Need Help.
I am a beginner spanish student. I have a question. My question being what is different about the word cuántos(as)? If anyone knows, help me out! Thanks!
2 Answers
Nothing, in terms of meaning. But, in Spanish, nouns not only change for singular and plural (like in English) but also are either masculine or feminine, and the words that modify those nouns also have to "agree" in gender.
Cuántos/as are the plural forms of "how many", for things that are itemized. The singular form, "cuánto" is for things that aren't itemized, like cost. Very similar to "how many" vs. "how much".
Cuántos dedos tienes? (How many fingers do you have?)
- Dedo means "finger" and is masculine.
Cuántas uñas tienes? (How many fingernails do you have?)
- Uña means "fingernail" and is feminine.
Cuánto cuesta? (How much does it cost?)
- The noun here isn't named, and when it's not named, it's treated as if it were masculine unless it's clear which thing you mean by context.
Cuanto/s/as etc are adjectives so they have to agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and in number (sing or plural) with the nouns that they modify.
Here are some examples of when cuánto/a/s means 'how much' or 'how many':
¡Cuánto tiempo sin verte!
Long time no see. (lit. How much time without seeing you.)
Cuánto - masc/sing matches tiempo - masc/sing
¿Cuántos libros hay?
How many books are there?
cuántos - masc/pl matches libros - masc/pl
¿Cuántas manzanas hay?
How many apples are there?
cuántas - fem/pl matches manzanas - fem/pl
If you're asking the price of something you just use ¿cuánto cuesta? = how much does it cost?
Bear in mind that cuánto can have other meaning too and is used in many expressions such as 'cuanto antes' as soon as possible, 'cuanto antes, mejor' the sooner the better, cuantos más mejor, the more the merrier etc.
