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I am not clear how to use "How long" and "How far". Suppose I got in a taxi or cab to my hotel, how should I say to the driver if I want to know the distance to the hotel? Which of the following is correct?

How far is it to the hotel?

How long is it to the hotel?

Then,if I need to know the time it will take to the hotel, may I say:

How long is it to the hotel?

Or are there any other more appropriate expressions for the above two scenarios?

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2 Answers

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Asking How far? suggests that you are interested in the distance. How long? suggests you are interested in the time the journey will take. A native speaker concerned about the latter might combine the two and say something like Is it far to the hotel? Can you give me any idea of how long it will take?

(To which the less than helpful answer in London might well be ‘Cor blimey, guv, ’ow long’s a piece of string? The traffic up round Hyde Park Corner’s murder this morning.’)

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That’s really very good, Barrie. Thanks for the laugh. – tchrist Dec 18 '12 at 13:37
@Barrie England, when I ask "How long will it take to the hotel?" , I mean "How much time will it take to drive from here to the hotel?" – eric.cheung Dec 18 '12 at 14:28
I think both "How long is the distance between Paris and Bern by train?" and "How far is the distance between Paris and Bern by train?" are correctly phrased and well understood. So if I were asked "How long is the trip between Paris and Bern?", I don't know whether I should reply "600 kilometers" or "6 hours". @Barrie England, I am looking forward to your professional comments. – eric.cheung Dec 18 '12 at 15:07
How long will it take? is a question about time and not distance. How long is the distance? is a question about distance and not time. How long is the trip? is a question about the trip. Most travellers by train are interested in the time of the journey rather than the distance covered, so on pragmatic grounds alone the answer will almost certainly be Six hours. – Barrie England Dec 18 '12 at 15:24
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How long connotes length or time. How far connotes distance. It all depends if you are interested in emphasising the distance or length.

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But isn't distance a form of length? That's why I think to O.P. is confused. Why is it, "How long is the race?" but not, "How long is it to the hotel?" – J.R. Dec 18 '12 at 11:21
wiki.answers.com/Q/… I'm looking for a better source. – David Krause Dec 18 '12 at 14:11

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