Quantes espelmes hi ha sobre el pastís?

Quantes means how many, and it is the question word used to ask about quantity with a plural countable noun.

It appears at the beginning because Catalan, like English, normally puts the question word first in this kind of question:

• Quantes espelmes hi ha...? = How many candles are there...?

Also, quantes agrees with the noun it refers to, which leads to another important point: it is feminine plural because espelmes is feminine plural.

Because espelmes is a feminine plural noun.

Catalan quantity words often agree in gender and number with the noun:

• quant = masculine singular
• quanta = feminine singular
• quants = masculine plural
• quantes = feminine plural

Since espelma is feminine, and here it is plural (espelmes), the correct form is quantes.

Espelmes means candles. The singular is espelma = candle.

So:

• una espelma = a candle
• dues espelmes = two candles

This is a regular plural: espelma → espelmes.

Hi ha means there is or there are.

So in this sentence:

• Quantes espelmes hi ha sobre el pastís?
• How many candles are there on the cake?

Even though English distinguishes between there is and there are, Catalan uses hi ha for both singular and plural:

• Hi ha una espelma. = There is one candle.
• Hi ha tres espelmes. = There are three candles.

This is a very common question for English speakers.

In Catalan, haver-hi in this meaning (there is / there are) is used impersonally, so it stays in the singular:

• Hi ha una espelma.
• Hi ha dues espelmes.
• Hi ha molts llibres.

So even with a plural noun, Catalan still says hi ha, not a plural form.

In hi ha, the word hi is part of the fixed existential expression meaning there is / there are.

You do not usually translate it word-for-word in English. It helps form the structure haver-hi:

• Hi ha = there is / there are
• No hi ha = there isn’t / there aren’t

For learners, it is best to memorize hi ha as a single chunk meaning there is / there are.

This is the normal Catalan word order for this kind of quantity question:

• Question word + noun + hi ha + location

So:

• Quantes espelmes hi ha sobre el pastís?

This is very natural and directly parallels English:

• How many candles are there on the cake?

A learner should mainly remember this pattern:

• Quants/Quantes + noun + hi ha + place?

For example:

• Quants llibres hi ha a la taula? = How many books are there on the table?
• Quantes cadires hi ha a l’habitació? = How many chairs are there in the room?

Sobre means on or over, and in this sentence it means on top of:

• sobre el pastís = on the cake

It tells you the location of the candles.

In everyday Catalan, you may also hear expressions like damunt del pastís, which also means on top of the cake. But sobre el pastís is perfectly clear and natural.

Catalan often uses the definite article more regularly than English does.

So el pastís means the cake. In this sentence, we are talking about a specific cake, so the article is natural:

• sobre el pastís = on the cake

Leaving out the article would usually sound incomplete or unnatural here.

In some contexts, sobre can mean above or over, but in a sentence like this, the natural interpretation is on the cake.

Because the noun is candles, and candles are typically placed physically on top of a cake, learners should understand:

• sobre el pastís = on the cake

If someone wanted to emphasize physical contact or exact position, Catalan might also use damunt del pastís.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

KWAN-tuhs es-PEL-muhs yee AH SOH-bruh ul puh-STEES?

A few useful notes:

• qu in quantes sounds like kw
• ll is not in this sentence, so that common Catalan issue does not appear here
• hi ha is often said smoothly together
• the stress in pastís falls on the last syllable: pas-TÍS
• the stress in espelmes falls on pel: es-PEL-mes

Pronunciation varies somewhat by dialect, but this approximation is good enough for a beginner.

Yes, you might hear that, but it changes the nuance slightly.

• sobre el pastís = on top of the cake
• al pastís literally = in the cake / on the cake, depending on context

When talking about birthday candles, sobre el pastís is very clear because candles are placed on top of the cake. So it is the safest and most transparent choice for a learner.

It is neutral and works in both formal and informal situations.

You could use it naturally in everyday speech, in a classroom, or in writing. There is nothing especially casual or especially formal about it. It is just a standard Catalan question.

A very useful pattern is:

Quants/Quantes + noun + hi ha + place?

You can use it to ask how many ... are there ...?

Examples:

• Quants gots hi ha a la taula? = How many glasses are there on the table?
• Quantes flors hi ha al jardí? = How many flowers are there in the garden?
• Quants nens hi ha al parc? = How many children are there in the park?

This makes the sentence a great model for building your own Catalan questions.