Learn French: Combien coûte un litre d'huile ? - How much does a liter of oil cost?

Combien coûte un litre d'huile ?

How much does a liter of oil cost?

Breakdown of Combien coûte un litre d'huile ?

a / an (masculine)

of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)

Questions & Answers about Combien coûte un litre d'huile ?

Why do we use combien here and not combien de?

We use combien on its own because it is connected to the verb coûte to ask how much an action costs. You only use combien de when asking about a specific quantity of things, like combien de litres (how many liters).

Why is it d'huile instead of de l'huile?

When you use a specific unit of measurement, like un litre (a liter) or un kilo (a kilo), you just follow it with de (or d' before a vowel). You drop the article (le, la, l') entirely. It is exactly like saying 'a liter of oil' in English!

Since huile starts with a consonant, why does de change to d'?

In French, the letter 'h' at the start of a word is almost always silent. Because huile actually begins with a vowel sound, the word de drops its 'e' to blend into it smoothly, giving us d'huile.

Can I change the word order and say Combien un litre d'huile coûte ?