How many apples do you want/How much do you want?

[worcester]

Hi everyone,

A person is selling apples and another person is buying apples. The seller asks:

-"How many apples do you want?"
-"A kilo please."

In this example I want to avoid using the word "apples", so can I say "How much?" when talking about a countable noun "apples" here?
-"How much do you want?"
-"A kilo please."

Thank you.

 

[emsr2d2]

Yes.

 

[bhaisahab]

If I were selling fruit and a customer said, "I'd like some apples, please". I would reply "How many would you like?"

 

[emsr2d2]

We sell loose herbs, fruit and veg in my health food shop and it's all sold by weight, not by numbers. Most people choose their own and simply take it to the till to be weighed but some people think the staff are there to do everything for them and expect the staff to put those products in paper bags for them (before weighing them). When that happens, we ask "How much do you want?" regardless of the product. Many of them are shopping for a specific recipe so they know the weight they want.