Learn French: Le dîner coûte soixante-quinze euros.

Le dîner coûte soixante-quinze euros.

The dinner costs 75 euros.

Breakdown of Le dîner coûte soixante-quinze euros.

Questions & Answers about Le dîner coûte soixante-quinze euros.

How does the number 75 work in French?

In French, numbers in the seventies are built by doing math! Instead of a new word for 70, French uses 60 (soixante) and adds 11 to 19 to it. So, 75 is literally sixty-fifteen: soixante-quinze.

Why is there a hyphen in soixante-quinze?

In French, you must use a hyphen to connect parts of any compound number less than 100. The only exception is when the number uses the word et (and), like in 21 (vingt et un).

Why does coûte end in an e here?

The verb coûter (to cost) is a regular -er verb. Since the subject of the sentence is Le dîner, which acts as a third-person singular (an it), we drop the -er and add the standard -e ending.

What is the hat-shaped accent on dîner and coûte?

That is the circumflex accent. In many words, it tells you that an s used to be there in Old French. It is an important part of the spelling but does not change the pronunciation here.

Do I pronounce the s at the end of euros?

No, the plural s at the end of French words is almost always silent. You just pronounce it the same way as the singular word euro.