Learn French: Combien est-ce que le livre coûte ?

The formula we are practicing is to put the question word (Combien) at the very beginning, followed by est-ce que, and then the standard sentence order for the subject and verb (le livre coûte).

Does "est-ce que" translate to any actual words in English here?

Not exactly! In this sentence, est-ce que acts just like the helper word "does" in "How much does the book cost?". It doesn't have its own meaning; it simply acts as a signal that a question is coming.

I remember learning "combien de" for "how many". Why is there no "de" in this sentence?

You use Combien de when asking "how many" of a specific thing, followed immediately by that noun (like Combien de livres for "How many books"). In this sentence, we are asking "how much" an action takes place (how much it costs), so we just use Combien all by itself.

Could I ask this question without using "est-ce que"?

Yes! In everyday spoken French, people often change the order and say Le livre coûte combien ? or just use their tone of voice to say Combien le livre coûte ?. However, the est-ce que structure is a very common, clear, and polite standard to learn first.