Today’s lesson focuses on how to use the adverb combien, which can translate to both “how much?” and “how many?”
combien
How much? / How many?
Word origin
The Modern French combien is a combination of the Old French com (equating to comme; like or as in Modern French) and bien (well). Combien was also written cumbien in the past.
Example sentences
These first two sentences uses the form combien de + noun, meaning “how many + noun”.
Combien de chiens est-ce que tu as?
How many dogs do you have?
Combien de fois es-tu allé à Paris ?
How many times have you gone to Paris?
This sentence also uses combien de + noun but the English translation is “how much?”.
Combien d’argent avez-vous dans ton compte?
How much money do you have in your account?
When asking the price, use: “Combien coûte + noun?”, which translates literally to “How much costs + noun?”.
Combien coûte le café ?
How much is the coffee?
In informal French, “C’est combien ?” means “How much is it?”.
C’est combien ?
How much is it?
Related lessons
Reference
Word of the Day | Lessons by David Issokson
