Combien cela coûte?

how much

Breakdown of Combien cela coûte?

• cela: that
• coûter: to cost

Questions & Answers about Combien cela coûte?

Is there supposed to be a space before the question mark in French?

Yes. In French typography, you put a (narrow) space before ? ! : ;. When typing, most people just use a regular space: Combien cela coûte ?

Should I use cela or ça here?

Both are correct, but ça is by far the most common in everyday speech: Combien ça coûte ? Cela is more formal or literary and less frequent in conversation.

Is Combien est-ce que ça coûte ? also correct?

Yes. It’s a neutral, explicit form and a bit more formal than Combien ça coûte ? All three are fine.

Can I invert the subject: Combien coûte cela ? or Combien cela coûte-t-il ? Why the -t-?

• Combien coûte cela ? is correct but sounds formal/literary.
• Combien cela coûte-t-il ? is very formal; the inserted -t- is added for euphony when the verb ends in a vowel and the inverted pronoun (il/elle/on) begins with one. In everyday speech, prefer Combien ça coûte ?

Why isn’t there de after combien?