Log inSign up

Combien est-ce que la chambre coûte ?

Combien est-ce que la chambre coûte ?
How much does the room cost?
From Lesson 23:Standard questions (est-ce que)·French

Questions & Answers about Combien est-ce que la chambre coûte ?

How does the "Wh-word + est-ce que" structure work in this sentence?
In French, a very common way to ask a question is to put the question word first (Combien, meaning "how much"), followed immediately by est-ce que. After est-ce que, the rest of the sentence is just in normal statement order: la chambre (the subject) followed by coûte (the verb).
Why is the word order la chambre coûte instead of coûte la chambre?
The golden rule for est-ce que is that whatever comes after it must be in the standard Subject + Verb order, just like a regular statement. Because est-ce que already acts as the question marker (doing the job of "does" in English), we don't swap the verb and subject around.
Does combien always mean "how much"?
It translates to both "how much" and "how many". Because we are asking about the cost of a single room here, it naturally means "how much". If you wanted to ask "how many rooms", you would use combien de, like in Combien de chambres est-ce que vous avez ?
Why didn't we shorten que to qu' before la chambre?
Words like que drop their e and get an apostrophe only when the very next word starts with a vowel sound or a silent h. Because the next word here is la, which starts with a consonant, que stays exactly as it is.

Learn Combien est-ce que la chambre coûte and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →