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¿Cuántos pesos cuestan los zapatos negros?

¿Cuántos pesos cuestan los zapatos negros?
How many pesos do the black shoes cost?
From Lesson 28:How much and how many (cuánto)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about ¿Cuántos pesos cuestan los zapatos negros?

Why is it cuántos and not cuánto?
The word cuántos means 'how many' and it must match the noun it describes in both gender and number. Since pesos is masculine and plural, we use the masculine plural form cuántos. If we were asking about a feminine plural noun like monedas (coins), we would use cuántas.
Why does the verb (cuestan) come before the shoes (los zapatos negros)?
In Spanish questions, it is standard to put the verb immediately after the question words, leaving the subject for the end. Literally, this sentence is structured as 'How many pesos cost the black shoes?'
Why is the verb spelled cuestan instead of costan?
Cuestan comes from the verb costar (to cost). It is a 'stem-changing' verb, which means the o in the middle changes to ue when conjugated for most forms. We use the plural -an ending because the subject doing the costing is plural: los zapatos (the shoes).
Why does it say zapatos negros instead of negros zapatos?
In Spanish, describing words (adjectives) like negros (black) usually come right after the thing they describe, like zapatos (shoes). Notice that negros also ends in -os to perfectly match the masculine, plural noun it describes.

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