Breakdown of ¿Es caro? ¡Qué va! Es muy barato.
ser
to be
muy
very
caro
expensive
barato
cheap
¡qué va!
no way! / not at all!
Questions & Answers about ¿Es caro? ¡Qué va! Es muy barato.
Why do we use es instead of está to talk about the price here?
Even though prices can change, Spanish generally uses the verb ser (es) to describe if something is expensive or cheap because it is treated as a core characteristic of the item. You would use estar only if you want to emphasize a sudden or temporary price change, like tomatoes being unusually expensive this week (están caros).
What does the phrase ¡Qué va! mean?
Does the word Qué always ask a question?
Not always! When surrounded by exclamation marks, qué is often used to add emphasis, similar to 'how' or 'what a' in English. For example, ¡Qué bien! means 'How great!'. In the fixed phrase ¡Qué va!, you cannot translate it word-for-word; you just have to memorize it as a reaction of strong denial.
If I am talking about a feminine object, do I need to change caro and barato?
Yes! Caro (expensive) and barato (cheap) are regular adjectives, so they must match the gender of the noun they describe. If you are talking about a house (una casa), you would say ¿Es cara? and Es muy barata. Because this sentence uses the masculine -o endings, the speaker is either talking about a masculine item or making a general, neutral statement.
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