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Combien coûte ce pull ?

Combien coûte ce pull ?
How much does this sweater cost?
From Lesson 75:Which / what (quel)·French

Questions & Answers about Combien coûte ce pull ?

Since the current lesson is about quel (which/what), could I ask Quel coûte ce pull ? to mean "What does this sweater cost?"
No, quel is an adjective, meaning it has to describe a noun (like quel pull for "which sweater" or quel prix for "what price"). To ask "how much" something costs, you must use the adverb combien. However, you could use quel by rewording the question entirely: Quel est le prix de ce pull ? (What is the price of this sweater?).
Why is the verb coûte placed before ce pull?
This sentence uses a formal but very common question structure where you put the question word (combien) first, followed by the verb (coûte), and then the subject (ce pull). In casual, everyday spoken French, you will often hear people keep the standard statement word order and put the question word at the end: Ce pull coûte combien ?
Why is "this sweater" translated as ce pull instead of cet pull?
Pull is a masculine noun that starts with a consonant, so it takes the standard masculine word for "this" or "that", which is ce. You only use cet for masculine words that start with a vowel or a silent 'h' to make pronunciation smoother (like cet avion for "this plane").
Is the word pull borrowed from the English word "pull"?
Yes! It is short for un pull-over. French frequently borrows English words and shortens them. Today, un pull is the standard, everyday French word for a sweater or jumper.

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