cuánto

Cuánto is a Spanish interrogative and exclamative word used to ask about quantity or degree. It corresponds to English “how much” or “how many” and can function as a determiner before a noun (cuánto dinero, cuánta gente) or as a pronoun when the noun is omitted (No sé cuánto cuesta). In questions and exclamations it carries the accent mark: ¿cuánto cuesta?, ¡cuánto me alegro!

Inflection and agreement: masculine singular cuánto; feminine singular cuánta; masculine plural cuántos; feminine plural cuántas. When it precedes a noun, it agrees in gender and number (cuánto dinero, cuánta gente, cuántos libros, cuántas personas). In non-question contexts, especially in comparative or dependent clauses, it often appears without an accent as cuanto (e.g., cuanto más estudies, mejor).

Usage notes: cuánta/cuántos/cuántas forms are used in direct and indirect questions or exclamations. Without a noun, the non-accented cuanto can function as a relative or adverbial pronoun (No sé cuánto cuesta; cuanto más aprendas, mejor te irá). The form cuán is a literary or emphatic variant meaning “how,” found in poetic or formal language (cuán grande es).

Etymology: cuánt- comes from Latin quantum or quantus, passing into Spanish as cuanto with variations for gender and number. Related forms in modern Spanish include cuánta, cuántos y cuántas, all sharing the same root meaning of quantity or degree.

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