Learn the key pattern to ask the price of something
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| Let's take a closer look at the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Ben asks, |
| "How much does this cost?" |
| Ile to kosztuje? |
| Let’s start with ile, "how much" in this context. Ile. Ile. |
| Next is to, "this." To. To. |
| 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 Polish. |
| Last is kosztuje, "costs" as in “this costs.” Kosztuje. Kosztuje. |
| Kosztuje is from the verb kosztować, “to cost.” Kosztować. |
| All together, it's Ile to kosztuje? Literally, this means “How much this costs,” but translates as "How much [does] this cost?" |
| Ile to kosztuje? |
| Let's take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how the shop clerk says, |
| "It costs two zlotys." |
| Dwa złote. |
| First is dwa, "two." Dwa. Dwa. |
| Next is złote, "zlotys." Złote. Złote. |
| Note: złote is the plural form of the masculine noun złoty, the name of the currency. Złoty. Złoty. |
| Together it’s Dwa złote. “Two zlotys.” |
| Dwa złote. |
| Note: The phrase to kosztuje, "[this] costs" is omitted as it is understood from context. |
| The pattern is |
| Ile ITEM kosztuje? |
| "How much does ITEM cost?" |
| Ile ITEM kosztuje? |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the {ITEM} placeholder with the thing you’d like to know the price of. |
| Note: This pattern requires a pronoun. |
| Imagine you’d like to know the price of something located out of reach, “that,” tamto. Tamto. |
| Ask, “How much does that cost?” |
| Ready? |
| Ile tamto kosztuje? |
| "How much does that cost?" |
| Ile tamto kosztuje? |
| If you don’t know the name of an item, and consequently its gender, you can use the neuter pronouns to, "this," and tamto, "that." |
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