Qué + decan be used with the meaning ‘what a lot’, although cuántois
the commoner alternative (see 27.4.3):
¡Qué de regalos has tenido! What a lot of presents you’ve
received!
Cómo
Used only with verbs as an adverb, cómo means ‘how’:
¡Cómo trata a sus amigos! How he treats his friends!
Cuánto
Cuánto + verb stresses the intensity or extent of the action, ‘how (much)’,
‘what a lot’:
¡Cuánto hemos escrito! What a lot we’ve written!
¡Cuánto pesa la maleta! This suitcase is so heavy!
As an adjective cuánto/a/os/as + noun means ‘how much/many’, ‘what a
lot of’:
¡Cuánta gente lo felicitó! How many people congratulated
him!
¡Cuántas cosas ocurren en la What a lot of things happen
ciudad! in the city.
Notes: The now archaic cuán‘how’ may be encountered before an adjective or
adverb in literature as an alternative to qué: ¡Cuán bella es!(= ¡Qué bella es!) ‘How
beautiful she is!’.
27.4.3
27.4.2
1111
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1011
1
12111
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
20111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
30111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
40
41111
Exclamations
283
