The short version
- For a yes or no question, say a normal sentence and raise your voice at the end: ¿Vives aquí?
- Question words always have an accent, and prepositions go at the start: ¿Con quién vives?
- Use cuál for "what is your…?" and polite starters like ¿Me puedes…? for asking for things.
English needs a little helper word for most questions. "Do you live here?" "Does she work?" "Did you go?" Spanish doesn't have one. ¿Vives aquí? is just "you live here" with your voice going up at the end. That's the first thing to know about how to ask questions in Spanish, and it makes a lot of them easier than in English.
Other parts take more getting used to: the accents on question words, where the little words like "with" and "from" go, and when "what" is qué and when it's cuál.
Questions matter more than most learners think. They're how you keep a conversation going, how you find things out, and how you give yourself a break from talking.
Yes or no questions: just change your voice
Take any statement and raise your voice at the end. That's a question.
| Statement | Question | English |
|---|---|---|
| Vives aquí. | ¿Vives aquí? | Do you live here? |
| Tienes hijos. | ¿Tienes hijos? | Have you got kids? |
| Habla inglés. | ¿Habla inglés? | Does he / she speak English? |
| Te gusta. | ¿Te gusta? | Do you like it? |
| Fuiste a la fiesta. | ¿Fuiste a la fiesta? | Did you go to the party? |
You'll also hear the verb moved to the front, especially when the subject is a name or a noun: ¿Trabaja tu hermana en Madrid? Both that and ¿Tu hermana trabaja en Madrid? are fine. Don't worry about word order. The rise at the end does the work.
Add ¿no? or ¿verdad? to check something
When you think you know the answer and want to check, say a normal sentence and add ¿no? or ¿verdad? at the end. It's like "isn't it?" or "right?" in English, but you don't have to change it to match the verb.
- Hace frío hoy, ¿no? (It's cold today, isn't it?)
- Eres de Valencia, ¿verdad? (You're from Valencia, aren't you?)
- Mañana cerráis, ¿no? (You're closed tomorrow, right?)
If someone tells you something and you're not certain you caught it, repeat the key part back with ¿no? on the end. El sábado a las diez, ¿no? If you got it right, they say sí. If not, they'll correct you, usually more slowly. It's much less awkward than saying you didn't understand, and it works in shops, at the doctor's and on the phone.
The question words
These are the words that start most other questions. Every one has a written accent when it's used in a question.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| qué | what | ¿Qué haces? |
| quién / quiénes | who | ¿Quién es? |
| dónde | where | ¿Dónde vives? |
| cuándo | when | ¿Cuándo llegas? |
| cómo | how / what… like | ¿Cómo es tu barrio? |
| por qué | why | ¿Por qué te mudaste? |
| cuál / cuáles | which / what | ¿Cuál prefieres? |
| cuánto / cuánta | how much | ¿Cuánto cuesta? |
| cuántos / cuántas | how many | ¿Cuántos años tienes? |
Cómo is worth a closer look. ¿Cómo estás? asks how someone is. ¿Cómo es? asks what someone or something is like: ¿Cómo es tu jefe? (What's your boss like?). And a quick ¿Cómo? on its own is a polite way of saying "Sorry?" when you didn't hear.
Written Spanish opens a question with ¿ and closes it with ?. The opening mark goes where the question starts, not always at the start of the sentence: Oye, ¿tienes un momento? The accent on the question word stays even when the question is inside another sentence: No sé dónde está (I don't know where it is).
Prepositions go at the start
In English, little words like "with", "from" and "for" often end up at the end of a question. "Who do you live with?" "Where are you from?" In Spanish they go at the start, before the question word.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿De dónde eres? | Where are you from? |
| ¿Con quién vives? | Who do you live with? |
| ¿A qué te dedicas? | What do you do (for a living)? |
| ¿A qué hora empieza? | What time does it start? |
| ¿Para qué sirve esto? | What's this for? |
| ¿Desde cuándo vives aquí? | How long have you lived here? |
| ¿De qué habláis? | What are you talking about? |
This one takes practice, because English keeps pulling the preposition to the end. The fix is to learn these as whole chunks. ¿Con quién…? and ¿De dónde…? come out much more easily once you've said them a few dozen times.
Qué or cuál?
Both can mean "what", and this trips up almost everyone. A simple way to decide:
- "What is your…?" uses cuál: ¿Cuál es tu número?, ¿Cuál es tu dirección?, ¿Cuál es tu película favorita?
- Asking what something means or what it is uses qué: ¿Qué es un botijo? (What's a botijo?)
- Straight before a noun, use qué: ¿Qué libro estás leyendo?, ¿Qué serie me recomiendas?
- Choosing between things uses cuál: Tengo dos. ¿Cuál quieres?
¿Qué es tu número? sounds odd to a Spanish speaker, a bit like asking what a phone number is. People will understand you, but it's one of the most common learner mistakes. For names, numbers, addresses and favourites, use ¿Cuál es…?
Polite questions and asking for things
A lot of your questions won't be looking for information. They'll be asking for something: help, a favour, permission. These starters make that easy.
| Starter | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ¿Me puedes…? | Can you…? | ¿Me puedes ayudar? |
| ¿Podrías…? | Could you…? | ¿Podrías repetirlo? |
| ¿Te importa si…? | Do you mind if…? | ¿Te importa si me siento aquí? |
| ¿Sabes si…? | Do you know if…? | ¿Sabes si hay una farmacia cerca? |
| ¿Me dejas…? | Can I borrow…? / Will you let me…? | ¿Me dejas un boli? |
With older people, in shops or in offices, switch to the usted form: ¿Me puede ayudar?, ¿Podría repetirlo?, ¿Sabe si…? The only change is the verb ending.
Practise asking, not just answering
Most learners practise answering questions and hardly ever practise asking them. In a real conversation, you need both.
Pick one thing about someone you know, like a friend's new job. Then ask about it out loud with as many question words as you can: ¿Dónde trabaja? ¿Desde cuándo? ¿Qué hace exactamente? ¿Cómo es su jefe? ¿Por qué cambió? ¿Cuántas horas trabaja? Do it with a new topic every day. After a week, the question words come out on their own, and you'll never be stuck for a follow-up.
You can also build questions up, the same way you'd build an answer:
- ¿Vives aquí?Do you live here?
- ¿Vives por aquí cerca?Do you live near here?
- ¿Vives por aquí cerca o vienes de lejos?Do you live near here, or do you come from far away?
Here's how lots of small questions keep a conversation moving:
For the questions that start conversations, see Spanish conversation starters that actually work. For short follow-ups like ¿Y eso?, see how to keep a conversation going in Spanish.
Common mistakes
Saying a yes or no question flat, so Vives aquí sounds like a statement.
Let your voice rise at the end: ¿Vives aquí?
Leaving the preposition at the end: ¿Quién vives con?
Put it first: ¿Con quién vives?
¿Qué es tu nombre?
¿Cómo te llamas? or ¿Cuál es tu nombre?
Using tú with an older stranger: ¿Me puedes ayudar?
¿Me puede ayudar?
Only practising answers.
Practise asking too, with every question word.
Recap
- Yes or no questions are normal sentences with your voice going up at the end.
- Add ¿no? or ¿verdad? to check something.
- Question words have accents, and prepositions go at the start.
- Use cuál for "what is your…?" and qué straight before a noun.
- Use ¿Me puedes…?, ¿Te importa si…? and ¿Sabes si…? to ask for things politely.
Every conversation in 100 Spanish Conversations includes the questions as well as the answers, so you practise both sides out loud. If you want to test your questions on real people, post a few in the community on Skool and see who answers.
Leeroy studied Spanish for years before moving to Spain and finding he couldn't hold a conversation. He built Basically Spanish around the method that fixed it. Questions? leeroy@basicallyspanish.com