Без скидки этот билет слишком дорогой.

Without a discount, this ticket is too expensive.

Breakdown of Без скидки этот билет слишком дорогой.

• дорогой: expensive
• этот: this
• без: without
• слишком: too
• скидка: discount
• билет: ticket

Questions & Answers about Без скидки этот билет слишком дорогой.

Why is it без скидки, and why does скидки change form?

Because без (without) requires the genitive case.

• Dictionary form: скидка (nominative singular)
• After без → genitive singular: скидки
  So без скидки literally means without (a) discount.

Is без скидки “without a discount” or “without the discount”? Do I need an article-like word?

Russian has no articles, so без скидки can mean either, depending on context:

• without a discount (in general)
• without the discount (we talked about)
  If you want to be extra specific, you can add something like:
• без этой скидки = without this discount
• без скидки по карте = without the (loyalty-card) discount

Why is it этот билет (nominative)? Shouldn’t it be some other case?

этот билет is the subject of the sentence: “this ticket … is too expensive.”
Subjects are normally in the nominative case, so:

• этот = masculine nominative singular (agrees with билет)
• билет = nominative singular

Why is дорогой in the long form, not the short form дорог?

Both are possible, but they differ in style.

• Без скидки этот билет слишком дорогой. = neutral, conversational (long adjective as predicate)
• Без скидки этот билет слишком дорог. = more formal/bookish, a bit more “statement-like” (short adjective predicate)

Meaning is basically the same: “too expensive.”

What exactly does слишком mean here? Is it the same as очень?

No—слишком means too (more than acceptable/normal), while очень means very (just high degree).

• слишком дорогой = “too expensive (so it’s a problem)”
• очень дорогой = “very expensive” (could be just descriptive)

Why is the word order Без скидки этот билет...? Could it be Этот билет без скидки...?

Yes, both are correct. Word order mainly changes emphasis:

• Без скидки этот билет слишком дорогой. → emphasis on the condition “without a discount”
• Этот билет без скидки слишком дорогой. → starts with the ticket; “without a discount” is added information
• Этот билет слишком дорогой без скидки. → “without a discount” feels like an afterthought

Russian word order is flexible; intonation often carries the emphasis.

Is there an implied verb like is? Why isn’t есть used?

In the present tense, Russian usually omits “to be.”

• Этот билет слишком дорогой. literally “This ticket too expensive.” You can use есть, but it’s uncommon here and sounds more emphatic/contrasty:
• Этот билет есть слишком дорогой is not natural in modern speech. More natural for emphasis would be something like:
• Этот билет слишком дорогой. (intonation does the job)
• Этот билет оказался слишком дорогим. = “turned out to be too expensive” (past nuance)

Could без скидок be used instead of без скидки?

Yes, but it changes the nuance.

• без скидки = without a/the discount (a specific discount situation)
• без скидок = without any discounts (no discounts at all, in general)

So без скидок often sounds broader: “if there are no discounts.”

How do I know дорогой here means “expensive,” not “dear” (like addressing someone)?

Context and stress help.

• дорого́й (stress on the last syllable) = expensive / dear (adjective)
• дорого́й! as a form of address = “my dear!” (often with punctuation and a vocative-like intonation) Here, because it modifies билет and the sentence is about price, it’s clearly “expensive.”

Is a comma needed anywhere in this sentence?

No comma is needed.
Без скидки is just an introductory prepositional phrase, not a subordinate clause. The sentence is simple and doesn’t require punctuation beyond the final period.