Question 1

Why are cher and bon used here instead of adverbs like chèrement or bien?

Accepted Answer

In French, certain verbs pair with specific adjectives that act as adverbs to describe the action. Coûter cher (to be expensive) and sentir bon (to smell good) are fixed expressions. Because they act as adverbs here, you don't use words like chèrement or bien.

Question 2

Since le café is masculine singular, cher and bon are in their default forms anyway. What if the subject were feminine and plural?

Accepted Answer

They wouldn't change at all! Because cher and bon are modifying the verbs (coûter and sentir) rather than the noun, they are invariable. If you were talking about strawberries, it would be: Les fraises coûtent cher, mais elles sentent bon. They never take an -e or an -s in these expressions.

Question 3

Is it ever correct to make cher agree with the noun when talking about price?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if you use a state verb like être instead of an action verb like coûter. If you say 'The cars are expensive,' you write Les voitures sont chères, because chères is a regular adjective describing the noun les voitures. But with coûter, cher acts as an adverb, so it stays invariable.

Question 4

Why use il instead of ça in the second half of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

The pronoun il specifically replaces the previously mentioned masculine noun, le café. While you might hear ça used for general concepts or unnamed things (like 'ça sent bon !' for 'it smells good in here!'), you must use il (or elle) when you are directly carrying over a specific, named subject from the previous clause.

Le café coûte cher, mais il sent bon.

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