Los bultos cuyas asas tienen un distintivo están identificados.

Cuyas means whose.

So:

• Los bultos = the packages / bags / items
• cuyas asas = whose handles
• tienen un distintivo = have a label / mark / badge
• están identificados = are identified / marked

A key point: cuyo / cuya / cuyos / cuyas links two nouns and shows possession, just like whose in English.

So Los bultos cuyas asas... literally means The items whose handles...

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

Here, the possessed thing is asas:

• asa = handle
• asas = handles

Since asas is:

• feminine
• plural

the correct form is cuyas.

Quick chart:

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

Examples:

• el hombre cuyo coche... = the man whose car...
• la mujer cuya maleta... = the woman whose suitcase...
• los viajeros cuyos billetes... = the travellers whose tickets...
• los bultos cuyas asas... = the items whose handles...

It refers back to los bultos.

So the structure is:

• los bultos = the items
• cuyas asas = whose handles

In other words, the handles belong to the bultos.

So the sentence is describing which bultos we mean: the ones whose handles have a distinguishing mark.

Because that is not the natural or correct structure in standard Spanish for this meaning.

Spanish normally uses cuyo to express whose in a single relative clause.

So:

• Los bultos cuyas asas tienen un distintivo... = correct and elegant

But:

• Los bultos que sus asas tienen un distintivo... = not standard

If you want to avoid cuyo, you would usually need a different structure, such as:

• Los bultos cuyas asas tienen un distintivo
• Los bultos con asas que tienen un distintivo (but this can sound slightly ambiguous)
• Los bultos cuyas asas llevan un distintivo

So cuyo is the cleanest way to say whose.

Yes, but it is more common in careful, formal, or written Spanish than in very casual conversation.

Native speakers understand it perfectly, and it is absolutely correct. In notices, instructions, descriptions, official language, and written Spanish, it is very normal.

In casual speech, people sometimes avoid it by rephrasing, but learners should definitely know it because:

• it is common in written Spanish
• it appears in exams and textbooks
• it is an important grammar structure

So this sentence sounds quite natural, especially in a formal or informational context.

Because its subject is asas, which is plural.

The relevant part is:

• cuyas asas tienen un distintivo

Here, asas is the subject of tienen.

So:

• el asa tiene = the handle has
• las asas tienen = the handles have

Even though the whole sentence starts with los bultos, inside the relative clause the verb tienen matches asas, not bultos.

Because Spanish usually uses estar + past participle to describe a resulting state or condition.

Here, están identificados means something like:

• are identified
• are marked
• have been identified

It describes the current state of the items.

By contrast, ser + past participle is more associated with the passive voice focusing on the action itself:

• son identificados por el personal = they are identified by the staff

That sounds more like an action being carried out.

So in this sentence:

• están identificados = they are in an identified/marked state

That is why estar is the natural choice here.

Because it agrees with los bultos.

Bulto is masculine:

• el bulto
• los bultos

So the participle/adjective must also be masculine plural:

• identificado = masculine singular
• identificada = feminine singular
• identificados = masculine plural
• identificadas = feminine plural

Since the subject is los bultos, the sentence uses identificados.

Bultos is a fairly broad word. Depending on context, it can mean things like:

• packages
• parcels
• bags
• pieces of luggage
• items / bundles

In transport, travel, shipping, or storage contexts, bultos often refers to pieces of luggage or transported items.

So here it probably means something like bags/items/packages rather than something very specific.

Asa means handle.

Examples:

• el asa de la maleta = the suitcase handle
• el asa de la bolsa = the bag handle
• las asas = the handles

So cuyas asas tienen un distintivo means that the identifying mark is attached to or found on the handles.

Distintivo means a distinguishing mark, badge, label, tag, or identifier, depending on context.

In this sentence, it refers to some visible sign used to help identify the item.

So it could be:

• a tag
• a sticker
• a badge
• a coloured mark
• some other identifying label

The exact English word depends on the situation, but the basic idea is something that makes the item recognisable.

Because this is a restrictive relative clause: it tells you which bultos we are talking about.

• Los bultos cuyas asas tienen un distintivo están identificados.

This means only the items with that feature are identified.

If you added commas, the meaning would change and sound as if all the items already being discussed have that property:

• Los bultos, cuyas asas tienen un distintivo, están identificados.

That version is less likely here and sounds more explanatory than selective.

So no comma is used because the clause is essential to identifying the noun.

Yes, that is a very close literal translation.

A more natural English version might vary depending on context, for example:

• The bags whose handles have a tag are identified.
• The items with a mark on their handles are identified.
• The packages whose handles bear an identifying label are marked.

But grammatically, The packages whose handles have a distinguishing mark are identified is an accurate literal rendering.

Yes: the big grammar point is cuyo.

Two essential rules:

1. Cuyo means whose.
2. It agrees with the possessed noun, not with the person or thing that possesses it.

So in:

• Los bultos cuyas asas...

the form cuyas is chosen because asas is feminine plural.

That is one of the most important takeaways from the sentence.