Construction of « Notre tarif est de 80 € par jour avec l'assurance. »

Question

What are the situations in which we add « de » like this? Is it a general rule for talking about rates? Thanks!

Accepted Answer

Hi Allen,
This is what we call 'une préposition vide' which means it has no grammatical value as such and is idiomatic.
It is used after tariff and price as in this case but also when talking about other amounts or even temperature -

Son salaire est de 3 000 € par mois = His/her salary is € 3000  per month
La distance entre la maison et mon bureau est de 12 km = The distance between my home and the office is 12 Km
La température est de 38 ° aujourd'hui = The temperature is 38 C today
Le coût total du repas a été de 250 € = The total cost of the meal was € 250

Hope this helps!

Answer

Bonjour Allen,https://www.lawlessfrench.com/expressions/etre-expressions/The above link explains that "étre de" is used figurately.So although the price was given as firm for your particular car choice - the dealer could be indicating the pricing is at/from that level for that type of car.Hope that this helps.Bonne journéeJim