Breakdown of ¿Cuántos dólares tienes ahora? Tengo cero.
tener
to have
ahora
now
cuánto
how much / how many
el dólar
the dollar
Questions & Answers about ¿Cuántos dólares tienes ahora? Tengo cero.
Why is it just cero? Do I need to say cero dólares?
You can just say cero here, just like in English when we say "I have zero." The word cero is a cardinal number, and unlike some other adjectives, it does not change its ending to match masculine or feminine nouns.
Why is the word for "how many" written as Cuántos instead of Cuánto?
The translation says "do you have" and "I have", but where are the words for "you" and "I"?
In Spanish, you can usually leave out subject pronouns like tú (you) and yo (I). The verb endings in tienes (you have) and tengo (I have) already tell us exactly who is doing the action.
Why does Cuántos have an accent mark?
In Spanish, all question words—like qué (what), dónde (where), and cuántos (how many)—need a written accent mark. This helps distinguish them from the exact same words when they are used in statements rather than questions.