Breakdown of Этот товар стоит слишком дорого.
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
дорогой
expensive
стоить
to cost
товар
goods, stock
Questions & Answers about Этот товар стоит слишком дорого.
Why is товар singular in Russian when the English translation says "These goods"?
In Russian, товар is often used as a singular collective noun to refer to merchandise, products, or a batch of goods in general. Because it is singular, the demonstrative pronoun этот and the verb стоит must also be in the singular form.
Could I use the plural товары here instead?
Yes, you could say Эти товары стоят... if you are talking about several specific, distinct items rather than the merchandise as a whole. However, using the singular товар for goods in general is very common and natural in Russian.
The English translation says "costs too much". Why does the Russian use дорого (expensively) instead of много (much)?
In Russian, verbs relating to price and selling usually take adverbs of cost like дорого (expensively) or дёшево (cheaply). Saying стоит много sounds unnatural; Russian speakers literally say an item "costs expensively".
Isn't стоит also the word for "stands"? How do I tell them apart?
They are spelled exactly the same but are pronounced with different stress. The verb meaning "costs" is стОит (stress on the о), while the verb meaning "stands" is стоИт (stress on the и). Context like the word дорого makes it clear we are talking about price!