Learn how to ask for the price of something
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| Take a closer look at the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Ben asks, |
| "How much does this cost?" |
| ¿Cuánto cuesta esto? |
| Let’s start with the word esto, "this." Esto (enunciated). Esto. |
| You can use this word while pointing at something near you. It’s useful when you want to refer to something you don't know the word for in Spanish. |
| Let’s move to the start of the question. |
| Cuánto. Translating as, "how much," in this context. Cuánto (enunciated). Cuánto. |
| Next is cuesta. "Costs." Cuesta (enunciated). Cuesta. |
| Cuesta is from the verb costar, meaning "to cost.” Costar. |
| All together, it’s ¿Cuánto cuesta esto? This literally means "How much costs this?" but translates as "How much does this cost?" |
| ¿Cuánto cuesta esto? |
| Let’s take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how the shop clerk says, |
| "This costs thirty pesos." |
| Cuesta treinta pesos. |
| Let’s start with treinta pesos, "thirty pesos." Treinta pesos. |
| First is treinta, "thirty." Treinta (enunciated). Treinta. |
| Next is pesos. "Pesos," the name of the Mexican currency. Pesos (enunciated). Pesos. |
| Note: pesos is the plural form peso. |
| Together it’s treinta pesos, "thirty pesos." Treinta pesos. |
| Before this is cuesta, "costs," as in “This costs.” Cuesta (enunciated). Cuesta. |
| All together, Cuesta treinta pesos. "This costs thirty pesos." Cuesta treinta pesos. |
| The pattern is |
| ¿Cuánto cuesta ITEM? |
| "How much does ITEM cost?" |
| ¿Cuánto cuesta ITEM? |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the {ITEM} placeholder with the thing you’d like to know the price of. |
| Note: This pattern requires a noun phrase, in which an indefinite article is followed by a noun. The gender of the article depends upon the noun that follows it. The noun phrase can also be replaced by a demonstrative pronoun, as in the dialogue. This pronoun will depend on the location, gender, and number of the desired item. |
| For example: |
| Imagine you’d like to know the price of a coffee, un café. |
| Café. "Coffee." Café (enunciated). Café. |
| Note that café is masculine and singular. |
| Un is also masculine and singular to agree with cafè. |
| Un. Think of this like "a/an," in English. Un (enunciated). Un. |
| Ask "How much does a coffee cost?" |
| Ready? |
| ¿Cuánto cuesta un café? |
| "How much does a coffee cost?" |
| ¿Cuánto cuesta un café? |
| Note: If you ask for un café, "coffee," it is assumed you are asking about black coffee. |
| If you’d like a specific type, you would request un café de olla, “a coffee from an earthen-ware pot,” or un café lechero, “a coffee with milk.” |
| The word, esto, can be used to discuss an item without knowing its name in Spanish. Esto can be used for things close to you, and eso, "that," for things out of reach. |
| When you want to ask for an item by name, rather than by pointing it out, you need to include an article. In this lesson, we’ll introduce the indefinite article. |
| The indefinite article is like the English "a," as in "a coffee." |
| The masculine indefinite article is un, as in un café, a coffee. |
| The feminine indefinite article is una, as in una sandia, a watermelon. |
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