{"id":13526,"date":"2020-06-10T15:59:31","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T19:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/?p=13526"},"modified":"2020-06-10T15:59:31","modified_gmt":"2020-06-10T19:59:31","slug":"a-beginners-guide-to-asking-questions-in-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/a-beginners-guide-to-asking-questions-in-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"A Beginner’s Guide to Asking Questions in Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hacer preguntas es importante en todos los idiomas. Hoy vamos a practicar haciendo preguntas en espa\u00f1ol<\/strong> (Asking questions is important in every language. Today we’re going to practice asking questions in Spanish).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Image by Valerie Everett from flickr.com.
Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

Spanish Question Words<\/h2>\n

Let’s start out by reviewing the question words in Spanish. Here’s a nice little table that you can copy and paste or even print out to study from:<\/p>\n

\u00bfQu\u00e9?
\n\u00bfCu\u00e1ndo?
\n\u00bfD\u00f3nde?
\n\u00bfA d\u00f3nde?
\n\u00bfC\u00f3mo?
\n\u00bfQui\u00e9n\/Qui\u00e9nes?
\n\u00bfPor qu\u00e9?
\n\u00bfCu\u00e1nto\/Cu\u00e1nta\/Cu\u00e1ntos\/Cu\u00e1ntas?
\n\u00bfCu\u00e1l\/Cu\u00e1les?<\/div>
What?
\nWhen?
\nWhere?
\nTo where?
\nHow?
\nWho?
\nWhy?
\nHow much\/How many?
\nWhich?<\/div>
<\/div><\/p>\n

To clarify, qui\u00e9n<\/em> is singular while qui\u00e9nes<\/em> is plural. The reason there are four words for “how much\/how many” is because there are both masculine and feminine as well as singular and plural options. It can get a bit confusing for sure but you start to get it with more practice!<\/p>\n

Speaking of practice… before we look at some examples, I’d like to challenge you to think of a question using each of those words above. Go ahead and write it down, or even leave it below as a comment!<\/p>\n

Examples<\/h2>\n

Now here are 2-3 examples of each question word in use. I’m not putting them side by side with English translations. I’d like to challenge you in this post to read and answer the questions in Spanish. If you need a translation, you can find them below.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Quiero tomar cerveza artesenal.<\/p><\/div>\n

Qu\u00e9<\/h3>\n

\u00bfQu\u00e9 es esto?
\n\u00bfQu\u00e9 quieres tomar?
\n\u00bfQu\u00e9 m\u00fasica te gusta?<\/p>\n

Cu\u00e1ndo<\/h3>\n

\u00bfCu\u00e1ndo trabaja (usted)?
\n\u00bfCu\u00e1ndo necesitamos salir?
\n\u00bfCu\u00e1ndo puedes hacerlo?<\/p>\n

D\u00f3nde<\/h3>\n

\u00bfDe d\u00f3nde eres?
\n\u00bfD\u00f3nde est\u00e1 el ba\u00f1o?<\/p>\n

A d\u00f3nde<\/h3>\n

\u00bfA d\u00f3nde quieres viajar?
\n\u00bfA d\u00f3nde vamos a ir ma\u00f1ana?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

\u00a1Quiero viajar a Per\u00fa!<\/p><\/div>\n

C\u00f3mo<\/h3>\n

\u00bfC\u00f3mo est\u00e1s?
\n\u00bfC\u00f3mo se dice…?
\n\u00bfC\u00f3mo puedo ir al aeropuerto?<\/p>\n

Qui\u00e9n<\/h3>\n

\u00bfQui\u00e9n es \u00e9l?
\n\u00bfQui\u00e9n quiere venir?
\n\u00bfQui\u00e9n llam\u00f3?<\/p>\n

Por qu\u00e9<\/h3>\n

\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 estudias espa\u00f1ol?
\n\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 no?
\n\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 te gusta?<\/p>\n

Cu\u00e1nto\/Cu\u00e1nta\/Cu\u00e1ntos\/Cu\u00e1ntas<\/h3>\n

\u00bfCu\u00e1nto cuesta?
\n\u00bfCu\u00e1nta leche?
\n\u00bfCu\u00e1ntos hermanos tiene usted?
\n\u00bfCu\u00e1ntas personas hay?<\/p>\n

Cu\u00e1l\/Cu\u00e1les<\/h3>\n

\u00bfCu\u00e1l es tu nombre?
\n\u00bfCu\u00e1les son suyos?
\n\u00bfCu\u00e1l es tu n\u00famero de tel\u00e9fono?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Hola .. mi nombre es Sasha<\/p><\/div>\n

English Translations<\/h3>\n

What is that?
\nWhat do you want to drink?
\nWhat music do you like?<\/p>\n

When do you work?
\nWhen do we need to leave?
\nWhen can you do it?<\/p>\n

Where are you from?
\nWhere is the bathroom?<\/p>\n

To where do you want to travel?
\nTo where are we going tomorrow?<\/p>\n

How are you?
\nHow do you say\u2026?
\nHow can I get to the airport?<\/p>\n

Who is he?
\nWho wants to come?
\nWho called?<\/p>\n

Why do you study Spanish?
\nWhy not?
\nWhy do you like it?<\/p>\n

How much is it?
\nHow much milk?
\nHow many siblings do you have?
\nHow many people are there?<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your name?
\nWhich ones are yours?
\nWhat is your telephone number?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I’m sure you’re wondering why the question “\u00bfCu\u00e1l es tu nombre?” is used as “What’s your name?” and not “\u00bfQu\u00e9 es tu nombre?” That’s just the way it is. Even though cu\u00e1l<\/em> is usually translated as “which,” it is often used in questions that would use the word “what” in English.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you’ve also learned to ask “\u00bfC\u00f3mo te llamas?” when you want to know someone’s name. It literally means “How do you call yourself?” There’s a good Wikibook for beginners<\/a> that covers this for more practice.<\/p>\n

This is not the only example of c\u00f3mo<\/em> being used to ask a “what” question. Take for instance my post called “\u00bfC\u00f3mo es la comida mexicana<\/a>?”, which means “What is Mexican food?” I originally titled it “\u00bfQu\u00e9 es la comida mexicana?” but was corrected and changed it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Video Practice<\/h2>\n

I came up with those questions with the help of my teacher when I was studying Spanish in Puerto Vallarta<\/a>. You can follow along with a video we made so you can hear his native pronunciation. For beginners, I recommend you listen the first time then try to repeat the second time.<\/p>\n