Learn French: Combien coûte cette tomate ? - How much does this tomato cost?

In French, the word for "this" or "that" changes based on the gender of the noun. Because tomate is a feminine word, we use the feminine form cette. If we were talking about a masculine object, like a book (livre), we would use ce livre.

Does cette tomate mean "this tomato" or "that tomato"?

It can mean both! French doesn't normally distinguish between "this" (close to you) and "that" (further away) the way English does. You use cette for both, and the context tells you which one is meant.

Why is the verb (coûte) placed before the subject (cette tomate)?

In French questions, it's very common to put the question word (combien) first, followed immediately by the verb (coûte), and then the subject (cette tomate). In casual spoken French, you might also hear the subject first: Cette tomate coûte combien ?

Is the pronunciation of cette different from ce?

Yes! Ce is pronounced a bit like "suh". Cette, however, is pronounced exactly like the English word "set". You must pronounce the "t" sound at the end of cette.