How to ask a question in Spanish

Today we are going to learn how to use question words and therefore how to ask a question in Spanish. Moreover, if you would like to hear an explanation with lots of examples, here you have the free audio: Interrogativos

First of all, these are the most important question words:

¿Cuándo? When? / ¿Por qué? Why? / ¿Cómo? How? / ¿Dónde? Where? / ¿De dónde? Where… from? / ¿Adónde? Where to?

¿Cuánto? How much? / ¿Cuánta? How much? / ¿Cuántos? How many? / ¿Cuántas? How many?

¿Qué? What? / ¿Quién? Who? / ¿Quiénes? Who? / ¿Para qué? What for? /

¿Cuántas veces? How often? / ¿Cuál? Which one? /¿Cuáles? Which ones?

Secondly, let us answer this important question: How can we memorize all those words? The best way is to conquer them by learning two or three every day. However, it is also necessary do exercises like the one you will find if you keep reading. Above all, we learn Spanish to communicate, to use the language.

Order of the Words when We Ask a Question in Spanish

Before we do the exercise, let us say something important about the order of words. When you ask a question in Spanish, the subject of the sentence usually comes after the verb:

¿Por qué estudia tu hermana en la biblioteca? Why does your sister study in the library?

If we say in Spanish the same sentence and it is not a question, the order is:

Tu hermana estudia en la biblioteca. Your sister studies in the library.

Would like to see more examples? Besides working with more examples, you can do exercises with similar sentences if you use document 13 of my Podcast Spanish for Beginners. In addition to the sentences, all the documents come with practical exercises and with the correct answers.

Questions in Spanish: A Practical Exercise

And now we are going to do an exercise to practice the question words in Spanish. You have to choose which word gives meaning to the question:

a) ¿______ vienen a la fiesta, tus amigos o solo tu familia?

b) ¿______ son Leslie y Carla? Hablan con un acento inglés, ¿verdad?

c) ¿______  dices siempre que todo va a salir bien?

Finally, after you have tried to fill in the blanks, you can check the correct answers and read the translation of the questions. As a result, you will know whether you have understood this important grammar point or if you need a review.

Correct Answers

a) Quiénes Who is coming to the party, your friends or only your family? / We use “quiénes” and not “quién” because we are talking about more than one possible person coming to the party.

b) De dónde Where are Leslie and Clara from? They speak with an English accent, right? / If we notice an accent, we probably want to know where they are from.

c) Por qué Why do you always say that everything is going to turn out right? / Here “Why” is really the only word that makes sense.

In conclusion, first we need to memorize the most important question words, then we have to do exercises to use them in context. As a result, we will be able to ask questions without thinking which word we need to use.

If you would like to find out more about materials to learn Spanish, here is the link to my website: SPANISHWITHPEDRO