Breakdown of Les peignes en bois et en plastique coûtent plus cher que je ne pensais.
je
I
et
and
coûter
to cost
cher
expensive
plus
more
penser
to think
le plastique
the plastic
le bois
the wood
que
than (in comparisons)
en
made of (material)
ne
expletive 'ne' (no negative meaning)
le peigne
the comb
Questions & Answers about Les peignes en bois et en plastique coûtent plus cher que je ne pensais.
Why do we have to say en bois et en plastique instead of just en bois et plastique?
Since Les peignes is plural, why isn't it plus chers?
Why is there a ne in que je ne pensais? Does it make the sentence negative?
No, the sentence is not negative! This is called the ne explétif. It is a formal, untranslatable ne used in certain structures, including after comparatives of inequality like plus... que or moins... que. It emphasizes the contrast between the actual cost and what you originally expected, but you can safely drop it in everyday spoken French.
Do I pronounce the 's' at the end of plus in this sentence?
No, the 's' is silent here. When plus is used in a comparative before a word starting with a consonant (like cher), the 's' is not pronounced.
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