The best way to Ask Questions in Spanish: Necessary Interrogative Phrases and Frequent Inquiries to Be taught

Dónde substitutes a noun—particularly, it substitutes a spot (like a hospital, a home, a desk or a spaceship) and is used to inquire a few location.

Dónde is usually adopted by a type of “to be,” as in “The place is…?” so that you’ll want to decide on between ser and estar.

Use dónde está to inquire concerning the location of one thing or somebody. Use dónde es to ask for the placement of an occasion.

For example, you’d use dónde está to ask the place the park is, however dónde es to ask the place within the park the birthday celebration is being held.

Dónde substitutes a noun—particularly, a spot:

¿Dónde está el libro? (The place is the guide?)

¿Dónde vivías en 2005? (The place had been you dwelling in 2005?)

¿Sabes dónde están mis gafas? (Have you learnt the place my glasses are?)

Dónde might be modified by prepositions so as to change its that means. Listed here are a few of the most typical ones:

A dónde (The place to)

We all know a means “to” and dónde means “the place.” Mixing the 2, we are able to ask the place an individual or object goes. 

Observe that a dónde and adónde are each legitimate variants and have the identical that means.

¿A dónde vas tan tarde? (The place are you going to so late?)

Disculpe. ¿Podría decirme adónde va este autobús? (Excuse me. May you inform me the place this bus is headed to?)

De dónde (The place from)

Simply as we are able to ask the place somebody or one thing goes, we are able to additionally ask the place that very same individual or object is coming from.

Take a look:

¿De dónde eres? (The place are you from?)

¿De dónde has cogido eso? (The place have you ever taken that from?)

Qué is among the finest identified interrogative phrases in Spanish. It is among the first phrases we study and it helps us to ask about so many alternative matters that it could be virtually inconceivable to outlive with out it.

Qué could be very simple to make use of, and I’m certain you’ll have heard the primary of the next examples 1,000,000 instances already:

¿Qué es eso? (What’s that?)

¿Qué quieres de mí? (What would you like from me?)

¿Qué tienes ahí? (What do you have got there?)

As you may see, the interrogative pronoun qué should be adopted by a verb. If it had been adopted by a noun, it could truly be an adjective, not a pronoun, like on this instance:

¿Qué teléfono prefieres? (What telephone do you like?)

Simply as with dónde, qué will also be modified by prepositions that change its that means. Take a look:

A qué (What to)

This mix is especially used with verbs that want the preposition a compulsorily:

¿A qué te refieres? (What are you referring to? / What are you speaking about? / What do you imply?)

¿A qué piso vas? (What ground are you going to?)

Con qué (What with)

That is used while you need to say you have got achieved one thing with using an object:

¿Con qué has escrito la carta? (What have you ever written the letter with?)

¿Con qué estás jugando? (What are you enjoying with?)

De qué (What about / What taste, materials)

Use de qué when the principal verb wants the preposition de, while you need to ask a few taste or when inquiring concerning the materials one thing is manufactured from:

¿De qué estáis hablando? (What are you speaking about?)

¿De qué es ese helado? De chocolate. (What taste is that ice-cream? It’s chocolate.)

¿De qué es esa silla? De madera. (What materials is that chair manufactured from? Of wooden.)

En qué (How)

Lastly, use en qué while you need to know what technique of transportation somebody has used/goes to make use of, or when asking a few particular day, month, 12 months:

¿En qué has venido? (How have you ever come?)

¿En qué año naciste? (What 12 months had been you born?)

Qué tan (How [adjective])

Qué tan is used to ask concerning the extent or diploma of an adjective or adverb, similar to “how” in English. For instance:

¿Qué tan seguido vas al gimnasio? (How usually do you go to the health club?)

¿Qué tan alto es tu hermano? (How tall is your brother?)

Lots of people combine up qué and cuál—and it’s true that each qué and cuál might be translated as “which.” 

Simply keep in mind that cuál and qué imply “which” when used as an adjective (cuál could sound a bit extra formal, however each are acceptable), whereas solely cuál means “which” when used as a pronoun:

¿Qué libro quieres? (Which guide would you like? [adjective])

¿Cuál libro quieres? (Which guide would you like? [adjective])

¿Cuál quieres? (Which one would you like? [pronoun])

The one factor you need to fear about is the variety of the individual or object you’re speaking about. The remainder is only a stroll within the park:

¿Cuáles has traído? (Which of them have you ever introduced?)

¿Cuáles son los tuyos? (Which of them are yours?)

¿Cuáles quieres? (Which of them would you like?)

In case you see cuál or cuáles preceded by a proposition, it is going to probably be as a result of the principle verb requires stated proposition. Under are just a few examples of this.

A cuál (Which one to)

That is usually used to ask concerning the particular place somebody goes to:

¿A qué colegio vas? (Which college do you go to? [adjective])

¿A cuál vas? (Which one do you go to? [pronoun])

Con cuál (Which one with)

If you wish to say you did, are doing or will do one thing with using an object (amongst a particular group of objects), use this mix:

¿Con cuál lo hiciste? (Which one did you do it with? [as in: which tool did you repair the radio with?])

¿Con cuál la escribiste? (Which one did you write it with? [as in: which pen did you write the letter with?])

You doubtless already know just a few examples of cómo in use already. Consider your fundamentals, like ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?)

This interrogative pronoun by no means modifies a noun. Use it to ask about how or during which approach one thing is completed.

¿Cómo lo has hecho? (How have you ever achieved it?)

¿Cómo has venido? (How have you ever come? [same as en qué above])

¿Cómo podemos saber si está diciendo la verdad? (How can we all know if he’s telling the reality?)

At this level, I virtually all the time have a pupil increase their fingers to inform me they know there may be an exception. The alleged exception is the universally identified ¿Cómo te llamas? However the fascinating factor right here is that that is not an exception!

¿Cómo te llamas? actually means “how are you known as?” and that’s precisely what we imply.

In Spanish, we ask individuals during which approach they’re known as slightly than what their identify is (though this query additionally exists and it additionally makes use of an interrogative pronoun: ¿Cuál es tu nombre? — “which one (of all of the names on the earth) is your identify?”

Cuándo is one other instance of an invariable pronoun that doesn’t settle for any noun below any circumstance:

¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? (When is your birthday?)

¿Cuándo habéis llegado? (When have you ever arrived?)

¿Cuándo podrás ayudarme? (When will you be capable to assist me?)

There are two prepositions that love maintaining cuándo firm. They’re desde (from) and hasta (to):

Desde cuándo (From when / (From) What time / How lengthy)

Use desde cuándo while you need to ask concerning the origin of an motion, i.e. the second that motion began, begins or will begin. In some cases (like within the first instance beneath), desde cuándo will also be translated as “(for) how lengthy”:

¿Desde cuándo vives en Polonia? (How lengthy have you ever been dwelling in Poland?)

¿Desde cuándo está abierta la tienda? (What time does the store open? [meaning: from which moment in time will it be opened?])

Hasta cuándo (Till when / Till what time)

Then again, if you’re desirous about the time an motion will finish, that is your selection:

¿Hasta cuándo está abierto el banco? (Till what time is the financial institution open?)

¿Hasta cuándo vas a seguir mintiendo? (Till when are you going to maintain mendacity?)

The Spanish interrogative pronoun quién is among the best ones to grasp as a result of it may possibly solely confer with individuals. It means “who” and it has two varieties: quién (singular) and quiénes (plural).

¿Quién eres?
(Who’re you?)

¿Quiénes son tus padres?
(Who’re your mother and father?)

Quién, like cuál, has a plural type that’s used when speaking about multiple individual. Other than this function, it’s a completely inoffensive pronoun:

¿Quién eres? (Who’re you?)

¿Quién puede estar llamando a la puerta? (Who might be knocking on the door?)

¿Quién te dijo eso? (Who advised you that?)

As for prepositions, quién might be accompanied by numerous them. Listed here are the commonest mixtures:

A quién (Who / To whom)

Many Spanish verbs require the preposition a, so seeing this couple right here mustn’t come as a shock.

Other than that, each time we now have a private object in Spanish, we have to use the non-public a, so you will notice a quién rather a lot in Spanish. For instance:

¿A quién viste ayer? (Who did you see yesterday?)

¿A quién le enviaste la carta? (Who did you ship the letter to?)

¿A quién tengo que decírselo? (Who do I’ve to inform it to?)

Con quién (With whom)

One other frequent and fairly self-explanatory duo. Use it when asking concerning the firm somebody had when doing one thing:

¿Con quién vives ahora? (Who’re you dwelling with in the intervening time?)

¿Con quién estás? (Who’re you with?)

De quién (Whose / From whom)

This phrase is utilized in two conditions: while you need to ask about who one thing belongs to and while you need to ask who one thing got here from.

That you must know the context so as to have the ability to know which that means is the speaker referring to:

¿De quién es este libro? (Whose guide is that this? / Who is that this guide from?)

¿De quién es ese regalo? (Whose current is that this? / Who is that this current from?)

That is the one Spanish interrogative pronoun with 4 varieties (masculine singular, female singular, masculine plural and female plural).

It’s used to ask about portions, and aside from its 4 varieties, there may be nothing particular or tough about it. Listed here are some examples of cuánto used as a pronoun:

¿Cuánto cuesta esa sandía? (How a lot is that watermelon?) — masculine uncountable, on this case, dinero (cash)

¿Cuánta has necesitado? (How a lot have you ever wanted?) — female uncountable, on this case, let’s say harina (flour)

¿Cuántos quieres? (What number of would you like?) — masculine/blended countable, for instance, libros (books)

¿Cuántas has comprado? (What number of have you ever purchased?) — female countable, for instance, bicicletas (bicycles)

And listed here are some extra examples of cuánto as an adjective:

¿Cuánto dinero necesitas? (How a lot cash do you want?)

¿Cuánta leche queda? (How a lot milk is there left?)

¿Cuántos años tienes? (How previous are you? [lit. “How many years do you have?”])

¿Cuántas habitaciones tiene esta casa? (What number of rooms does this home have?)

Cuánto can certainly be used with some prepositions, however this doesn’t occur fairly often in Spanish.

Listed here are a few examples:

Con cuánto (With how a lot / With what number of)

Used so as to ask concerning the amount of individuals or objects with which somebody has achieved one thing:

¿Con cuántas fuiste? (What number of did you go together with? [in reference to people, for example])

¿Con cuánta lo has hecho? (How a lot have you ever made it with? [referring to the flour needed for a cake, for example])

De cuánto (About/of how a lot / What number of)

There are some verbs that want the preposition de. When that’s the case, you could find cases like the next:

¿De cuánto estamos hablando? (How a lot are we speaking about? [for example, when talking about money])

¿De cuántas consta? (What number of is it manufactured from? [like when talking about pieces of a puzzle])

¿Por qué? and ¿Para qué? are two methods you may ask “why” in Spanish. As all the time, they rely upon context.

In case you’ve already discovered the variations between por and para, then studying when to make use of these “why” phrases ought to be simple. I’ll break it down for you in case you want a refresher.

Por qué is used to inquire concerning the direct reason for one thing, which is easy, particular or usually well-known. Porque is the non-question model of the phrase, and it’s used for “as a result of.” You need to use porque to reply por qué questions!

¿Por qué estás acostado?
(Why are you mendacity down?)

Porque me siento mal.
(As a result of I really feel unhealthy.)

Then again, para qué inquires about intention or objective.

¿Para qué estudias español?
(Why do you research Spanish? / What do you research Spanish for?)

Do you see how the primary query (with por qué) was a query a few trigger and the second (with para qué) inquires a few objective?

¿Por qué has venido? (Why have you ever come?)

¿Por qué no quieres comer? (Why don’t you need to eat?)

¿Para qué es eso? (What’s that for?)

¿Para qué han traído más libros? (What have they introduced extra books for?)

Frequent Spanish Questions

Figuring out how you can ask questions in Spanish will assist make navigating conversations a lot simpler. It’s possible you’ll even discover that the identical questions are inclined to recur in most of the conversations you’re having. Listed here are some frequent Spanish questions that will help you put together for a variety of various matters.