Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Crisi]

Dear teachers,

When do I normally use cost/singular and when costs/plural?

And can I say:

What are the costs for such an instruction?


In the sense of: How much does the course cost?

Thank you very much in advance.

Crisi

[Anuradha Chepur]

The dictionary says costs is used for reimbursement of expenses to the winning party in a litigation.

[asterix]

Why not stick with, "How much does the course cost?"
It's much more natural.

[CP]

Dr. Chepur is right about "costs" being what the winner of a lawsuit is awarded, in addition to any judgment and (sometimes) attorney fees, in the U.S. But people also say "costs" when talking about other things.

Often the difference between "cost" and "costs" in common speech is the difference between the price of the thing, on the one hand, and the price plus all other expenses involved, on the other hand.

The cost of the course might be $500.00, so that is its cost, singular. But the textbooks cost $150.00, the school charges a $200.00 enrollment fee, and the student has to get a $25.00 parking permit and a $20.00 health insurance card, so the other costs are $395.00, and all the costs of the instruction are therefore $895.00.

"Costs" also can refer to things that do not have a specific price tag. With prosperity comes a car in every garage. The costs of that include traffic jams, smog, time lost, frustration, road rage, poorer health, and an erosion of the quality of life.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[Anuradha Chepur]

Also, I think what is looked as an investment (and recoverable) might be considered as costs, and cost is about expenditure.

[Crisi]

THANK YOU CP - Your answer is just what I needed. It had no idea, because in German we only know costs in plural.