I cost, you cost, he costs, etc
Hi! Please tell me if conjugating the verb to cost makes sense with all the personal pronouns: I cost, you cost, he/she costs, we cost, they cost....
Thanks.
6 Answers
You can use cost with I, you, he, she or they in a different way which would still be proper and not mean slavery/prostitution. To wit: if someone does an action which costs someone else money, time, or resources.
Example: I crashed my father's car. He could say to me, "You cost me $5,000!"
If a person wasted my time, I could say, "He/she/they cost me two hours" (although probably more common would be "He/she/they wasted two hours of my time."
Well, maestro, if you're in the marke for una mala mujer , I cost less than I would have done when I was younger.
I cost is not used very much, but your grammar is impeccable.
It is one of those verbs that are mostly used in the third person:
It costs/ This costs. Doing this will cost you 50.000 dollars.. Going to court will cost you!
Think ; cuesta.
You can use costar when you find it difficult to do something,
Me cuesta mucho aprender español - I find it hard to learn Spanish - It costs me a lot (In effort) to learn Spanish
In general, though "I charge a lot" or "He charges a lot" sounds a bit better and formal than "I cost a lot" or "He costs a lot", the latter two aren't all that unsual. I don't think you could even say improper. Just less formal. Most people would blink an eye at using cost in this way. But of course, It costs a lot is WaY more common, and is I'd say by far a more common usage.
I also think Sinmeta's examples are really good, and the one costing ones father a lot after wrecking his car, and is both normal, and not reflexive. Seems transitive.
I think there is a difference between proper and colloquial English- it is hard to think of a way with proper English.
I do think people will say things at times that are not correct however:
(Someone providing a service) How much do you cost per hour? I cost $50 an hour.
Better: How much do you charge per hour? I charge $50 an hour for my services.
(An adoptee) How much did I cost my parents to adopt?
Better: How much did it cost my parents to adopt me?
I suppose you could use it in proper English in a movie about slavery:
(Said to a slave): You cost me $1000….
But otherwise I am having a little difficulty coming up with anything.
Maybe someone else will come up with something.
Doesn't the verb cost mean: to be valued at or the amount of money needed for exchange? Therefore if people can be valued at some price for whatever reason, do they not cost something?
If you want me to teach you, I cost $10.00 per hour. Now you can say "it will cost you", too, but I don't think this is a defective verb like to rain or to snow, so I think you can use it with any pronoun even though there may be an abundance of use with "it" and "they".
