Suppose I want to say "a book or two" in German
Ich werde morgen ein oder zwei Bücher kaufen.
Is this okay? I'm wondering since "ein" doesn't go with "Bücher". If not, how could I say this phrase?
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1That's exactly as it should be.– Em1Commented Jan 17, 2014 at 14:17
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In spoken people might skip the "oder" and just say "ein zwei Bücher"– EmanuelCommented Jan 17, 2014 at 18:43
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1 Answer
this is 100% correct.
You might as well say "ich werde morgen ein Buch oder zwei Bücher kaufen", but usually you just leave the singular out like you did.
If there's more than one, you use the plural.
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To be more precise:
If it is not exactly one, then you use the plural. (Be aware, that *kein* can stand for 0 or *not one*, so it can demand singular or plural.)– ToschoCommented Jan 17, 2014 at 16:14