El bulto cuya asa falta está en la báscula.

Cuya means whose.

So El bulto cuya asa falta... means something like The piece of luggage whose handle is missing...

A key point is that cuyo / cuya / cuyos / cuyas shows possession, just like whose in English.

Examples:

• la mujer cuyo coche... = the woman whose car...
• el libro cuyas páginas... = the book whose pages...

Because cuyo agrees with the thing that is possessed, not with the owner.

Here, the possessed thing is asa:

• asa = handle
• it is feminine singular

So you need the feminine singular form:

• cuyo → masculine singular
• cuya → feminine singular
• cuyos → masculine plural
• cuyas → feminine plural

That is why the sentence says cuya asa.

This is different from English whose, which never changes form.

It agrees with asa, not with bulto.

In the sentence:

• bulto = the owner / the thing that has the handle
• asa = the possessed thing

So:

• bulto is masculine singular
• asa is feminine singular

Because asa is feminine singular, the correct form is cuya.

A very common learner mistake is to match it with bulto and say cuyo asa. That is not correct.

After cuyo/a/os/as, Spanish normally does not use an article.

So you say:

• el bulto cuya asa falta

not:

• el bulto cuya la asa falta

This works similarly to English whose, where you also do not add another determiner:

• the bag whose handle is missing not
• the bag whose the handle is missing

Here falta means is missing or is absent.

So cuya asa falta means:

• whose handle is missing
• literally, something like whose handle is lacking / absent

The verb is faltar.

In this sentence, asa is the subject of falta:

• el asa falta = the handle is missing

This is different from English, where learners often expect a verb like to lose or to not have.

Yes, but it would be a different structure.

For example:

• El bulto al que le falta el asa está en la báscula.

That also means The piece of luggage whose handle is missing is on the scale.

Comparison:

• cuyo/a/os/as structure:

  • El bulto cuya asa falta...
  • more compact, often more formal or written

• al que le falta... structure:

  • El bulto al que le falta el asa...
  • often feels more natural in everyday speech

So the original sentence is correct, but cuyo can sound a bit more formal than what many people use in casual conversation.

It is absolutely correct and educated Spanish, but in everyday speech many speakers often prefer other patterns.

Instead of cuyo, people often say things like:

• el bulto que no tiene asa
• el bulto al que le falta el asa

So cuyo is common enough to understand and useful to know, but it can sound a bit more formal, especially in conversation.

In writing, descriptions, news, or careful speech, it appears more often.

Bulto is a general word for a package, bundle, piece of luggage, or bulky item, depending on context.

In a travel or airport context, bulto often means:

• piece of luggage
• bag
• item

So here it probably refers to some kind of bag or luggage item that is being weighed.

It is more general than:

• maleta = suitcase
• bolsa = bag

In Spain, báscula means scale or weighing machine.

So:

• está en la báscula = is on the scale

This is a very natural word in contexts like:

• airports
• shops
• warehouses
• medical or industrial weighing

Because Spanish uses estar for location.

So:

• está en la báscula = it is on the scale

This is one of the most basic uses of estar:

• El libro está en la mesa.
• La maleta está en el suelo.
• El bulto está en la báscula.

Using ser here would be wrong.

The order is:

1. El bulto = the noun being identified
2. cuya asa falta = the relative clause describing which bulto
3. está en la báscula = the main statement about it

So the structure is:

• [main noun] + [describing relative clause] + [main verb]

In English, we do the same kind of thing:

• The bag whose handle is missing is on the scale.

The relative clause whose handle is missing sits in the middle and identifies which bag we mean.

Yes. Asa is feminine.

If you use it with a singular definite article, you usually say:

• el asa

but it is still feminine:

• el asa rota
• el asa pequeña

And in the plural:

• las asas

This happens because some feminine singular nouns beginning with stressed a or ha use el instead of la for pronunciation reasons.

But that does not make them masculine.

So in this sentence, cuya is still correct because asa is feminine:

• cuya asa not
• cuyo asa

Not naturally in English.

Spanish falta here works naturally, but in English the usual translation is:

• whose handle is missing

A very literal translation like whose handle lacks sounds wrong in English.

So this is a good example where you should understand the Spanish structure, but translate it into natural English rather than word for word.