Breakdown of Estoy por calcular el total, que es el triple del costo.
ser
to be
estar
to be (location/state)
que
that / than
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
calcular
to calculate
el costo
the cost
el triple
the triple
el total
the total
Questions & Answers about Estoy por calcular el total, que es el triple del costo.
Why does the sentence use del costo instead of just el costo after el triple?
In Spanish, words like el doble and el triple act as nouns, meaning 'the double' or 'the triple'. To connect them to another noun, you must use the preposition de (meaning 'of'). Since costo uses the article el, de and el combine into the contraction del.
Does el triple ever change its gender if it refers to a feminine word?
No, it stays exactly the same! Multiplicative terms like el doble and el triple are permanent masculine nouns. For example, if you were talking about a feminine word like la cantidad (the amount), you would still say el triple de la cantidad.
What does estoy por calcular mean? Could I just say voy a calcular?
The phrase estar por followed by an infinitive means 'to be about to' do something right now. You could absolutely say voy a calcular (I am going to calculate), but estoy por calcular adds a sense of immediate action, showing you are on the verge of doing it.
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