preguntó
/pɾeɡunto/from spelling rules
preguntó is the Spanish word for asked.
The word is used when a person puts a question to another person.
Which one should you use?
Use preguntó specifically when someone is posing a question. Do not use pidió for this purpose, as pidió is used when someone is asking for an object or a favor.
How does it change in a sentence?
The accent on the final ó in preguntó is essential to indicate that it is the third-person singular preterite (past tense) form. Other forms of this verb include pregunté for I asked and preguntaron for they or you all asked.
How do you pronounce it?
/pɾeɡunto/
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, if you 'ask' for a person's presence, you might use preguntar por, which shifts the meaning slightly toward inquiring about their whereabouts.
- A single misplaced accent mark can change your entire narrative from the past to the present. Writing preguntó as pregunto transforms 'he asked' into 'I ask'.
- In high literature, writers often replace preguntó with inquirió to signal a more formal or piercing type of questioning, similar to 'interrogated' in English.
Examples in context
- Me preguntó mi edad.She asked me how old I was.This sentence is useful for showing how to use preguntó to express someone asking about age.Tatoeba #950666 by hayastan, translation #69579 by CK
- Me preguntó quién era.He asked me who I was.This sentence is useful for showing how to use preguntó to express someone asking about identity.Tatoeba #1097332 by Shishir, translation #288154 by CK
- Le preguntó a mi madre.He asked my mother.This sentence is useful for showing how to use preguntó when asking someone's mother.Tatoeba #1052070 by Shishir, translation #749761 by sctld
- El profesor preguntó sobre la tarea.The teacher asked about the homework.
- El periodista inquirió sobre el tema principal de la conferencia.The journalist asked about the main topic of the conference.
- Le preguntó a su amigo si quería salir esta noche.He asked his friend if he wanted to go out tonight.
- Mi hermana quiso saber dónde estaba.My sister asked where I was.
- 353 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and María are talking about a phone call from a neighbor.
- MateoEl vecino me preguntó por ti.The neighbor asked about you.
- María¿De verdad te preguntó eso?Did he really ask you that?
- MateoSí, me preguntó si estabas bien.Yes, he asked me if you were okay.
- MaríaQué amable fue él.How kind of him.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
