Spanish Phrase
¿Esta caja aguanta?
Meaning
Literally, ‘Does this box hold?’ It is used to ask whether the box is sturdy enough to support weight or to keep something inside without breaking. The question can refer to physical strength (can it hold heavy items?) or, less commonly, to durability (does it last long?).
When to use
Use this phrase when you are checking the capacity or sturdiness of a container—at a market, in a warehouse, or while packing. It’s a quick way to confirm if the box can be trusted for a particular load before you place items inside.
✦Grammar Breakdown
¿Estacajaaguanta?
Esta (demonstrative adjective)
‘Esta’ (without accent) is a feminine singular demonstrative adjective meaning ‘this’. It must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies.
caja (noun)
‘caja’ is a feminine singular noun meaning ‘box’ or ‘crate’. The article is omitted because the demonstrative already specifies it.
aguanta (present indicative)
Third‑person singular present of ‘aguantar’, meaning ‘to hold, to endure, to support’. In a yes‑no question the verb stays in the same form as a statement.
Yes‑no question punctuation
Spanish uses an opening inverted question mark (¿) and a closing one (?). The intonation rises at the end, but the written form marks the question clearly.
🗨In Conversation
¿Esta caja aguanta?
Does this box hold up?
Sí, aguanta hasta diez kilos sin problema.
Yes, it holds up to ten kilos without a problem.
✕Common Mistakes
¿Está caja aguanta?
‘Está’ with an accent means ‘is’; using it here would change the sentence to ‘Is this box holds?’, which is ungrammatical.
¿Esta caja aguantar?
Using the infinitive ‘aguantar’ after the noun is incorrect; you need the conjugated form ‘aguanta’ for a statement/question.
¿Esta cajas aguanta?
The noun must agree with the singular demonstrative ‘esta’; ‘cajas’ would require ‘estas’.
↔Alternatives
¿Esta caja es resistente?
Is this box sturdy?
¿Esta caja soporta peso?
Can this box support weight?
¿Esta caja aguanta bien?
Does this box hold well?
Cultural Tip
In many Spanish‑speaking countries, ‘aguantar’ is the everyday verb for ‘to hold up’ or ‘to endure’, while ‘soportar’ sounds a bit more formal. When you’re in a market or a hardware store, native speakers will often ask ‘¿Esta caja aguanta?’ rather than the more literal ‘¿Esta caja soporta peso?’. Also, remember that the demonstrative ‘esta’ never carries an accent; the accented form ‘está’ means ‘is’ and would change the meaning entirely.