The question words at a glance
Question words (palabras interrogativas) introduce an open question — one that is answered with information rather than with yes or no. They stand at the very beginning of the sentence, followed by the verb.
The question words you need first
| Question word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| qué | What? / in front of a noun: Which? |
| quién / quiénes | Who? (singular / plural) |
| dónde | Where? |
| cuándo | When? |
| cómo | How? |
| por qué | Why? |
| cuál / cuáles | Which one? / Which ones? (out of a set) |
| cuánto | How much? / How many? |
The question words in use
Qué asks about a thing and means which directly in front of a noun. Cuál asks for a choice among known possibilities; English often still says what here, but Spanish needs cuál. Por qué asks for a reason; the answer starts with porque (because). Asking someone's name uses cómo, not qué.
¿Qué es esto?
What is this?
¿Qué hora es?
What time is it? (literally: which hour is it?)
¿Quién es esa persona?
Who is that person?
¿Cuándo llega el tren?
When does the train arrive?
¿Cómo te llamas?
What's your name? (literally: how do you call yourself?)
¿Cuál prefieres?
Which one do you prefer?
¿Por qué estudias español?
Why are you studying Spanish?
Porque me gusta.
Because I like it.
dónde, adónde, de dónde
Dónde asks about a place, adónde about the destination of a movement (English just says Where are you going?), and de dónde about origin (English pushes from to the end; Spanish keeps it at the front).
¿Dónde está el baño?
Where is the bathroom?
¿Adónde vas?
Where are you going?
¿De dónde eres?
Where are you from?
cuánto — How much? / How many?
English splits this in two: how much for uncountable things, how many for countable ones. Spanish splits it in four, because cuánto behaves like an adjective and matches the following noun in gender and number: cuánto, cuánta, cuántos, cuántas. Without a noun it stays cuánto.
¿Cuánto cuesta?
How much does it cost?
¿Cuánta agua bebes?
How much water do you drink?
¿Cuántos años tienes?
How old are you? (literally: how many years do you have?)
¿Cuántas personas hay?
How many people are there?
