{"id":739,"date":"2016-11-19T10:00:28","date_gmt":"2016-11-19T18:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/?p=739"},"modified":"2024-01-24T21:25:20","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T05:25:20","slug":"how-to-ask-questions-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mydailyspanish.com\/how-to-ask-questions-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"A Quick Guide to Asking Questions in Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"asking<\/span><\/p>\n

If any conversation is going to go very far, you have to know how to ask questions. It would be very boring if two people just went back and forth, telling each other random statements about themselves.<\/p>\n

Asking questions isn\u2019t just good for that, however. If you travel through a Spanish speaking country, you may want to know things, such as \u201cwhere are the bathrooms?\u201d and \u201chow much does this cost?\u201d<\/p>\n

This article will give you a quick guide to the different rules, structures, and important vocabulary you should know when asking questions in Spanish.<\/p>\n

Check out these 100 common Spanish questions and answers to improve your language skills.<\/h2>\n

The Basics<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start at the very beginning. Like in English, we have two options for asking questions in Spanish. The first is with a \u201cquestion word.\u201d The other is by changing a statement into a question with just a little shifting around of the words and\/or changing the intonation of your voice.<\/p>\n

Something unique about questions in Spanish is the way they are written. You\u2019ve probably seen the \u201c\u00bf\u201d before. Well, this is your chance to use it! In Spanish, there will be the inverted question mark at the beginning of the statement, and the normal one at the end. \u00bfQu\u00e9 quieres hacer?<\/em>– What do you want to do?<\/p>\n

Questions with Question Words<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Question\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Via Stockunlimited<\/a><\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s start with the first possible way to ask questions in Spanish–with \u201cQuestion Words\u201d or \u201cInterrogatives.\u201d These are words that make our statement a question. For example, in English we can say \u201cWhere is the train station?\u201d In the example, \u201cwhere\u201d is our question word letting the listener know we are asking for information.<\/p>\n

In Spanish our questions words are:<\/p>\n

Qu\u00e9-<\/em> What<\/p>\n

D\u00f3nde-<\/em> Where<\/p>\n

Cu\u00e1nto\/a-<\/em> How much<\/p>\n

Cu\u00e1ntos\/as-<\/em> How many<\/p>\n

Por qu\u00e9-<\/em> Why<\/p>\n

Cu\u00e1l-<\/em> Which<\/p>\n

Qui\u00e9n-<\/em> Who<\/p>\n

C\u00f3mo-<\/em> What<\/p>\n

Cu\u00e1ndo-<\/em> When<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll notice that ALL of these words have accents! If they are used in a statement they do not have the accent, but the pronunciation will stay the same.<\/p>\n

Example: \u00bfD\u00f3nde est\u00e1 Juan? \u00a1No s\u00e9 donde est\u00e1!<\/em>– \u201cWhere is Juan? I don\u2019t know where he is!\u201d<\/p>\n

Generally speaking, the verb will go right after our question word.<\/p>\n

\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 tengo que ir?<\/em>– Why do I have to go?<\/p>\n

\u00bfD\u00f3nde est\u00e1 la biblioteca?<\/em>– Where is the library?<\/p>\n

\u00bfC\u00f3mo est\u00e1?<\/em>– How is he\/she\/it? OR How are you (singular\/ formal)?<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll notice that with some questions, it\u2019s pretty clear what we\u2019re talking about. With others, however (the last in the list above, for example), unless we can infer from the conversation we need to specify a little. If this is the case, the subject will come after the verb.<\/p>\n

\u00bfC\u00f3mo est\u00e1 ella?<\/em>– How is she?<\/p>\n

\u00bfC\u00f3mo est\u00e1 usted?<\/em>– How are you (singular\/ formal)?<\/p>\n

Word Order and Intonation<\/h2>\n

\"Grammer\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Via Visualhunt<\/p>\n

Sometimes you may have a question that doesn\u2019t use a question word. This is very common, in both Spanish and English. So, let\u2019s look at how those would be formed.<\/p>\n

In Spanish, like in English, we can also create questions by moving around the words. However, there is a little more freedom in Spanish as to where those words should go.<\/p>\n

For example, the question \u201cIs she going to the store?\u201d could be said<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\u00bfVa a la tienda?<\/em>– no subject because due to the conversation we\u2019re all aware we\u2019re talking about the subject \u201cshe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The following are ways of putting in the subject for specification purposes (in case you weren\u2019t paying close enough attention during the conversation, or you just want to double check). This is because the verb conjugation can go with any number of subjects (he, she, it, you).<\/p>\n

\u00bfVa ella a la tienda?<\/em><\/em>\u00bfVa a la tienda ella?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00bfElla va a la tienda?<\/em>**<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll notice that in English, we use an auxiliary or \u201chelping\u201d verb (\u201cis\u201d) whereas in Spanish we do not. To form the question in Spanish, the helping verb isn\u2019t required.<\/p>\n

Or, the question \u201cDo you want to go to the movies?\u201d could be said<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\u00bfQuieres ir al cine?<\/em>– No subject because the conjugation tells us who we are talking about.<\/p>\n

The following are examples with the subject. Note: When we have a verb conjugated to a subject that can only be one thing (i.e. \u201ct\u00fa\u201d \u201cyo\u201d \u201cnosotros\u201d \u201cvosotros\u201d) we add in the subject, more often than not, because we want to emphasize it. The following are like saying \u201cYou<\/em> want to go to the movies? (as in, you never want to go to the movies, and I\u2019m surprised!).<\/p>\n

\u00bfQuieres ir t\u00fa al cine?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00bfQuieres ir al cine t\u00fa?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00bfT\u00fa quieres ir al cine?<\/em>**<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll notice here that the word \u201cdo\u201d in English is another type of \u201cquestion word.\u201d Other than turning the statement \u201cyou want to go to the movies\u201d into the question \u201cdo you want to go to the movies?\u201d it has no other reason\/ meaning. In Spanish, we don\u2019t have this type of construction. We simply change the order of the words, and make sure our intonation goes up, up, up at the end of our question.<\/p>\n

** These questions have word orders that are identical to their statement forms. In these cases it is VERY important to use the correct intonation, or the listener will be confused.<\/p>\n

One last thing\u2026<\/h2>\n

You can also take a statement and turn it into a question by adding a sort of \u201cquestion tag\u201d to the end. For example: \u201cYou\u2019re coming tonight, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Vienes esta noche, \u00bfverdad?<\/em><\/p>\n

Notice how the question marks only go around the part of the statement that is the question.<\/p>\n

Tienes que estudiar, \u00bfno?<\/em>– You have to study, no?<\/p>\n

Voy a la fiesta, \u00bfy t\u00fa?<\/em>– I\u2019m going to the party, are you?<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

Asking question in Spanish isn\u2019t unlike asking questions in English. The important thing to remember? Your intonation. This is the key!<\/p>\n

Word order is a little more relaxed, and (other than the \u201cquestion words\u201d we looked at before) you don\u2019t have to worry about throwing in any \u201chelping\u201d words along the way. The best way to become more familiar and comfortable with asking questions is simple\u2026by doing it! So, get out there and practice, practice, practice!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If any conversation is going to go very far, you have to know how to ask questions. It would be very boring if two people just went back and forth, telling each other random statements about themselves. Asking questions isn\u2019t just good for that, however. If you travel through a Spanish speaking country, you may […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":742,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":"

\"asking<\/span><\/div>
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If any conversation is going to go very far, you have to know how to ask questions. It would be very boring if two people just went back and forth, telling each other random statements about themselves.<\/p>

Asking questions isn\u2019t just good for that, however. If you travel through a Spanish speaking country, you may want to know things, such as \u201cwhere are the bathrooms?\u201d and \u201chow much does this cost?\u201d<\/p>

This article will give you a quick guide to the different rules, structures, and important vocabulary you should know when asking questions in Spanish.<\/p><\/div>

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Check out these 100 common Spanish questions and answers to improve your language skills.<\/h2><\/div>
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