PHRASES:
| ¿Cuánto cuesta un boleto para Acapulco? | How much is a ticket to Acapulco? |
| Es probable que el tren llegue con retraso. | The train will probably arrive late. |
| No es necesario que compres los pasajes con anterioridad. | You don’t need to buy the tickets in advance. |
| Ojalá que las inundaciones no hayan estropeado las vías del tren. | Hopefully the floods haven’t affected the train tracks. |
| ¡Cómo es posible que la carretera esté cerrada por el mal tiempo! | How can the freeway be closed due to bad weather! |
| ¿A qué hora es la salida del próximo tren? | What time does the next train depart? |
| ¿Cuánto tiempo hace el autobús de Lima a Arequipa? | How long does the bus ride take from Lima to Arequipa? |
| Hace mucho tiempo que la estación está abandonada. | The station has been abandoned for a long time. |
| El chofer espera que todos los pasajeros sean puntuales. | The driver expects all passengers to be on time. |
| Normalmente se hacen cinco horas de aquí a la frontera. | It’s usually a five hour trip from here to the border. |
VOCABULARY:
| autobús (m) | bus | |
| carretera (m) | highway | |
| central de autobuses (f) | bus station | |
| estación (f) | station | |
| horario (m) | schedule | |
| pasaje (m) / boleto (m) / billete (m) | ticket |
| pasajero (m) | passenger | |
| puntual | on time | |
| retraso (m) / demora (f) | delay | |
| vagón (m) | train car | |
| vía del tren (f) | railroad track |
GRAMMAR:
Interrogative adjectives
In order to buy a bus, train or airline ticket you will need to know how to ask, “how much?” and, “how many?” The interrogative adjective cuánto has four forms according to gender and number:
|
Masculine | Feminine |
| Cuánto | Cuánta | |
| Cuántos | Cuántas |
Let’s look at some questions that you might need to ask in order to purchase a bus or train ticket. Notice that when cuánto precedes a noun it must match that noun in gender and number.
|
¿Cuánto tiempo se hace de aquí a Guadalajara? | How long does it take (to go) from here to Guadalajara? |
| ¿Cuánta gente viaja por autobús en México? | How many people travel by bus in Mexico? | |
| ¿Cuántos asientos quedan? | How many seats are left? | |
| ¿Cuántas maletas me permiten traer conmigo? | How many bags am I allowed to bring with me? |
If cuánto precedes a verb it is always in the single masculine form.
|
¿Cuánto cuesta un boleto a Córdoba? | How much does a ticket to Cordoba cost? |
