La apuesta depende del puntaje de la ronda.

Because the verb is depender de = to depend on.

So in Spanish, the pattern is:

• depender de algo = to depend on something
• depender de alguien = to depend on someone

Examples:

• Todo depende de ti. = Everything depends on you.
• Eso depende del tiempo. = That depends on the weather/time.

In your sentence, de + el puntaje becomes del puntaje, so:

• depende de el puntaje → depende del puntaje

Del is the contraction of de + el.

So:

• de + el = del

In this sentence:

• del puntaje = of the score / on the score

Important: this contraction happens almost always with de + el.

Examples:

• Vengo del banco. = I’m coming from the bank.
• Depende del resultado. = It depends on the result.

One important exception:

• If El is part of a proper name, you do not contract it.
• Example: de El Salvador (not del Salvador)

Because the sentence has two different relationships:

1. depende de = depends on
2. puntaje de la ronda = score of the round / the round’s score

So the structure is:

• La apuesta = the bet / the wager
• depende de = depends on
• el puntaje de la ronda = the score of the round

The first de belongs to the verb depender.
The second de shows possession or connection: the score of the round.

Apuesta usually means bet, wager, or sometimes stake, depending on context.

Common uses:

• hacer una apuesta = to make a bet
• ganar una apuesta = to win a bet
• perder una apuesta = to lose a bet

In this sentence, la apuesta is most naturally the bet or the wager.

Also note:

• apuesta is a noun here
• There is also a verb form apuesta from apostar (he/she bets, you bet), but that is not what is happening in this sentence

Because Spanish nouns have grammatical gender.

In this sentence:

• la apuesta → feminine
• el puntaje → masculine
• la ronda → feminine

The articles have to match the noun:

• la for singular feminine nouns
• el for singular masculine nouns

A useful note:

• Nouns ending in -aje are usually masculine, so puntaje is masculine.
  • el viaje
  • el mensaje
  • el puntaje

Yes, puntaje is very common in Latin America for score, point total, or number of points.

Depending on the country and context, you may also hear:

• puntuación
• marcador (more like scoreboard or game score display)
• resultado (result)

General distinction:

• puntaje = score / points total
• puntuación = scoring, score, punctuation in some contexts depending on meaning
• marcador = scoreboard / match score

For a game context in Latin America, puntaje sounds very natural.

Spanish usually expresses this kind of relationship with de.

So instead of stacking nouns the way English often does, Spanish normally says:

• el puntaje de la ronda = the score of the round
• el final del juego = the end of the game
• la carta del jugador = the player’s card

English often uses noun-noun combinations:

• round score
• game end (less common, but possible in compounds)

Spanish usually prefers:

• noun + de + noun

So el puntaje de la ronda is the normal Spanish structure.

Normally, no. You would usually keep the article:

• depende del puntaje de la ronda

Spanish often uses articles where English might omit them. Here, el puntaje refers to a specific thing: the score of the round.

Without the article, it sounds incomplete or unnatural in standard Spanish.

The basic order is:

• La apuesta = subject
• depende = verb
• del puntaje de la ronda = prepositional phrase

So the sentence is:

Subject + Verb + Complement

This is the most neutral and natural order.

You could change the order for emphasis, but it is less neutral:

• Del puntaje de la ronda depende la apuesta.

That sounds more emphatic or formal, like:

• The bet depends on the round’s score.

For normal usage, the original sentence is best:

• La apuesta depende del puntaje de la ronda.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• apuesta → ah-PWEHS-tah
• depende → deh-PEHN-deh
• puntaje → poon-TAH-heh
• ronda → ROHN-dah

A few helpful pronunciation notes for Latin American Spanish:

• ue in apuesta sounds like we
• j in puntaje is a strong breathy sound, like an English h but rougher
• Stress falls on:
  • apuEs-ta
  • depEnde
  • puntAje
  • rOnda

None of these words has a written accent mark because they already follow normal Spanish stress rules.

It can be used with both nouns and infinitives.

With nouns:

• Depende del clima. = It depends on the weather.
• Depende del puntaje. = It depends on the score.

With infinitives:

• Eso depende de ganar o perder. = That depends on winning or losing.
• Todo depende de llegar a tiempo. = Everything depends on arriving on time.

So the important thing to remember is the fixed pattern:

• depender de + noun/pronoun/infinitive

Examples:

• depende de eso
• depende de ti
• depende de estudiar más