Breakdown of Сколько сыра вы хотите?
вы
you (plural)
хотеть
to want
сколько
how much / how long / as much / as many as
сыр
cheese
Questions & Answers about Сколько сыра вы хотите?
Why is the word for cheese written as сыра instead of сыр?
The word сколько (how much / how many) requires the noun that comes after it to be in the Genitive case, which is used here to show quantity. Сыр (cheese) is a masculine noun ending in a consonant, so we add the ending -а in the Genitive singular, making it сыра.
Does сколько mean "how much" or "how many"?
It means both! Unlike English, Russian uses the exact same word (сколько) for uncountable things (like "how much cheese") and countable things (like "how many apples"). We translate it as "how much" here simply because that is the natural way to say it in English.
Why do we use хотите here?
We use хотите because it is the matching verb form for вы (the formal or plural "you"). The verb хотеть (to want) is slightly irregular. If you were asking a friend using the informal "you" (ты), you would use хочешь instead, forming the sentence Сколько сыра ты хочешь?
Can I change the word order and say "Сколько вы хотите сыра?"
Yes, you can! Russian word order is very flexible because the word endings tell you what role each word plays in the sentence. However, keeping the question word (сколько) and the noun it modifies (сыра) right next to each other is the most standard and natural way to ask this.