Breakdown of ¿Cuántos dólares cuesta esta mochila?
cuánto
how much / how many
la mochila
backpack
el dólar
dollar
costar
to cost
esta
this (feminine)
Questions & Answers about ¿Cuántos dólares cuesta esta mochila?
Why do we use esta here instead of este?
The word esta means "this" and it changes to match the gender and number of the noun it describes. Because mochila (backpack) is a feminine singular noun, we use esta. If you were talking about a masculine item, like a book, you would use este libro.
Is esta the same word as está from earlier lessons?
No, the accent mark makes a big difference! esta (no accent) means "this" and points out a noun, like in esta mochila. The word está (with an accent) is a form of the verb estar, meaning "is" or "are" (for example, ¿Dónde está?).
Why does the word cuántos have an -os at the end?
The question word cuánto (how much/how many) changes to match the noun it asks about. Since it is asking about dólares, which is a masculine and plural noun, it takes the masculine plural form cuántos.
We are asking about multiple dollars (dólares), so why is the verb singular (cuesta)?
Why is the verb cuesta placed before esta mochila?
In Spanish questions, it is very common to change the normal word order and put the verb right before the subject. The literal structure here is "How many dollars costs this backpack?".
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