¿Cual es la diferencia entre estos dos?

Question

Ya solo queda media tarta vs solo queda media tarta

I can't really understand.

Also, today I studied los numerales. Por ejemplo, Esta moto me costó cinco veces más de lo que yo pensaba que iba a pagar.

"¿Hay algunas lecciones sobre este tema?"

¡muchas gracias!

Silvia Piriz · Accepted Answer

Hola Luke T.
Great questions! Let’s take them one by one.
1) Ya solo queda media tarta vs Solo queda media tarta
Grammatically, both sentences are correct and mean the same thing: “Only half a cake is left.” The difference is emphasis, not meaning.
Solo queda media tarta → neutral, straightforward statement.
Ya solo queda media tarta → adds the idea of change or progression: before there was more, and now only half remains.
The word ya often conveys “now / already / at this point”, so it highlights that something has changed over time.
2) Cinco veces más
Your example is perfectly natural Spanish:

Esta moto me costó cinco veces más de lo que yo pensaba que iba a pagar.

This structure is used to express multiplication or comparison of quantities (“five times more”).
We do have lessons that cover this topic more explicitly, especially under:

comparisons with más / menos

numbers and quantities

expressions like el doble, el triple, X veces más

If you search the lesson library for comparisons or numbers with nouns, you’ll find several that expand on this.
Saludos
Silvia