Spanish Question Words
Every Spanish question word carries a written accent. That accent is what marks it as a question rather than an ordinary word.
The question words
-
quién
kyen
-
who
quiénes when you expect more than one person
-
qué
keh
-
what
-
dónde
DOHN-deh
-
where
-
cuándo
KWAHN-doh
-
when
-
por qué
por KEH
-
why
-
cómo
KOH-moh
-
how
-
cuál
kwahl
-
which, which one
-
cuánto
KWAHN-toh
-
how much
-
cuántos
KWAHN-tohs
-
how many
cuántas before a feminine noun
Where to and where from
-
adónde
ah-DOHN-deh
-
where to
¿Adónde vas? Where are you going?
-
de dónde
deh DOHN-deh
-
where from
¿De dónde eres? Where are you from?
The accent, and the upside-down question mark
The accent is not about stress here, it is about meaning. Que with no accent means that, and qué with an accent means what.
The same pair catches people out with why: por qué in two words with an accent asks the question, porque in one word with none means because.
Every written question opens with an inverted mark and closes with a normal one: ¿Dónde está? The opening mark tells a reader the sentence is a question before they start it.
- ¿Cómo te llamas?What is your name?
- ¿Por qué estudias español? Porque me gusta.Why do you study Spanish? Because I like it.
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