cuántas

Cuántas is the feminine plural form of the Spanish interrogative and determiner cuánto. It is used to ask about quantity when the noun it modifies is feminine and plural, and it can also appear in exclamations or in indirect clauses. The form agrees in gender and number with the noun: cuánta (feminine singular), cuántos (masculine plural), cuántas (feminine plural), and cuánto (neuter or masculine singular). The acute accent on these forms signals interrogative or exclamative use in standard Spanish; in indirect questions or certain subordinate clauses the accent may be omitted.

Grammatically, cuántas functions as a determiner before a noun (¿Cuántas personas vienen?), and as a part of fixed expressions such as no sé cuántas veces (I don’t know how many times). It can also appear in exclamations like ¡Cuántas ideas tienes! or in noun clauses that convey doubt or approximation. While cuántas always agrees with a feminine plural noun, other forms of the same root cover different gender and number combinations.

Etymology and related forms: cuántas derives from cuánto, which in turn comes from Latin quantus meaning “how much” or “how many.” Related forms include cuánta, cuántos, and cuánto, which align with the noun’s gender and number in non-interrogative contexts as well.

See also: cuánto, cuánta, cuántos, cuántas; interrogatives in Spanish; exclamatives in Spanish.