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You’ve mastered just a few fundamental questions in Spanish and also you’re questioning find out how to take your conversations and transactions to the following stage. The important thing to going “off-script” and contributing absolutely to a dialog is the power to type your individual questions. Whereas it’s undoubtedly doable to ask sure and no questions in Spanish with out having to make use of interrogative phrases, life will get far more fascinating while you’re in a position to dive into the specifics! To take action, you’ll must know these eight basic phrases and phrases:
- Qué (What)
- Cómo (How)
- Dónde (The place)
- Cuándo (When)
- Por qué (Why)
- Quién (Who)
- Cuánto / Cuántos (How a lot / What number of)
- Cuál (Which)
Under, we’ll check out the utilization of every phrase and supply a listing of phrases for every. If you wish to increase your Spanish abilities—with out memorizing lengthy vocabulary lists—Rosetta Stone’s uniquely immersive classes are an incredible device for enhancing your information. Whether or not you’re taken with studying Latin American Spanish or Peninsular (Spain) Spanish, Rosetta Stone has every part you have to really feel conversation-ready out of your very first lesson!
What’s an interrogative phrase?
Put merely, interrogative phrases are query phrases. They’re used to type particular informational questions. You may relate this to the English phrase “interrogation,” the place a topic of an interview is requested a collection of questions. Their grammatical perform within the query might be that of a pronoun, adjective, or adverb. Think about the next examples:
¿Quién es tu hermano? = Who is your brother?
That is an interrogative pronoun, as it’s a substitute for the reply, an individual.
¿Cuántos libros tienes? = What number of books do you will have?
That is an interrogative adjective, as a result of it’s modifying the noun “books.”
¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? = When is your birthday?
That is an interrogative adverb, as a result of it’s asking for a time.
Fortunately, should you’re extra taken with find out how to ask questions in Spanish than memorizing Spanish grammar guidelines, the translations of those necessary phrases are simple. In some instances the translations can rely on the context or grammar of the sentence.
One necessary rule to bear in mind is that every one Spanish interrogatives carry the accent mark. You might discover an nearly equivalent phrase in an announcement, but it surely won’t be a query phrase.
¿Dónde está la profesora? = The place is the trainer?
This interrogative phrase carries the accent mark, since it’s asking for data.
Ella está en la ciudad donde nació. = She is within the city the place she was born.
This adverb is just referring to a selected place, so no accent mark is used.
The commonest Spanish query phrases
1. ¿Qué?
¿Qué? means “what.” From meal planning to sightseeing, you’ll wish to know what particular nouns needs to be in your checklist. Listed here are a number of widespread questions you should use to seek out out the necessities:
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Qué? | What? |
| ¿Qué sitios debería visitar cuando estoy en Málaga? | What locations ought to I go to once I’m in Málaga? |
| ¿Qué necesito para viajar a Buenos Aires? | What do I would like to be able to journey to Buenos Aires? |
| ¿Qué platos son típicos en Costa Rica? | What dishes/meals are typical in Costa Rica? |
| ¿Qué hay que hacer antes de viajar? | What have to be completed earlier than touring? |
| ¿Qué recomienda usted para desayunar? | What do you advocate for breakfast? |
| ¿Qué podríamos ver en el parque zoológico? | What might we see on the zoo? |
| ¿Qué ha dicho? | What did he say? |
| ¿Qué te gusta comer por la mañana? | What do you prefer to eat within the morning? |
| ¿Qué sueles llevar cuando gross sales? | What do you usually put on while you exit? |
It needs to be famous that ¿Qué? can imply “what?” most often, but it surely isn’t all the time used the identical manner as in English. In case you’re in a loud setting with a buddy, you may yell, “What?” should you don’t hear one thing effectively the primary time. You wouldn’t wish to translate this to ¿Qué?, as this might be thought-about a considerably impolite response in Spanish. It’s extra acceptable to ask:
¿Cómo? = What?
¿Perdón? = Pardon?
In a proper context, you may say:
¿(Usted) puede repetir, por favor? = Are you able to repeat, please?
Take into account that que with out an accent mark will not be a query phrase. It may be the relative pronoun “that” as within the following instance:
Voy a tomar el café que me recomendaste.
I’m going to have the espresso that you really useful.
¡Qué! can be generally used as an exclamation in fundamental Spanish phrases comparable to:
¡Qué bonito! = How cute!
¡Qué interesante! = How fascinating!
One of the vital fundamental Spanish questions can be an instance of when “what” wouldn’t be actually translated to ¿qué? After we wish to ask, “What’s your identify?” we are saying:
¿Cómo te llamas? = (actually) How do you name your self?
2. ¿Cómo?
¿Cómo? merely translated means “how.” From getting round a metropolis to getting ready meals, you’ll have questions on processes. You’ll be able to ask for descriptions and traits to get to know individuals and your environment, and you’ll present curiosity by asking how persons are doing. Listed here are a number of widespread questions you should use to navigate via your day.
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Cómo? | How? / What? |
| ¿Cómo llegas a la estación de metro? | How do you get to the subway station? |
| ¿Cómo preparas el arroz con leche? | How do you put together the rice pudding? |
| ¿Cómo se cube ___ en español? | How do you say ___ in Spanish? |
| ¿Cómo es la escuela? | What’s the college like? |
| ¿Cómo es la vecina? | What’s the neighbor like? |
| ¿Cómo estás? | How are you feeling? |
| ¿Cómo te sientes? | How do you are feeling? |
| ¿Cómo está la sopa? | How is the soup? (What does it style like?) |
| ¿Cómo sabes? | How are you aware? |
As you’ll be able to see, ¿cómo? as a query phrase all the time has an accent, and may present further element or clarification. It can be utilized in typically complicated idiomatic expressions!
¿Cómo no? = Why not? In fact! (Settlement)
¿Cómo que no? = What do you imply “no?” (Disbelief or shock)
The addition of the que within the above examples adjustments the which means drastically, so it’s best to study these expressions as full phrases.
Like ¡qué!, ¡cómo! can be utilized as an exclamation when positioned in entrance of a verb.
¡Cómo me ha gustado! = How I liked it!
¡Cómo baila! = How he dances!
In case you encounter como with out an accent, the which means will rely drastically on the context and surrounding phrases, or whether or not it’s a verb, a conjunction, or a part of a phrase, as in these examples:
- Lo hago como me enseñó mi mamá. = I do it how my mother taught me.
- La niña habla como una mujer. = The little woman speaks like an grownup lady.
- Él es tan listo como su hermano. = He’s as intelligent as his brother.
- Como a mí no me gusta el frío, no esquío.= Since I don’t just like the chilly, I don’t ski.
- Costó como cincuenta dólares. = It price about fifty {dollars}.
- Normalmente no como azúcar. = Usually I don’t eat sugar.
Within the ultimate instance, como (I eat) is the first-person singular (yo type) of the verb comer (to eat).
3. ¿Dónde?
¿Dónde? means “the place.” If you wish to know the place an occasion is occurring, or the place you can purchase a present, this query phrase will provide help to find individuals, objects, locations, and occasions. Listed here are a number of widespread questions you should use to seek out what you want:
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Dónde? | The place? |
| ¿Dónde está el baño? | The place is the toilet? |
| ¿Dónde están los servicios? | The place are the restrooms? |
| ¿Dónde queda tu casa? | The place is your home situated? |
| ¿Dónde nos quedamos esta noche? | The place are we staying tonight? |
| ¿Dónde es la boda? | The place is the marriage going down? |
Like all different Spanish interrogatives, dónde wants an accent mark, even when the query is oblique, comparable to:
Me preguntó dónde estaba. = He requested me the place I used to be.
It can be used with out the accent, as in these non-interrogative examples:
Visité la universidad donde estudió mi padre. = I visited the college the place my father studied.
Todavía no tengo donde dormir. = I nonetheless don’t have a spot to sleep.
4. ¿Cuándo?
Cuando means “when.” From the following milestone soccer match to your buddy’s party, you’ll wish to know when issues are taking place, so you may make it there on time! Listed here are a number of widespread questions you should use for time questions.
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Cuándo? | When? |
| ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? | When is your birthday? |
| ¿Cuándo empieza el partido? | When does the match start? |
| ¿Cuándo debemos entregar la tarea? | When do we’ve handy within the task? |
| ¿Cuándo aprendiste el italiano? | When did you study Italian? |
| ¿Cuándo estará disponible? | When will it’s accessible? |
| ¿Cuándo llegaste? | When did you arrive? |
The conjunction cuando (when) can be utilized in examples like the next:
Duermo bien cuando llueve. = I sleep effectively when it rains.
Avísame cuando llegue. = Let me know when you arrive.
Not often, you may even see cuando used as a preposition with out an apparent English translation.
Apaga la llama cuando hervir. = Flip off the flame when boiling (occurs).
5. ¿Por qué?
¿Por qué? means “why?” If clarification is what you search, look no additional than ¿por qué? (why?) and its relative, porque (as a result of). Get the solutions to those widespread burning questions and extra, while you ask for causes. You can even make recommendations and settle for invites utilizing this useful query phrase.
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Por qué? | Why? |
| Porque | As a result of |
| ¿Por qué el vuelo está retrasado? | Why is the flight delayed? |
| ¿Por qué no aceptan dinero en efectivo? | Why don’t they settle for money? |
| ¿Por qué decidiste aprender inglés? | Why did you resolve to study English? |
| ¿Por qué no viniste a la reunión? | Why didn’t you come to the assembly? |
| ¿Por qué cuesta tanto? | Why does it price a lot? |
| ¿Por qué no vamos al parque? | Why don’t we go to the park? |
When pronounced, ¿por qué? (why?) and porque (as a result of) are equivalent, so it could appear tough to recollect the variations in writing. Fortunately, the reply is straightforward: The query phrase has an accent mark, an area, and a query mark. “As a result of” has not one of the three.
Like all the different interrogatives, ¿por qué? has an accent mark. That is true even for reported questions, comparable to:
- Me preguntó por qué llegó tarde. = He requested me why I arrived late.
- Be aware of el porqué (the explanation for).
- Me preguntó el porqué de mi elección. = He requested me the purpose for my alternative.
- ¿Para qué? is intently associated to ¿por qué? and has to do with the distinction between por (for) and para (for, to be able to).
- ¿Para qué sirve esta cosa? = What is that this factor for?
6. ¿Cuánto?
¿Cuánto? and ¿Cuántos? imply “how a lot” or “what number of,” respectively. From purchasing and spending to cooking and planning, you’ll wish to ask for portions and quantities. Word that these two questions phrases should match gender and plurality, and have two different types: ¿Cuánta? and ¿Cuántas? Listed here are a number of widespread questions you should use to quantify and calculate.
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Cuánto? ¿Cuánta? | How a lot? |
| ¿Cuántos? ¿Cuántas? | What number of? |
| ¿Cuánto cuesta el aceite? | How a lot does the oil price? |
| ¿Cuánto arroz quieres? | How a lot rice would you like? |
| ¿Cuánta harina necesitamos? | How a lot flour do we’d like? |
| ¿Cuántos kilos de manzanas compraste? | What number of kilos of apples did you purchase? |
| ¿Cuántas enchiladas hay en el plato? | What number of enchiladas are there on the plate? |
| ¿Cuánto pagaste por el billete? | How a lot did you pay for the ticket? |
A easy query you’ll have realized early on is “How outdated are you?” In Spanish, you might be truly asking a query about amount:
¿Cuántos años tienes? = How many years do you will have?
As you’ll be able to see in every of the examples above, this Spanish interrogative features like an adjective. It should agree with the noun that it modifies (or replaces) in each gender and quantity. If one thing is taken into account “uncountable,” you utilize ¿Cuánto? or ¿Cuánta? (how a lot), however whether it is countable, you’d use ¿Cuántos? or ¿Cuántas?, all the time selecting between the masculine and female types.
¿Cuánto dinero necesito? = How a lot cash do I would like?
¿Cuántas faldas tienes? = How many skirts do you will have?
7. ¿Quién?
¿Quién? means “who.” Additionally, you will see the plural ¿Quiénes? while you’re asking about a couple of individual. When studying new names or surveying a crowd, discover out who the characters are!
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Quién? | Who? (the reply is one individual) |
| ¿Quiénes? | Who? (the reply is a couple of individual) |
| ¿Quién es el presidente de Chile? | Who’s the President of Chile? |
| ¿Quién hizo el pastel? | Who made the cake? |
| ¿Quiénes son tus primos? | Who’re your cousins? |
| ¿Quiénes viven aquí? | Who lives right here? |
| ¿Quién ganó? | Who gained? |
Like all interrogatives, ¿quién? and ¿quiénes? are spelled with an accent mark. With out it, the phrases may perform as a relative pronoun within the sentence, like these examples:
La persona involucrada, quien robó el banco, ha desaparecido.
The individual concerned, who robbed the financial institution, has disappeared.
No dejes entrar a quienes llevan zapatos sucios.
Don’t let anybody enter who is sporting soiled sneakers.
8. ¿Cuál?
¿Cuál? means “which.” It is usually utilized in many instances to specific “what?” Sadly ¿qué? (what) and ¿cuál? are usually not all the time interchangeable. You’ll use this expression steadily to supply decisions, or to differentiate between choices! Listed here are a number of widespread questions you should use to resolve between choices.
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Cuál? | Which? What? |
| ¿Cuáles? | Which of them? |
| ¿Cuál es tu nombre? | What’s your identify? |
| ¿Cuál es tu numero? | What’s your quantity? |
| ¿Cuál prefieres? | Which one do you like? |
| ¿Cuál es la estación más cercana? | Which is the closest station? |
| ¿Cuáles son los países con más hispanohablantes en el mundo? | That are the nations with probably the most Spanish-speakers on the planet? |
| ¿Cuáles son tuyos? | Which of them are yours? |
| ¿Cuáles son tus comidas favoritas? | What are your favourite meals? |
| ¿Cuál es tu película favorita? | What’s your favourite film? |
Usually talking, you’d use ¿Cuál? or the plural ¿Cuáles? while you wish to select between a number of choices, even when the choices are nearly limitless. You additionally see this utilization when it’s adopted by a type of ser (to be).
Take word that in some Spanish dialects, each of the next questions sound appropriate.
¿Qué deporte te gusta más? = What sport do you want most?
¿Cuál deporte te gusta más? = Which sport do you want most?
Nonetheless, although each are formally accepted, many Spanish audio system solely use ¿Qué? (what) immediately in entrance of a noun.
¿Qué shade prefieres? = What shade do you like?
¿Cuál es tu shade favorito? = Which is your favourite shade?
As soon as once more, you might come throughout cual as a relative pronoun, which implies it won’t have an accent mark.
El piso en el cual vivíamos period pequeño. = The flat in which we lived was small.
What are the variations between how questions are fashioned in Spanish and English?
Preposition placement
Phrase order is usually totally different between languages. Correct preposition placement in Spanish all the time locations the preposition earlier than the verb. There isn’t the tendency, even in informal speech, to finish with a preposition.
As well as, there are a lot of instances {that a} preposition could be vital in a single language however absent within the different.
| Spanish | English |
| ¿De dónde eres? | The place are you from? |
| ¿A quién hablabas? | To whom have been you talking? Who have been you speaking to? |
| ¿A qué hora tienes clase? | At what time do you will have class? |
| ¿Desde cuándo vive usted aquí? | Since when do you reside right here? How lengthy have you ever been dwelling right here? |
| ¿Para quién es el regalo? | Who’s the present for? |
| ¿Adónde vas? ¿A dónde vas? | The place are you going? |
| ¿Qué escuchas? | What are you listening to? |
| ¿De quién es este coche? | Whose automobile is that this? |
Gender
On our checklist of Spanish interrogatives, the one one to require gender settlement is ¿Cuánto? (how a lot – masculine) and ¿Cuánta? (how a lot – female) which should additionally agree in quantity, altering to ¿Cuántos? (what number of – masculine) and ¿Cuántas? (what number of – female).
Together with an emphatic verb
Spanish questions don’t use the verb “do” or “does” as an auxiliary verb! Take a look at these examples and examine:
| Spanish | English |
| ¿Dónde venden lápices y bolígrafos? | The place do they promote pencils and pens? |
| ¿Por qué no hablamos mañana? | Why don’t we discuss tomorrow? |
| ¿Qué usas para servir esto? | What do you utilize to serve this? |
| ¿Cuánto gano por hora? | How a lot do I make per hour? |
| ¿Por qué practicas tanto? | Why do you follow a lot? |
| ¿Cuál prefiere? | Which does she favor? |
In English, we use an emphatic verb to emphasise or affirm the motion of the sentence.
I do research each morning. He does train effectively. It’s nonetheless troublesome.
In Spanish, this emphasis is achieved with the phrase sí (sure) in entrance of the verb.
Yo sí estudio. Él sí enseña bien. Aún es difícil.
Intonation
Whereas English makes use of inversion to alter some statements into questions, Spanish accomplishes this merely via the intonation of the sentence.
Hay tres sillas disponibles. = There are three chairs accessible.
¿Hay tres sillas disponibles? = Are there three chairs accessible?
Inversion in Spanish questions can happen just because the phrase order is much less strict in Spanish. All of those examples are equally legitimate.
¿Trabaja ella muchas horas? = Does she work many hours?
¿Ella trabaja muchas horas? = Does she work many hours?
¿Trabaja muchas horas ella? = Does she work many hours?
It is usually equally legitimate to omit the private pronoun altogether, if the topic is already recognized. It’s because the conjugated verb signifies who’s doing the motion. It’s acceptable to incorporate the pronoun if clarification or emphasis is required.
¿Trabajas muchas horas? = Do you work many hours?
¿Trabajas tú muchas horas? = Do you work many hours?
The upside-down query mark
The charming and distinctive upside-down query mark of Spanish units it aside from different languages! It provides a contact of aptitude to written Spanish, and features identical to the intonation of your voice to point {that a} query is being requested as a substitute of an announcement.
In informal writing, the inverted query mark is usually omitted to save lots of time, however because the 18th century, the Actual Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy) has really useful its use, alongside the inverted exclamation level.
Different languages, comparable to Galician and previously Catalan, have additionally adopted the inverted query mark to be used with longer questions. You may additionally see it written in areas the place individuals have geographical or cultural ties to Peninsular Spanish, or with bilingual audio system of different languages who use it out of behavior.
The inverted punctuation doesn’t all the time start the sentence. There are occasions {that a} query comes later within the sentence, so the punctuation frames solely the query portion of the sentence.
Hablo tres idiomas, ¿y tú? = I communicate three languages, and you?
Es hora de cenar, ¿no crees? = It’s supper time, don’t you assume?
If a query additionally requires emphasis, 4 symbols can be utilized, with one image on the surface and one on the within.
¿¡En serio!? = Severely?!
Query Tags
Spanish doesn’t use query tags in the identical manner as English, as in, “does he?” or “will I?” To substantiate data, Spanish audio system make use of the tags, ¿no? or ¿verdad?
Ella canta bien, ¿no? = She sings effectively, doesn’t she?
Es muy caro, ¿verdad? = It’s actually costly, proper?
In these tags, the punctuation frames the tag query, not all the sentence.
Type Spanish questions for real-life conversations
Posing the precise query makes all of the distinction in turning an on a regular basis encounter right into a significant dialog. Figuring out these easy eight query phrases in Spanish will help you construct worthwhile connections with the individuals round you!
Able to take the following step in your Spanish studying journey? Rosetta Stone has every part you have to develop your abilities rapidly and successfully—whether or not you’re simply beginning out or snug with extra superior territory. Immersive classes provide help to study in a enjoyable, participating manner, and TruAccent helps you nail your pronunciation each time. Why wait?
Written by Jamie Edwards
Jamie is a learner and trainer of Spanish and French. When she’s not studying new phrases, you’ll discover her on the soccer sidelines, ski slopes, and observe and area bleachers having fun with the 4 seasons of Western New York.
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