The colloquial phrase “cuanto está” is formed by the combination of the pronoun “cuanto”, to indicate the totality of the elements to be expressed and the verb estar which is used in the present indicative tense, “está” and its meaning is to express an interrogative formula to know the price or value of something determined.
SYNONYMS FOR Cuánto Está
- How much is it worth
- How much does it cost
- How much do you want
- How much is it worth
- How much is the price
- What is its price
- What is its value
- How it is
ORIGIN OF Cuánto Está
The origin of “how much” comes from two Latin words that are spelled the same, but their meaning and usage is totally different.
The first, “quantum”, originates the word “quantum” which has no accent and is used scientifically as a unit of value in physics to designate a quantity of indivisible energy which is proportional to the frequency in the field with which it is associated.
The second, “quantus”, originates the word “how much”, a relative adjective that is popularly used interrogatively to know the nominal value, usually monetary, of a specific good or service.
CURIOSITIES OF Cuánto Está
Something that jumps out at first glance is that it is a curious expression because it lacks the letter “a” at the beginning of the sentence, which would give more sense to the interrogative formula, for example, “a cuanto está”, “a cuanto se consigue”, “a cuanto está su valor”, “a cuanto está su precio”, etc.
This is mainly because it is a colloquial expression typical of Spanish-speaking Caribbean nations such as the Dominican Republic, Cuba or Puerto Rico where the interrogative formula is shortened due to an idiom typical of the way these nations are spoken, hence the origin of this curious phrase.