsr2d2]

Bear in mind that "all-inclusive" is a term used in the holiday industry to refer to stays at hotels, resorts, or on cruises in which you don't have to pay extra for anything. All your accommodation, food and entertainment is included in the price you pay up front. I don't think that's the kind of thing you're looking for in Edinburgh (and I'd be surprised if it existed!)

The simplest solution is just to ask your friend "Roughly how much money do you think I'll need for a month in Edinburgh?" If she needs clarification on anything about that, she'll ask.