Combien and Combien de

[Petite Fille]

Hi, I'm a beginner. I've been learning French for 4 months.
Could anyone tell me what is the difference between "combien" and "combien de"?

[Neil Coffey]

As a starting point, use combien de when you've got the thing you're "counting" straight afterwards, for example: combien de pommes = how many apples.

Use combien on its own essentially when you don't have the thing you're "counting" directly afterwards. For example, when the word is right at the end of the sentence, which often happens when you're asking a question:

C'est combien? = How much is it?
Il y en a combien? = How many are there?, How much is there?

[Petite Fille]

Then how to form a question with "combien" and "est-ce que"?
Can I ask "Combien est-ce que c'est?"
" Combien de langues parlez-vous?" is that right?
Making a question is troubling me.
Meric !

[stu harris]

Neil, am I right in saying that combien on its own is always good for monetary value?

Combien ca coute?
Combien avez-vous payé pour ca?

[Mukesh Kumar]

please fill in the blanks

 

1  combien ---------- voitures avez-vous?

2 combien ----------- enfants voulez-vous?

 

[stu harris]

1 combien de voitures avez-vous?

2 combien d'enfants voulez-vous?