how was it vs. what was it like

[palinkasocsi]

Suppose that my sister attended a party last night and I'm enquiring about it. Which is the usual way of doing it:

1. How was the party last night?
2. What was the party like last night?

If both, any difference?

Many thanks.

P.

[Pete]

Suppose that my sister attended a party last night and I'm enquiring about it. Which is the usual way of doing it:

1. How was the party last night?
2. What was the party like last night?

If both, any difference?

Many thanks.

P.
I think the first would be more common, but neither is wrong. I can't find any reference to back this up, but my personal feeling is that question 1 is more subjective, asking for your sister's personal feelings about the party. You would expect an answer like "fun" (or maybe "boring", but we hope not). It would also be likely that she would volunteer some particular details, but if she didn't, you could follow up with the more objective, "What was it like?" To that question (or to your question 2), you would expect an answer with some facts like how many people attended, what was done for entertainment, etc.

[palinkasocsi]

Thanks, Pete.

P.