Everyday Grammar TV: Grammar, Economy - Prices, Part 2

Dr. J: Hi John, let’s continue our lesson on price discussions.
JR: Absolutely - it's such a fun and useful topic.
Dr. J: Here is a quick reminder. In the previous lesson we explored this example: How much does this cost?
JR: We compared “how much” to the star of a movie. “How much” almost always appears in questions about prices - just like the main star appears in most scenes in a movie.
Dr. J: We mentioned that other words in our example question are sometimes left out. We compared these words to supporting actors or background actors. How much does this cost?
JR: For example, we sometimes leave out the verb “cost.”
And in some cases, we leave out the helping verb “do.” Instead, we use the verb “be.”
Dr. J: I like to compare “be” to a kind of stunt double for “do.”
Dr. J: For example, instead of asking “how much does this cost?,” a person might ask:
How much is this?
Or
How much is it?
JR: Please note these three questions have almost the same meaning:
How much does this cost?
How much is this?
How much is it?
JR: Let’s end with a quiz. Imagine you see an object for sale. What are two ways to ask about the price?
Here are two possible answers:
1. How much does this cost.
2. How much is this?
Dr. J: And that’s Everyday Grammar TV.
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