Cuánto (How Much/Many)

¿Cuánto? is the Spanish question word for how much and how many. Unlike most interrogatives, it has four forms that agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies: cuánto, cuánta, cuántos, cuántas.

The four forms

The form must match the noun that follows. This is like normal adjective agreement — see adjective agreement for the underlying rule.

Cuánto with countable nouns

For countable nouns (things you can count one by one), you use the plural forms cuántos and cuántas.

Note the Spanish idiom for age: ¿Cuántos años tienes? — literally How many years do you have?. Spanish uses tener (to have) rather than ser (to be) for age.

Cuánto with uncountable nouns

For uncountable nouns (mass nouns like milk, water, money, time), you use the singular forms cuánto or cuánta, depending on gender.

Leche is feminine so you use cuánta; dinero and tiempo are masculine so you use cuánto.

Cuánto as an adverb — invariable

When cuánto modifies a verb instead of a noun, it becomes an adverb and stays in the invariable form cuánto. It does not agree with anything.

Compare these with ¿Cuántas horas trabajas? (How many hours do you work?), where cuántas agrees with horas (feminine plural).

Cuánto in exclamations

Like other question words, cuánto can introduce an exclamation. In that case, it still agrees with the noun that follows.

The exclamation expresses surprise or emphasis, but the agreement rules are exactly the same as in questions.

Summary and quick checks

• Countable, plural → cuántos / cuántas
• Uncountable, singular → cuánto / cuánta
• Modifying a verb → invariable cuánto
• Exclamation → still agrees with the noun

Once you are comfortable with quantity questions, review how cuál handles selection and how qué handles definition.