Figuring out the right way to say “what” is a necessary a part of any Spanish learner’s arsenal.

In Spanish, there are a number of methods to say “what,” corresponding to: qué, cómo, lo que and cuál.

On this put up, you’ll be taught 5 methods to say “what” in Spanish and see how they’re utilized in context with the assistance of instance sentences.

For a enjoyable twist, the instance sentences all characteristic a well-loved matter: Meals!

Contents

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“What” could be translated as two completely different variations of the phrase qué: one as a pronoun and one as an adjective.

When qué is adopted by a verb, it capabilities as a pronoun.

As an interrogative pronoun, qué will all the time have an accent mark no matter its place within the sentence is. Nonetheless, you’ll usually discover it at first:

¿Qué quiere comer tu novio?

(What does your boyfriend wish to eat?)

¿Qué necesitas para preparar la pizza?

(What do you have to put together the pizza?)

¿Qué has desayunado hoy?

(What have you ever eaten for breakfast right now?)

Regardless that the final three examples had been all direct questions, this won’t all the time be the case. Qué may seem as an interrogative pronoun in oblique questions:

Necesito saber qué vas a comer.

(I must know what you’re going to eat.)

Dime qué pediste en el restaurante.

(Inform me what you ordered on the restaurant.)

No sé qué puedo añadirle al batido.

(I don’t know what I can add to the milkshake.)

Lastly, you’ll additionally discover the interrogative pronoun qué in reported speech sentences. Though there are many reporting verbs, probably the most often utilized in entrance of qué are preguntar
 (to ask), preguntarse
 (to marvel), querer saber
 (to wish to know) and necesitar saber
 (to wish to know):

Me preguntó qué estaba comiendo.

(He requested me what I used to be consuming.)

Se preguntaba qué podía usar en lugar de azúcar.

(She puzzled what she may use as an alternative of sugar.)

Mi madre quería saber qué había cenado.

(My mother needed to know what I had for dinner.)

Necesitaba saber qué iba a cocinar.

(She wanted to know what I used to be going to cook dinner.)

The second that means of “what” in Spanish (qué) could look like it’s barely completely different from the primary one.

This time, qué capabilities as an adjective within the sentence. For that purpose, it won’t be adopted by a verb, however by a noun.

Should you’re probably not into studying grammar and simply must be taught conversational Spanish, you may ignore this reality and simply keep in mind that “what” is translated as qué more often than not, however I do imagine it’s a great factor to know these little attention-grabbing details in regards to the language you’re learning.

No matter your scenario could also be, simply know that qué may also be adopted by nouns:

¿Qué fruta es tu favorita?

(What’s your favourite fruit?)

¿Qué desayuno es ese?

(What sort of breakfast is that?)

¿Qué sopa es mejor para el dolor de estómago?

(What soup is the perfect for a stomachache?)

As with the earlier qué, adjectival qué may seem in oblique questions and oblique speech:

Necesitamos saber qué fruta es tu favorita.

(We have to know what your favourite fruit is.)

Me preguntó qué desayuno period ese.

(She requested me what sort of breakfast it was.)

No sabía qué sopa period la mejor para el dolor de estómago.

(He didn’t know what the perfect soup for a stomachache was.)

Lastly, you may as well discover the adjectival qué as an exclamatory adjective. Keep in mind so as to add the opening exclamation mark (¡) each time you utilize the closing one:

¡Qué alegría comer pizza!

(I’m so completely happy to eat pizza! [Lit.: What happiness to eat pizza!])

¡Qué cosas tan deliciosas cocinas!

(You cook dinner such scrumptious meals! [Lit.: What things so delicious you cook!])

¡Qué tomate más delicioso!

(What a scrumptious tomato! [Lit.: What tomato more/so delicious!])

Cómo means “what” solely in very particular conditions, so concentrate now.

Use cómo with the that means of “what” when you’re expressing your incredulity and/or annoyance for what has occurred or what somebody has stated.

¡Cómo! ¡Eso no puede ser verdad! ¡Él no sabe cocinar!

(What! That may’t be true! He doesn’t know the right way to cook dinner!)

¿Cómo? ¡No me lo puedo creer! ¿Ana ha hecho el pastel?

(What? I can’t imagine it! Ana has made the cake?)

In each different case, cómo will imply “how.” Listed below are some examples:

¿Cómo se usan los palillos?

(How are chopsticks used?)

¿Cómo cocinaste el pollo?

(How did you cook dinner the rooster?)

If we translate lo que actually, its that means could be “that which.”

Nonetheless, this makes the English translation sound a little bit bit awkward:

Lo que más me gusta es comer pasta.

(That which I like probably the most is consuming pasta.)

No sé lo que vamos a almorzar.

(I don’t know that which we can have for lunch.)

Come lo que quieras.

(Eat that which you need.)

But when we substitute “that which” for “what” in these sentences, they sound rather more pure. Take a look:

Lo que más me gusta es comer pasta.
(What I like probably the most is consuming pasta.)

No sé lo que vamos a almorzar.
(I don’t know what we’ll have for lunch.)

Come lo que quieras.
(Eat what you need.)

From this, we are able to conclude that lo que is healthier translated as “what.”

Take a look on the examples once more and also you’ll discover this que doesn’t have an accent mark. It’s crucial that you simply bear in mind this. Lo qué is a vulgarism used as an alternative of the interrogative pronoun qué, and it’s best to positively keep away from it just like the plague.

The final that means of “what” in Spanish is cuál, which can also be an interrogative phrase that may be a pronoun or an adjective relying on whether or not it’s adopted by a verb or a noun.

It’s possible you’ll be questioning then, what’s the distinction between utilizing qué and cuál? And the reply is straightforward.

Use cuál when you’ve to select between two or three issues. There could be greater than three, however the quantity will usually be small and restricted/outlined. More often than not, you may substitute “what” for “which” and the that means will likely be unchanged:

¿Cuál vino prefieres?

(What wine [of the ones I’m showing you] do you favor?)

¿Cuál pastel te gusta más?

(What cake [of the ones you’re eating] do you want probably the most?)

Alternatively, go for qué when the selection isn’t restricted to a couple particular gadgets, however to a complete class. You’ll perceive this higher with a few examples:

¿Qué vino prefieres?

(What wine [of all the wines in the wine category existing in the world] do you favor?)

¿Qué pastel te gusta más?

(What cake [of all the cakes in the cake category existing in the world] do you want probably the most?)

These guidelines of thumb ought to enable you to bear in mind when to make use of qué and cuál.

Another factor: You also needs to use cuál when utilizing “what” as a pronoun—that’s, when utilizing it in entrance of a verb as an alternative of a noun (normally the verb ser
[to be]):

¿Cuál es tu comida favorita?

(What’s your favourite meals?)

No sé cuál es mi verdura favorita. ¡Me gustan todas las verduras!

(I don’t know what my favourite vegetable is. I like all greens!)

Tips on how to Observe Saying “What” in Spanish

Studying the that means of “what” in Spanish is a straightforward process even newbie learners can do. I hope this put up has been helpful and also you’re able to rock your Spanish qué like there’s no tomorrow.

If you wish to see extra examples of those phrases in use and even learn to ask your individual questions in Spanish, there are many apps and sources on the market that may enable you to.

For instance, you may follow utilizing qué and cuál on 123TeachMe with this qué vs. cuál quiz, in addition to this quiz.

You may additionally attempt utilizing an immersive language studying program like FluentU to identify all of the completely different ways in which native audio system use “what” in Spanish media clips.

Observe Quiz

Attempt to fill within the gaps with the best time period (or phrases) to say “what” within the following sentences:

1. ¿______ es tu plato favorito? (What’s your favourite dish?)

2. Mi novio no me quería decir ______ iba a cocinar para nuestro aniversario. (My boyfriend didn’t wish to inform me what he was going to cook dinner for our anniversary.)

3. ¡______ paella más rica! ¿Me puedes dar la receta? (What a tasty paella! Are you able to give me the recipe?)

4. ¿______ plato quieres? ¡Toda la comida se ve deliciosa! (What dish would you like? The entire meals seems to be scrumptious!)

5. ¿Ya sabes ______ vas a pedir en el restaurante esta noche? (Do you already know what you’re going to order on the restaurant tonight?)

6.  Te hice un pastel por tu cumpleaños. / ¿______?, ¡¿en serio?! (I made you a cake in your birthday / What, actually?!)

 

Solutions:
1. Cuál
2. Qué/Lo que 
3. Qué
4. Qué/Cuál
5. Qué/Lo que
6. Cómo

 

At this fee, you’ll know the right way to say “what” in Spanish very quickly.

¡Qué orgulloso estoy de ti!
(I’m so happy with you!)

Keep curious and, as all the time, completely happy studying!

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