Cuantos vs Cuantas: How Many in Spanish? (2023)

Cuantos vs Cuantas: How Many in Spanish? (1)

June 22, 2021 by Olga Put Spanish Grammar 0 comments

Ready to learn all about cuantos in Spanish?

Have you been searching the internet with terms like “cuantas translation,” “cuantas meaning,” or “cuantos definition”?

No, I didn’t get access to all your cookies, I just know what students at your level want and need to learn in relation to this topic!

In this blog post, learn how to say “how much” and “how many” in Spanish. I cover cuantos and cuantas in detail, share plenty of example sentences, and provide a multiple-choice quiz for you to test your skills at the end.

I promise that after learning this topic, you won’t fear going to local, Spanish-speaking stores to ask “how much is it?”—and, even better, you’ll understand when the seller asks you about the quantities of what you need.

¡Empecemos!
Let’s start!

Cuanto, Cuantos, Cuanta, Cuantas – What’s the Difference?

Cuantos vs Cuantas: How Many in Spanish? (2)

When you ask about quantity in English, you need to choose between “how many” and “how much” depending on whether the amount is countable or uncountable. Consider the difference between these two questions:

  • How much money (uncountable noun) do you need?
  • How many dollars (countable noun) do you need?

In Spanish, you don’t need to worry about these distinctions, but you need to take other aspects into consideration.

To start, you have four forms of this question word to choose from:

  1. Cuánto
  2. Cuánta
  3. Cuántos
  4. Cuántas

Additionally, they can also exist without the accent mark, when they’re not forming a question.

Let’s break this down into easily digestible pieces!

Cuánto, Cuánta, Cuántos, Cuántas – Gender and Number Agreement

The related forms of cuanto change depending on the gender and number of the noun that they count.

You surely remember that in Spanish the nouns are either masculine or feminine and they’re either singular or plural. This is all you need to know to solve the mystery of cuantos vs cuantas.

Simply put, the question word must agree in gender and number with the noun that follows it.

Consider this chart:

Cuantos vs Cuantas: How Many in Spanish? (3)

Translation

As you can see from the chart, normally the singular forms translate to “how much” and cuantos or cuantas in Spanish mean “how many” in English.

Example Sentences in Spanish

Let’s look at some example sentences!

¿Cuánta tarea hay para el lunes?
How much homework is there for Monday?

¿Cuánta leche necesito para el pastel?
How much milk do I need for the cake?

¿Cuánto dinero cuesta esto?
How much money does this cost?

¿Cuántos alumnos vinieron a clase?
How many students came to class?

¿Cuántas zanahorias crecen en tu jardín?
How many carrots grow in your garden?

¿Cuántas horas le dedicaste a este trabajo?
How many hours did you spend on this job?

How to Use Cuanto, Cuanta, Cuantos, Cuantas

Cuantos vs Cuantas: How Many in Spanish? (4)

While cuánto, cuánta, cuántos, and cuántas are question words (also known as “interrogatives”), they can also be relative adjectives, adverbs, or pronouns.

In all cases, they must agree in gender and number with the noun, however the placement and accent marks will be different in each case.

1. As Interrogatives

When cuánto, cuánta, cuántos, and cuántas function as interrogative (meaning they initiate a question), they always have an accent mark over the first letter a.

Keep in mind to add an upside-down question mark at the beginning of your question when you’re writing!

Learn more: What’s the Deal With the Upside Down Question Mark in Spanish?

Cuántos

¿Cuántos carros hay en el estacionamiento? Treinta.
How many cars are in the parking lot? Thirty.

The interrogatives can also appear without a noun to follow it, but it’s clear what it’s in reference to.

For example, if you’re talking to your friend about the cars in the parking lot, you can simply ask:

¿Cuántos hay? Treinta.
How many are there? Thirty.

Or even:

(Video) Free Spanish Lessons 228: Practice Lesson CUANTO/CUÁNTOS

¿Cuántos? Treinta.
How many? Thirty.

Cuánto

Cuánto as an interrogative precedes a verb and translates to “how much” in English.

¿Cuánto trabajas?
How much do you work?

¿Cuánto cuesta?
How much is it?

¿Cuánto pesas?
How much do you weigh?

2. As Relative Adjectives

When cuanto, cuanta, cuantos, and cuantas appear as relative adjectives they don’t have the accent mark over them, and they appear in the middle of a sentence before the noun they refer to. They don’t ask a question, instead they join two clauses together.

Le compraron tantas velas cuantos años cumplía.
They bought him as many candles as the years he was turning.

Compra cuanta agua necesites.
Buy as much water as you need.

No sé cuantos días tenemos libres.
I don’t know how many days off we have.

3. As Relative Pronouns

Cuanto, cuanta, cuantos, and cuantas can also introduce relative clauses when they appear as relative pronouns. They don’t have an accent mark but they need to agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to. They are equivalent to todo lo que and todos lo que.

Cuantos vieron el accidente, corrieron a ayudar.
Everybody that saw the accident ran to help.

Obtuvo el mismo resultado tantas veces cuantas repitió el experimento.
He got the same results as many times as he repeated the experiment.

Hizo tanto cuanto pudo.
He did as much as he could.

Take the Quiz on Cuanto, Cuanta, Cuantos, Cuantas

Cuantos vs Cuantas: How Many in Spanish? (5)

Put your skills to the test with the following questions! Note the gender and number of the nouns and try to remember in which situations you need to use the accent mark.

1. ¿ _________ libros tengo que leer este año?

Correct! Wrong!

2. ¿ __________ amigas tuyas tienen el reloj?

Correct! Wrong!

3. ¿ _______ cuesta este vestido?

Correct! Wrong!

(Video) ¿Cuántos Hay? How many are there? | Mi Camino Spanish

4. ¿ _______ queso le pongo a la ensalada?

Correct! Wrong!

5. ¿ _______ agua bebiste ayer?

Correct! Wrong!

6. ¿ _______ tarea te dieron?

(Video) Learn Spanish Expressions: mientras más… / cuanto más… / entre más… más

Correct! Wrong!

7. ¿ _______ tipos de helado hay aquí?

Correct! Wrong!

8. ¿ _______ años tardaste en hacerlo?

Correct! Wrong!

9. _______ le oían lo admiraban.

Correct! Wrong!

10. Grita _______ quieras, no te voy a hacer caso.

Correct! Wrong!

(Video) En Cuanto vs. En Cuanto A [Improve your Conversational Skill in Spanish by Learning in Context!]

Cuanto, Cuanta, Cuantos, Cuantas Quiz

Wow, you've mastered the use of cuantos and cuantas! Good job!

Cuantos vs Cuantas: How Many in Spanish? (6)

You've got a solid understanding of how to use cuanto, cuanta, cuantos, and cuantas and the quality of your Spanish conversations are exploding through the roof!

Your consistent practice is leading to better results!

Cuantos vs Cuantas: How Many in Spanish? (7)

As you keep up your hard work and practice, you're starting to understand better how to use cuanto, cuanta, cuantos, and cuantas. For more study materials, keep up-to-date with our newest published blog posts at Homeschool Spanish Academy. *YOU'RE ALMOST THERE! You can do it!* Do you prefer learning with videos? Check out our YouTube channel Spanish Academy TV for the best Spanish learning content on the web!

Practice makes perfect! Keep on studying!

Cuantos vs Cuantas: How Many in Spanish? (8)

Your motivation to learn Spanish is an essential ingredient to success! If you're ready to take your Spanish to the next level and master the usage of cuanto, cuanta, cuantos, and cuantas, then join us for a free Spanish class with one of our friendly, certified, native Spanish-speaking teachers from Guatemala. Sign up today!

Practice With a Native Spanish Speaker!

Congratulations! You’ve learned a very important part of Spanish grammar that will help you during your travels to Spanish-speaking countries. You don’t have to go to that huge supermarket anymore, you can buy locally at the quaint markets and ask the vendors about the price.

And remember, the best way to practice your Spanish skills is in 1-on-1 conversations. To practice your skills in a student-tailored environment that meets you at your level, sign up for a free class with one of our native, Spanish-speaking teachers from Guatemala! Tell them you want to practice cuantos and cuantas to take your knowledge of expressing “how much” and “how many” in Spanish to the next level of fluency!

Ready to learn more Spanish grammar? Check these out!

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  • Author
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Olga Put

Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

I'm a Spanish philologist, teacher, and freelance writer with a Master's degree in Humanities from Madrid. I speak Polish, Spanish, and English fluently, and want to get better in Portuguese and German. A lover of literature, and Mexican spicy cuisine, I've lived in Poland, Spain, and Mexico and I'm currently living and teaching in Madeira, Portugal.

Latest posts by Olga Put (see all)

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grammar grammar quiz spanish grammar

(Video) Cuántos y Cuántas, Spanish

FAQs

When to use cuánto and cuantas? ›

In Spanish you can use the interrogative adjectives qué and cuánto/cuánta/cuántos/cuántas to express doubt, report a question, or ask a question in an indirect way, just as in English we can say Tell me what time it is, He asked me how much sugar there was and I don't know which dress to choose.

How many is Cuantos? ›

As you can see from the chart, normally the singular forms translate to “how much” and cuantos or cuantas in Spanish mean “how many” in English.

Is cuantos plural? ›

Another pronoun usage is with unos cuantos, meaning a few. This form will always be used in the plural, but it should also change gender according to the people it's referring to. Todos intentaron, pero solamente unos cuantos lograron entrar.

Is cuanto masculine or feminine? ›

Asking for Prices

There are a couple of different ways to ask “how much does it cost?” in Spanish. Luckily, all of them use the word cuánto. This is because the Spanish words for price, money, and cost (precio, dinero, and costo) are all masculine and uncountable.

How do you use Cuánta in a sentence? ›

Have a look at the following examples:
  1. ¡Cuánto pollo hemos comido! We ate so much chicken! ...
  2. ¡Cuánta cerveza hay en la nevera! How much beer there is in the fridge!
  3. ¡Cuántos nietos tiene Luisa! Luisa has so many grandchildren! ...
  4. ¡Cuántas curvas hay en esta carretera! How many bends there are in this road!

What comes after Cuanto? ›

CUÁNTO, CUÁNTOS, CUÁNTA, CUÁNTAS are used when we want to know HOW MANY or HOW MUCH of something there is. These interrogatives (question words) are used for counting or measuring something.

What does Cuantos mean? ›

The word cuántos (pronounced: KWAHN-tohs) means 'how many. ' As an interrogative word, it has an accent mark (á). Use it before masculine plural nouns in (direct or indirect) interrogative sentences.

What's the difference between how much and how many? ›

Just remember: if you can count the noun, use many (the noun will always be plural). If you cannot count the noun, use much (the noun cannot be plural).

What is the plural of cuál? ›

Now, remember that cuál has a plural form (cuáles), so if the answer would be more than one thing, you should ask cuáles instead of cuál.

What are the 3 plural rules in Spanish? ›

Making Spanish Nouns Plural
  • Rule #1: If a noun ends in a vowel, add “s”
  • Rule #2: If a noun ends in a consonant, add “es”
  • Rule #3: If a noun ends in “z”, change the “z” to “c” and add “es”

How do you tell if a Spanish word is singular or plural? ›

If the word ends in a vowel (a, e, i, o, u), just add the letter S at the end of the word. For instance: Cama (bed) ends in the letter A, so we just have to add S at the end of the word and the plural form would be camas (beds).

What are the plural rules in Spanish? ›

8 Simple Rules for Forming the Spanish Plural
  • Add an “s” to nouns that end in vowels. ...
  • Match the article to the noun in both gender and number. ...
  • Add “es” to nouns that end in consonants. ...
  • Add “es” and drop the accent over the “o” if the noun ends in “ión” ...
  • If a noun ends in “z”, add “es” and change the “z” to “c”
Apr 19, 2022

What is cuanto cuesta mean? ›

how much does it cost.

What does this mean in Spanish cuantos anos tienes? ›

¿Cuántos años tienes? How old are you?

What is anos tienes? ›

How old are you? ¿

How do you use the in a sentence give an example? ›

Here's another way to explain it: The is used to refer to a specific or particular member of a group. For example, "I just saw the most popular movie of the year." There are many movies, but only one particular movie is the most popular. Therefore, we use the.

How do you use examples in a sentence? ›

Noun He set a good example for the rest of us. She gave several examples to show that the program is effective. We've chosen three examples of contemporary architecture for closer study.

What is after Cincuenta? ›

After that you could take a look at the numbers for the multiples of ten: veinte, treinta, cuarenta, cincuenta, sesenta, setenta, ochenta and noventa.

Do you use subjunctive with en cuanto? ›

With time expressions like cuando (when) and en cuanto que (as soon as), we use the subjunctive when the action hasn't happened or been completed yet, and the indicative for things that have already happened.

What's after tres? ›

1 – 100 Spanish Numbers
1 uno2 dos3 tres
6 seis7 siete8 ocho
11 once12 doce13 trece
16 dieciséis17 diecisiete18 dieciocho
21 veintiuno22 veintidós23 veintitrés
15 more rows

Do we say much money or many money? ›

The word money is a noncount noun, but monetary units—such as dollar, pound, euro, and franc—are countable. So then you should say "how much money" but "how many dollars/pounds/euros/francs." Learn more about count and noncount nouns here. I hope this helps.

How do you use much and more in a sentence? ›

Examples of Much and More
  1. Much – i) Raj didn't eat much food during the lunch break. ( ...
  2. ii) I was not doing much. ( ...
  3. iii) Does the car cost too much? ( ...
  4. iv) The play was of much interest to its viewers. ( ...
  5. v) There is nothing much to talk about. ( ...
  6. More – i) Roshni has more books than her younger sister Toshi. (

What is the plural of ولد? ›

ولاد • (wlād) children; boys; sons. plural of ولد‎ (walad, “boy”)

What is the plural of طالب? ›

طالب • (tālib) m (plural طالبان‎ (tālibān))

What are the 5 rules of plurals? ›

Plural Noun - Rules, Types and Examples
  • Adding 's'
  • Adding 'es'
  • Adding 'ves' for nouns ending with an 'f' or 'fe'
  • Adding 'oes' to nouns ending with an 'o'
  • Adding 'ies' to words ending with a 'y' preceded by a consonant.
  • Adding 's' to words ending with a 'y' preceded by a vowel.
  • Changing 'us' to 'i'
  • Changing 'is' to 'es'

What are the 8 plural rules? ›

All the rules for making plurals
  • Simply add the letter s to a noun. ...
  • For some nouns, add es to make them plural. ...
  • Drop the y, add ies for nouns like city or lady. ...
  • Drop the f and fe, add ves for nouns like life or self. ...
  • Does it end in o? ...
  • For words ending in us, the plural ends in i. ...
  • These nouns don't change at all.

What is the grammar rule for Spanish? ›

Every proper sentence in Spanish must have a subject and a verb. There is also a proper place for subjects and verbs in a sentence. Begin a sentence with the subject (the person, place, or thing you're talking about). Follow that with the verb, and then the rest of the sentence (where, how, etc).

What are the two rules to make Spanish nouns plural? ›

In order to make a plural noun in Spanish, add an -s to the end of words that end in a vowel. The definite articles also change when forming a plural noun. “El” becomes “los” and “la” becomes “las“.

What is the rule for singular and plural verbs? ›

How do you recognise a singular or plural verb? A singular verb is one that has an s added to it in the present tense, such as writes, plays, runs, and uses forms such as is, was, has, does. A plural verb does not have an s added to it, such as write, play, run, and uses forms such as are, were, have and do. E.g.

Is una chica singular or plural? ›

The first rule is that when you make a singular noun plural, you must remember to change the article that goes with it (the article is the tiny word in front), for example la chica becomes las chicas.
...
ellos
ununos
un chico (a boy)unos chicos (some boys)
unaunas
una chica (a girl)unas chicas (some girls)
3 more rows
Oct 9, 2022

What are the 3 rules of an infinitive in Spanish? ›

In Spanish, the infinitive form has three different endings:
  • -ar (cantar)
  • -er (correr)
  • -ir (dormir)
Jan 5, 2021

What are the 3 types of plural? ›

The Many Forms of Plurals
  • nonsibilant, or voiceless, consonants: add -s (dogs).
  • voiced, or sibilant, consonant blends: add -es (riches).
  • vowels: add -s (knees).
  • -f: delete -f and add -ves (loaves) or -s (chiefs).
  • -x: add -es (foxes).
  • -y: delete -y and add -ies (bodies).

How do Spanish plurals work? ›

As in English, nouns in Spanish change their form in the plural. Spanish adjectives, articles and pronouns are also affected by whether a noun is singular or plural. To form the plural in Spanish, add -s to most nouns ending in a vowel (a, e, i, o or u) which doesn't have an accent.

What is the difference between the words Cuándo and Cuánto? ›

"Cuándo" is a form of "cuándo", an adverb which is often translated as "when". "Cuánto" is a form of "cuánto", an adjective which is often translated as "how much".

Which is the best way to use ojalá? ›

Ojalá is a very commonly used expression in Spanish that means I hope that… when it is followed by El Presente de Subjuntivo. It is always followed by the subjunctive mood, never by the indicative. The structure ojalá + El Presente de Subjuntivo is used in sentences with a future idea.

What is the difference between qué and cuál? ›

Qué and cuál are question words. Qué is invariable, so it always has the same form regardless of whether the verb or noun that follows it is singular or plural. Cuál has two forms, so can be either cuál or cuáles when asking about singular or plural things.

What is the difference between Cuándo and Cuando? ›

Remember: Cuándo = when = "at what moment in time" (interrogative and exclamative adverb) Cuando = when (relative adverb)

What is the meaning of quantos? ›

how many; what number quotations ▼

What cuanto means in English? ›

how muchhow many.

Do you ever use Vosotros? ›

Vosotros is used when an individual person or speaker is addressing a group of 2 or more people. Vosotros in English stands for “you” as the plural “you and others.”

What pronoun is only used in Spain? ›

o It is important to note that the pronoun vosotros is only used in Spain. Other Spanish-speaking countries prefer ustedes.

What language does << ojalá >> come from and what does it mean? ›

This is one of the many Spanish words which originate from Arabic (O Allah!). Originally it might have been used in fervent prayer, but now it means little more than I hope or the slightly more emotional if only.

How do you respond to Qué te gusta? ›

The answer will be sí, me gusta(n)… or no, no me gusta(n)…

What's the difference between cuanto and historia? ›

historia and cuento are pretty much interchangeable, but we wouldn't use "cuento" for a real story, only for fiction. Historia is used for both fiction and real.

What do Cuándo es tu cumpleaños mean? ›

informal) When is your birthday?

What does cuando mean in Spanish slang? ›

The Spanish word cuando usually the equivalent of the English "when," although its use is far more versatile than the English word. It can serve as a preposition, conjunction, or adverb, and it frequently is used in situations where "when" doesn't work as a translation.

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