The Essential Spanish Question Words

How many question words in Spanish are you familiar with? Do you know how to write a question in Spanish? Asking questions is one of the most important skills you need to master in the language you are learning. In this lesson, we will learn the most important interrogative words in Spanish. However, before we explore those words, let's discuss a couple of things about asking questions in Spanish. 

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How do you say the word 'question' in Spanish?

'Pregunta' is how you say the word 'question' in Spanish. 'Pregunta' is a feminine noun and its plural form is 'preguntas'. Let's practice the pronunciation of this term:

 

Kevin, la pregunta es:

Kevin, the question is:

Caption 13, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 1

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Los voy a dejar con cuatro preguntas.

I am going to leave you with four questions.

Caption 48, Carlos explica - Tuteo, ustedeo y voseo: Ustedes y vosotros

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Spanish question structure

Do you know how to write a question in Spanish? Let's take a look at the basic structure of a question in Spanish.

 

Punctuation and question marks

To begin with, you need to stick to the rules of Spanish punctuation. Because of that, when you write a question in Spanish you need to remember that question marks are always double-sided. In other words, you need to start the question with an opening question mark (¿) and end it with a closing one (?):

 

¿Cómo es Japón?

What's Japan like?

¿Qué te gusta de Japón?

What do you like about Japan?

Captions 69-70, Clase Aula Azul - Pedir deseos

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Yes/No questions

Let's start with simple questions. Believe it or not, for these kinds of questions your intonation is what matters the most. You basically make Yes/No questions by transforming a statement into a question. The Spanish question structure for these kinds of questions is the following:

 

¿ + (subject) + conjugated verb + (additional information) + ?

 

Please note that the terms in parenthesis are optional. Let's see a couple of examples:

 

A Pedro le gusta comer pizza. (Pedro likes to eat pizza.)

¿A Pedro le gusta comer pizza? (Does Pedro like to eat pizza?)

 

For negative questions, you just need to place a "no" before the conjugated verb.

 

No quieres estudiar. (You don't want to study.)

¿No quieres estudiar? (Don't you want to study?)

 

Go ahead and play the following clips so you can hear the intonation of the following Yes/No questions. Notice how the pitch of the speaker's voice gets higher at the end of the sentence when asking questions in Spanish:

 

Mmm... ¿Quieres ir al cine?

Mmm... Do you want to go to the movies?

-Sí, ¡buena idea!

-Yes, good idea!

Captions 45-46, Conversaciones en el parque - Cap. 5: Me gusta mucho este parque.

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¿Necesitas ayuda?

Do you need help?

-Mmm... Sí.

-Mmm... Yes.

Captions 9-10, Español para principiantes - La hora

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¿No conoces Manhattan?

You don't know Manhattan?

Caption 37, Yago - 2 El puma

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As you can see, it is very common to start Yes/No questions with a conjugated verb.

 

Questions that ask for specific information

The following is the Spanish question structure you need to keep mind when your question is aimed at getting some sort of information:

 

¿ + (preposition) + question word + conjugated verb + (additional information) + ?

 

Please note that the terms in parenthesis are optional. Let's see a couple of examples:

 

¡Oh! ¿Dónde está el cajero automático?

Oh! Where's the ATM?

Caption 36, Natalia de Ecuador - Palabras de uso básico

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In the example above, we have the following structure: 

¿ + question word (dónde) + conjugated verb (está) + additional information (el cajero automático) + ?

 

Let's listen to another clip:

 

¿Desde cuándo tienes este piso?

Since when have you had this apartment?

Caption 35, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos

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In this last example, the Spanish question structure is the following: 

¿ + preposition (desde) + question word (cuándo) + conjugated verb (tienes) + additional information (este piso) + ?

 

Now that we have seen the structure of a question, let's take a look at some Spanish question words in sentences.

 

Top Spanish question words

It's time to review the most important interrogative words in Spanish. If you are thinking about WH questions, you are right. Let's find out what the Spanish question words are for 'what', 'which', 'when', 'where', 'who', 'why' and 'how'.

 

Top question words in Spanish

For your reference, here's a list of the top question words in Spanish.

 

What / Which (Qué / Cuál)

When (Cuándo)

Where (Dónde)

Who (Quién)

Why (Por qué)

How (Cómo)

 

Now, let's see each one of these question words in action with a list of some of the most basic Spanish questions you can ask.

 

Basic questions to ask in Spanish using WH questions

And now, let's dive into our list.

 

What / Which (Qué / Cuál)

 

Diremos, "¿Qué hora es?"

We'll say, "What time is it?"

Caption 49, Español para principiantes - La hora

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O, ¿A qué te dedicas?

Or, What do you do? [with "tú"].

Caption 17, Karla e Isabel - Tú y Usted

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Oye, y ¿en qué trabajas?

Hey, and what do you do [for a living]?

Caption 82, Ricardo - La compañera de casa

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Por supuesto; ¿cuál es su dirección de correo?

Of course; what is your e-mail address?

Caption 69, Negocios - Empezar en un nuevo trabajo

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¿Recuerdas cuál era la copa para servir vino?

Do you remember which cup was the one for serving wine?

Caption 36, Ana Carolina - El comedor

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When (Cuándo)

 

¿Y cuándo hizo el "check-in"?

And when did he check-in?

Caption 13, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 3

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¿Cuándo terminas de estudiar?

When do you finish studying?

Caption 72, Carlos explica - Tuteo, ustedeo y voseo: Conjugación

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Where (Dónde)

 

¿De dónde eres?

Where are you from?

Caption 36, Curso de español - ¿De dónde eres?

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Y ¿en dónde vives?

And where do you live?

Caption 8, Cleer - Entrevista a Lila

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Let's see a couple of clips from Raquel to see the kind of questions you ask when you want to find out where something is located:

 

¿Me podrías decir dónde está el baño?

Could you tell me where the bathroom is?

Caption 7, Raquel - Expresiones para un festival de música.

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¿Sabes dónde hay alguna farmacia?

Do you know where there's a pharmacy?

Caption 24, Raquel - Expresiones para un festival de música.

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Who (Quién)

We use 'who' when we want to find out someone's identity. Let's see a couple of examples:

 

Mi jugador favorito juega en el Real Madrid.

My favorite player plays for Real Madrid.

¿Quién es?

Who is it?

Captions 19-20, El Aula Azul - Las Profesiones

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¿Usted quién es?

Who are you?

Roberto. Un amigo.

Roberto. A friend.

Captions 24-25, Yago - 9 Recuperación

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Why (Por qué)

 

¿Por qué dices eso? -No...

Why are you saying that? -No...

Caption 14, Cortometraje - Beta

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How (Cómo)

 

Para saludar, podemos decir: "Hola. ¿Cómo estás? ¿Todo bien?"

To greet (people), we can say: "Hello. How are you? (Is) everything good?"

Caption 7, Español en las calles - Varias expresiones

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Keep in mind that the word 'cómo' is not always translated as the English word 'how'. In fact, one of the most basic Spanish questions you can ask is a good example of that:

 

Buenos días, ¿cómo te llamas?

Good morning, what's your name?

Caption 8, La rutina diaria - La mañana

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When we want to find out someone's age or the price of an object, we combine 'how' with other words such as 'old' or 'much'. When we want to get that kind of information, we use other interrogative words in Spanish. Let's take a look:

 

Ah, lindo.

Oh, nice.

¿Cuánto cuesta?

How much does it cost?

Captions 33-34, Natalia de Ecuador - Palabras de uso básico

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¿Cuántos años tienes?

How old are you?

Caption 6, Cleer - Entrevista a Lila

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Ah, vale. ¿Cuántos hijos tienes?

Oh, OK. How many sons do you have?

Caption 39, Clase Aula Azul - El verbo parecer

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¿Y cuántas botellas de agua hay aquí?

And how many bottles of water are there here?

Caption 78, Español para principiantes - Los números del 1 al 100

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And that's it for now. We hope you use this review of the most important Spanish question words as the perfect excuse to start asking questions in Spanish. Are you ready? We encourage you to do that and don't forget to send us your questions and comments.

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Una vez | una vez que| de una vez

The Spanish expression una vez (once, one time) is usually combined with different prepositions to convey different meanings. 

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In one of our newest videos in the series Curso de guitarra, you can hear the teacher saying:
 

Una vez resuelta esta progresión, ahora sí podemos cantar.

Once this progression [is] done, now we can sing.

Caption 5, Curso de guitarra - Para los que empiezan desde cero

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Notice how una vez, in this case, was placed before a participle (resuelta) used as an adjective (that's why it agrees in gender and number with the noun that it modifies: la progresión [the progression]). See the following similar examples:

Una vez rota, no puedes pegar la taza de nuevo.
Once broken, the cup can't be put back together.

Una vez muertos, los peces empezaron a flotar.
Once dead, the fish started to float.

If using the participle is still a little too complicated for you, you can work your way around it using una vez + que (once) and an indicative verb:

Una vez que la taza se rompeno puedes pegarla de nuevo.
Once the cup is broken, you can't put it back together. 

Una vez que los peces murieron, empezaron a flotar.
Once the fish were dead, they started to float.

Take a look at a similar example from our video catalog:
 

Una vez que la cría se hace mayor, ¿qué pasa?

Once the baby gets older, what happens?

Caption 17, Animales en familia - El hipopótamo pigmeo

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What would this look like if we use the participle construction instead? Want to give it a try?

Una vez hecha mayor la cría, ¿qué pasa?
Once the baby gets older, what happens?

But what happens if you place the preposition de (of, from) before una vez (once)? The phrase now means "at once," "right now," or "once and for all." Other similar phrases that are very common are de una buena vez and de una vez por todas, which mean the same and just add more emphasis to the expression.
 

Mejor me voy al cuarto feo de una vez.

I might as well go to the ugly room right now.

Caption 22, NPS No puede ser - 1 - El concurso

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Termina con mi vida de una vez

Put an end to my life once and for all

Caption 44, Gonzalo Yáñez - Dispara

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A ver si me entendés de una vez por todas.

See if you understand me once and for all.

Caption 51, Yago - 2 El puma

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Just be careful! Más de una vez means "more than once:"
 

Te lo advertí más de una vez que yo no entro en el juego.

I warned you more than once that I don't enter the game.

Caption 45, Orishas - El Kilo

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And now, for some extra points: How do you say "once upon a time" in Spanish? You use the verb haber (to be):

Había una vez una niña a quien todos llamaban Caperucita roja.
Once upon a time there was a girl whom everybody called Little Red Riding Hood.

The End.

The Word Vez... Otra Vez

Notice how singing sensation David Bisbal uses the expression a la vez to express “at the same time”:

 

Es una canción dura pero... pero a la vez gratificante, ¿no?

It is a tough song but... but at the same time rewarding, right?

Caption 32, David Bisbal - Haciendo Premonición Live

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Don’t mix up this word with a veces, which means “at times,” “occasionally”, or “sometimes.” Dany, our Venezuelan chef, demonstrates perfectly:

 

Entonces a veces habrá que voltearla

So, sometimes it would be necessary to flip it

un par de veces más antes de terminarla.

a couple of times more before finishing it.

Caption 44, Dany - Arepas

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In the biography of Muñeca Brava's star Natalia Oreiro, we encounter the phrase de vez en cuando, which means “from time to time” or “once in a while.”
 

Quieras o no, era un sueldito

Like it or not, it was a little wage

que de vez en cuando venía bien.

that from time to time came in handy.

Captions 55-56, Biografía - Natalia Oreiro

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Una vez means "once", dos veces means "twice", tres veces means "three times"... etc. You hear an example when Bárbara Muñoz sings Miénteme:
 

Miénteme una vez

Lie to me once

Caption 13, Bárbara Muñoz - Miénteme

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As fans of our popular Telenovela, Muñeca Brava, will know, de una vez means “at once”:
 

¿Por qué no te acostás de una vez y apagás la luz?

Why don't you get in bed at once and turn off the light?

Caption 35, Muñeca Brava - 18 - La Apuesta

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If you add por todas (or para siempre), the meaning changes to “once and for all.” This becomes evident when you watch our other popular Telenovela, Yago (Pasion Morena):

 

No, uh, no, no, este, quiero a ver si me entendés de una vez por todas.

No, oh, no, no, um, I want to see if you understand me once and for all.

Caption 51, Yago - 2 El puma

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Do you find these lesson useful? We suggest you keep them at hand la próxima vez (the next time) you put your Spanish to use.

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_______________________
 
Further reading from our archives:
Una Vez (One more time)
Telling the Tale (Once upon a time) 
Ahora/Ya (Learning “now”)

 

Vocabulary