how many is a couple

How many is a couple?(hours,days,weeks,months,years)

Vocabulary / By

A couple usually means two but in certain situations can mean approximately two.

We call a romantic relationship between two people a “couple” because there are two people and only two people. In other contexts(especially time), a couple usually means two but could mean three or four also. The word couple means approximately two.

Some Example:

We are a couple. There are two of us(not three or four)

I will be gone for a couple of days. It will probably be two days but it could be three or four days.

Let’s have a couple of beers. We might have two beers or maybe more if we feel like it.

A “Couple” with time 

When we use “a couple of” with all different times(hours, days, weeks, months, years) we mean two units of time but it is really an approximate amount of time when we are not exactly sure.

I am going on holiday for two weeks. This is definitely two weeks probably from a week beginning on a Monday.

I am going on holiday for a couple of weeks. This is probably two weeks but is less specific and could include a day either before or after the Monday or Friday.

I lived in Brazil for a couple of years. This is not specific but it means around two years.

As you can see, we use “a couple” with time when it is difficult to give the exact amount of time but it is usually more or less two. This is more common with hours and years. but could also be possible with “a couple of days” which could mean from Friday evening until Sunday morning.

Conor
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