Difference between πόσο and πόσων

Question

Hi!

What’s the difference between «πόσο» and «πόσων»?

Answer 1

We should probably speak about three different words that share a common etymology; 

«πόσο» means “how much” and it is used when someone asks eg “How much does this cost?” = «Πόσο κοστίζει αυτό;». 

«ποσόν» or «ποσό» (we can omit the -ν) means “amount”, eg “A specific amount of money” = «Ένα συγκεκριμένο ποσόν» = «Ένα συγκεκριμένο ποσό». 

The third case is «πόσων», genitive and plural of «πόσο», used for example in “How old are you?” = «Πόσων ετών είσαι;». 

Comments

Thank you for the answer! However I have made a mistake and meant «πόσον» not «πόσων».

---

Hi, please give us the context, the specific phrase where you found this word «πόσον».

---

«Πόσον καιρό είστε ήδη εδώ;» Can we simply use «πόσο» instead?

---

πόσον = πόσο accusative singular masculine of the interrogative pronoun πόσος, πόση, πόσο

πόσος (masc.) /πόση (fem.) / πόσο (neut.) mean "how much", "how many"

Πόσος καφές υπάρχει στο ντουλάπι; = how much coffee there is in the cupboard? (πόσος: musculine singular nominative case)
Πόσο καφέ θέλεις; or πόσον καφέ θέλεις; how much coffee do you want? (πόσον or πόσο: musculine singular accussative case)
The “ν” in the end comes from ancient Greek and we put it there for phonetic reasons, ie when it is easier to pronounce it.
In the same way:
Πόσον καιρό είστε εδώ; = Πόσο καιρό είστε εδώ;(πόσον or πόσο: musculine singular accussative case)

Πόσο γάλα θέλεις; = How much milk do you want? (πόσο: neuter singular accussative case)
Πόση ζάχαρη θέλεις; = How much sugar do you want? (πόση: feminine singular accussative case)