⇒ Asking questions is a great way to learn new things in Spanish, and it's a necessary skill for making your way around.
⇒ If you need to get directions, ask what a word means, find out the time, etc. you will need to know how to ask questions correctly.
⇒ These notes cover questions that can be answered with sí (yes) or no (no), as well as questions that are answered with more detailed information.
⇒ Check out these examples of questions in Spanish.
| ¿Hablas inglés?Do you speak English? |
| ¿Dónde hay un buen café?Where is there a good cafe? |
| ¿Qué significa esta palabra?What does this word mean? |
⇒ In Spanish, asking a question that can be answered sí or no is extremely easy.
⇒ In written Spanish, all you have to do is frame what you want to ask with question marks (¿?).
⇒ In spoken Spanish, you simply raise the pitch of your voice at the end of the question.
| Statement | Habla español. | He speaks Spanish. |
| Question | ¿Habla español? | Does he speak Spanish? |
| Statement | Te gusta la música hip hop. | You like hip hop music. |
| Question | ¿Te gusta la música hip hop? | Do you like hip hop music? |
⇒ When asking information questions (questions that require an answer beyond sí or no), you'll need to begin your question with a question word.
⇒ Check out this handy list of common Spanish question words.
| Spanish | English | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| cuándo | when | dónde | where |
| por qué | why | cómo | how, what |
| cuál | which | cuáles | which ones |
| de dónde | from where | para qué | why, for what |
| cuánto | how much | cuántos | how many |
| adónde | to where | a quién | to whom |
| de dónde | from where | con quién | with whom |
⇒ Notice that the above question words have accents on them. This differentiates them from their non-interrogative counterparts.
⇒ Check out these examples of Spanish interrogative sentences.
| ¿Cuánto cuesta la camisa roja?How much is the red shirt? |
| ¿Cuántas camisas rojas tienes?How many red shirts do you have? |
| ¿Cómo está tu madre?How is your mother? |
| ¿Cómo está tu madre?How is your mother? |
| ¿Cómo te llamas?What is your name? |
| Necesito $300. - ¿Cómo?I need $300. - What? |
| ¿Para qué necesitas $300? - Necesito $300 para comprar un teléfono nuevo.What do you need $300 for? - I need $300 in order to buy a new telephone. |
| ¿Por qué necesitas $300? - Porque voy a comprar un teléfono nuevo.Why do you need $300? - Because I´m going to buy a new telephone. |
| Te gusta esta película, ¿no?You like this movie, right? |
⇒ In Spanish, when only part of a sentence is a question, you only place the question marks around that specific part of the sentence.