How to Ask How Much Something Is

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Greek by GreekPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask how much something is in Greek.

For example, "How much does this cost?" is

Πόσο κοστίζει αυτό; (Póso kostízi aftó?)

Alex Asimakis is at a small grocery store.

He sees a product with no visible price tag, and asks for the price.

Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

πόσο (póso)

"how much"

πόσο

κοστίζει (kostízi)

"costs"

κοστίζει

Listen to the conversation.

Πόσο κοστίζει αυτό; (Póso kostízi aftó?)

Δύο ευρώ. (Dío evró.)

Once more with the English translation.

Πόσο κοστίζει αυτό; (Póso kostízi aftó?)

"How much does this cost?"

Δύο ευρώ. (Dío evró.)

"Two euros."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Alex asks,

"How much does this cost?"

Πόσο κοστίζει αυτό; (Póso kostízi aftó?)

Let's start with the word, αυτό (aftó), "this." Αυτό . Αυτό.

You can use this word while pointing at something near you. It's useful when you want to refer to something you don't know the word for in Greek.

In Greek, all nouns have grammatical gender and case, and are either singular or plural. Αυτό is neuter, singular and in the nominative case — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.

Before αυτό (aftó) is κοστίζει (kostízi). "Costs" as in "this costs." Κοστίζει . Κοστίζει.

Κοστίζει is from the verb κοστίζω (kostízo), the dictionary form of the verb meaning "to cost." Κοστίζω.

Moving to the start of the sentence, πόσο (póso), "how much," in this context. Πόσο . Πόσο.

All together, it's Πόσο κοστίζει αυτό; (Póso kostízi aftó?) This literally translates as, "How much costs this?" but translates as "How much does this cost?"

Πόσο κοστίζει αυτό; (Póso kostízi aftó?)

Let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how the shop clerk says,

"Two euros."

Δύο ευρώ. (Dío evró.)

First is δύο (dío), "two." Δύο . Δύο.

Next is ευρώ (evró), "euro." Ευρώ . Ευρώ.

Note the singular and plural form of ευρώ (evró) are the same.

Together Δύο ευρώ. (Dío evró.) means "Two euros."

Δύο ευρώ. (Dío evró.)

The pattern is

Πόσο κοστίζει ITEM? (Póso kostízi ITEM?)

"How much does ITEM cost?"

Πόσο κοστίζει ITEM?

To use this pattern, simply replace the {ITEM} placeholder with the thing for which you would like to know the price.

Note: this pattern requires a noun, preceded by the corresponding indefinite article.

For example, imagine you'd like to know the price of "a coffee," ένας καφές (énas kafés).

Καφές (kafés), "coffee." Καφές . Καφές.

Note that καφές (kafés) is masculine and singular.

Ένας (énas) is also masculine and singular to agree with καφές (kafés).

Ένας. Think of this like "a," in English. Ένας . Ένας.

Say

"How much does a coffee cost?"

Ready?

Πόσο κοστίζει ένας καφές; (Póso kostízi énas kafés?)

"How much does a coffee cost?"

Πόσο κοστίζει ένας καφές; (Póso kostízi énas kafés?)

The word, αυτό (aftó), can be used to discuss an item without knowing its name in Greek. Αυτό (Aftó) can be used for things close to you, and εκείνο (ekíno), "that," for things farther from you. Εκείνο.

If you don't know the name of an item and consequently its gender, you can use these neuter pronouns.

When you want to ask for an item by name, rather than by pointing it out, you need to include an article. In this lesson, we'll focus on the indefinite article.

The indefinite article is like the English "a," as in "a cake."

The neuter indefinite article is ένα (éna), as in ένα κέικ (éna kéik), "a cake."

The masculine indefinite article is ένας (énas), as in ένας καφές (énas kafés), "a coffee."

The feminine indefinite article is μια (mia), as in μια σαλάτα (mia saláta), "a salad."

Again, the pattern is,

Πόσο κοστίζει ITEM? (Póso kostízi ITEM?)

"How much does ITEM cost?"

Πόσο κοστίζει ITEM?

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Πόσο κοστίζει αυτό; (Póso kostízi aftó?)

“How much does this cost?”

Πόσο κοστίζει αυτό; (Póso kostízi aftó?)

Πόσο κοστίζει ένας καφές; (Póso kostízi énas kafés?)

“How much does a coffee cost?”

Πόσο κοστίζει ένας καφές; (Póso kostízi énas kafés?)

Πόσο κοστίζει μια σαλάτα; (Póso kostízi mia saláta?)

“How much does a salad cost?”

Πόσο κοστίζει μια σαλάτα; (Póso kostízi mia saláta?)

Πόσο κοστίζει εκείνο; (Póso kostízi ekíno?)

“How much does that cost?”

Πόσο κοστίζει εκείνο; (Póso kostízi ekíno?)

Πόσο κοστίζει; (Póso kostízi?)

“How much does it cost?”

Πόσο κοστίζει; (Póso kostízi?)

Did you notice how the native speaker used a slightly different pattern?

Πόσο κοστίζει; (Póso kostízi?)

"How much [does this] cost?"

First is πόσο (póso), "how much," in this context. Πόσο.

Next is κοστίζει (kostízi), "costs" as in "[this] costs." Κοστίζει.

Πόσο κοστίζει; (Póso kostízi?) literally means "how much [this] costs," but translates as "How much [does this] cost?"

When asking the price of something, and it's understood what you're speaking about, for example, when asking by pointing at something, you can omit the subject.

This pattern is

Πόσο κοστίζει; (Póso kostízi?)

"How much does this cost?"

You should be aware of this pattern, but you won't need it for this lesson.

Let's review the new words.

καφές (kafés)

"coffee"

καφές

σαλάτα (saláta)

"salad"

σαλάτα

εκείνο (ekíno)

"that"

εκείνο

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

When you don't know the word for something, do you remember how to say "this?"

αυτό (aftó)

And how to say "how much?"

πόσο (póso)

Do you remember how Alex Asimakis asks,

"How much does this cost?"

Πόσο κοστίζει αυτό; (Póso kostízi aftó?)

Do you remember how to say "euro?"

ευρώ (evró)

Do you remember how the clerk, says,

"Two euros."

Δύο ευρώ. (Dío evró.)

Do you remember how to say "coffee?"

καφές (kafés)

And how to say "a coffee?"

ένας καφές (énas kafés)

Do you remember how to say "salad?"

σαλάτα (saláta)

And how to say "a salad?"

μια σαλάτα (mia saláta)

Do you remember how to say "that?"

εκείνο (ekíno)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Alex , and you're at a farmers' market.

You'd like to buy a snack with no price tag that is located out of reach. Ask for the price of "that," or εκείνο (ekíno).

Ready?

Πόσο κοστίζει εκείνο; (Póso kostízi ekíno?)

Δύο ευρώ. (Dío evró.)

Listen again and repeat.

Πόσο κοστίζει εκείνο; (Póso kostízi ekíno?)

Let's try another.

Imagine they're also selling artisan coffee. Ask for the price of a coffee, or ένας καφές (énas kafés).

Ready?

Πόσο κοστίζει ένας καφές; (Póso kostízi énas kafés?)

Τρία ευρώ. (Tría evró.)

Listen again and repeat.

Πόσο κοστίζει ένας καφές; (Póso kostízi énas kafés?)

Let's try one more.

They're also selling organic salads. Ask for the price of a salad, or μια σαλάτα (mia saláta).

Ready?

Πόσο κοστίζει μια σαλάτα; (Póso kostízi mia saláta?)

Τέσσερα ευρώ. (Tésera evró.)

Listen again and repeat.

Πόσο κοστίζει μια σαλάτα; (Póso kostízi mia saláta?)

In this lesson, you learned how to ask how much something costs. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of shopping at a grocery store. Let’s review.

Do you remember how to say "please?"

παρακαλώ (parakaló)

And do you remember how to say,

"This, please."

Αυτό, παρακαλώ. (Aftó, parakaló.)

Do you remember how to say "salt?"

αλάτι (aláti)

Do you remember how to ask,

"Excuse me, do you have salt?"

Συγγνώμη, έχετε αλάτι; (Signómi, éhete aláti?)

Imagine you're Jack Jones , and you're at a grocery store, and you'd like to buy an Item located away from you. You point at it and request "that."

Do you remember how to say "that" in Greek?

εκείνο (ekíno)

Request "that" from the clerk.

Εκείνο, παρακαλώ. (Ekíno, parakaló.)

Ορίστε. (Oríste.)

Listen again and repeat.

Εκείνο, παρακαλώ. (Ekíno, parakaló.)

You remembered that you also wanted to buy milk

Do you remember how to say "milk" in Greek?

γάλα (gála)

Now ask the clerk if the store has milk.

Ready?

Έχετε γάλα; (Éhete gála?)

Ναι, εδώ είναι. (Ne, edó íne.)

Listen again and repeat.

Έχετε γάλα; (Éhete gála?)

In a supermarket nearby you'd like to buy a coffee.

Do you remember how to say "a coffee" in Greek?

ένας καφές (énas kafés)

Now ask for the price of a coffee.

Πόσο κοστίζει ένας καφές; (Póso kostízi énas kafés?)

Τρία ευρώ. (Tría evró.)

Listen again and repeat.

Πόσο κοστίζει ένας καφές; (Póso kostízi énas kafés?)

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Shop at a Grocery Store unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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