Learn French: Ton vélo coûte quatre-vingts euros ?

Ton vélo coûte quatre-vingts euros ?

Your bike costs 80 euros?

Breakdown of Ton vélo coûte quatre-vingts euros ?

Questions & Answers about Ton vélo coûte quatre-vingts euros ?

Why does the French word for 80 translate to "four twenties"?

In French, numbers in the 80s and 90s are based on the number 20! To say 80, you say quatre-vingts, which literally means "four twenties" (4 x 20 = 80).

Why is there an 's' at the end of vingts?

Because you are saying "four twenties," the word vingt becomes plural and takes an 's'. However, there is a special rule: vingt only keeps this 's' if it is the very last number. If another number follows it, like in 81 (quatre-vingt-un), the 's' is dropped!

Is the 's' at the end of quatre-vingts pronounced?

On its own, the 's' is silent. But because the next word, euros, starts with a vowel, the 's' wakes up to link the two words together with a "z" sound. This is called a liaison, making the end of the phrase sound like "vingt-zeuros".

Why use ton instead of ta for "your"?

In French, possessive words like "your" change based on the gender of the thing being owned, not the gender of the owner. Vélo (bike) is a masculine noun, so you use the masculine ton. If you were talking about a feminine noun like a car (voiture), you would use ta.

Why doesn't this question use est-ce que?