Breakdown of ¿Cuánto dinero necesita el señor?
necesitar
to need
el señor
Mr. / sir / gentleman
cuánto
how much / how many
el dinero
the money
Questions & Answers about ¿Cuánto dinero necesita el señor?
Why is it cuánto here instead of cuántos or cuánta?
Cuánto means "how much" and changes to match the noun it describes. Since dinero (money) is a masculine, singular noun, we use the masculine, singular form cuánto. If we were asking "how many coins" (monedas, which is feminine plural), we would use cuántas.
Why does the verb (necesita) come before the subject (el señor)?
Where is the word for "does" in this sentence?
Spanish doesn't use helper words like "do" or "does" to make questions. The single verb necesita handles both "needs" and "does need". The upside-down question mark and the word order let us know a question is being asked.
Why do we say el señor and not just señor?
When you are talking about a titled person like a gentleman or a Mr., you must include the definite article (el or la) before their title. You only drop the el if you are talking directly to the person.