pregunto
/pɾeɡunto/from spelling rules
The phrase "I ask" in Spanish is pregunto.
pregunto is used when the speaker is seeking information from someone by posing a question.
How does it change in a sentence?
pregunto is the first-person singular present indicative of the verb preguntar. When you are asking a person a question, you typically use an indirect object pronoun like le to indicate the person being asked (for example, le pregunto means "I ask him/her/you"). If you add the reflexive pronoun me to the form, it becomes me pregunto, which changes the meaning from asking someone else a question to "I wonder" or "I ask myself".
How do you pronounce it?
/pɾeɡunto/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often confuse preguntar with pedir. Use preguntar only when you are seeking information. Use pedir when you are asking for an object or a favor.
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the act of asking for information preguntar is conceptually separated from the act of requesting a thing pedir. An English speaker might use 'ask' for both, but using preguntar to request a glass of water would sound like you are questioning the water's existence.
- The root of pregunto comes from the Latin prae meaning 'before' and quaerere meaning 'to seek'. This implies that asking is a preliminary search for knowledge before a conclusion is reached.
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, starting a question with me pregunto can be used as a polite social softener to make a request or critique seem less direct and more like a casual curiosity.
Examples in context
- Me pregunto quién será la primera víctima de Tatoeba.I ask myself who will be Tatoeba's first victim.This sentence shows how to use pregunto to express wondering about a person.Tatoeba #1136080 by Shishir, translation #8972764 by Nylez
- Me pregunto si esta oración sobrevivirá al fin del mundo.I ask myself if this sentence will survive till the end of the world.This sentence demonstrates using pregunto to wonder about a hypothetical outcome.Tatoeba #2119322 by Shishir, translation #4646523 by zpaden
- Cuando le pregunto a la gente qué es lo que lamenta más del instituto, casi todos dicen lo mismo: que perdieron demasiado tiempo.When I ask people what they regret most about high school, they nearly all say the same thing: that they wasted so much time.This sentence illustrates asking people a question about their regrets using pregunto.Tatoeba #1469442 by Shishir, translation #1815 by AlanF_US
- Pregunto si el hotel tiene habitaciones disponibles.I ask if the hotel has rooms available.
- Me gustaría saber si podría obtener más información.I would like to know if I could get more information.
- Pregunto qué hora es.I ask what time it is.
- Quisiera preguntarI would like to ask
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
María and Javier are at a train station.
- MaríaNo sé el horario, así que pregunto en la taquilla.I don't know the schedule, so I ask at the ticket office.
- JavierEs una buena idea, María.That is a good idea, María.
- María¿Crees que Javier sabe dónde está la salida?Do you think Javier knows where the exit is?
- JavierNo lo sé, mejor pregúntale a él.I don't know, better ask 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.
