pronombres interrogativos
/pɾonombɾes interoɡatibos/from spelling rules
The English phrase "question words" is pronombres interrogativos in Spanish.
Common examples include ¿Qué? for "What?" (inquiring about things or objects), ¿Quién? for "Who?" (asking about people), ¿Cuándo? for "When?" (asking about time), ¿Dónde? for "Where?" (inquiring about locations), ¿Por qué? for "Why?" (asking for reasons) and ¿Cómo? for "How?" (inquiring about manner).
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase translates literally to "interrogative pronouns".
How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, many question words require an accent mark to distinguish them from their relative counterparts. For example, the interrogative cuándo (when) uses an accent, whereas the relative adverb cuando does not. Similarly, the interrogative dónde (where) has an accent, while the relative adverb donde does not. Finally, the interrogative quién (who) is written with an accent to distinguish it from the relative pronoun quien.
How do you pronounce it?
/pɾonombɾes interoɡatibos/
Did you know?
- The question word quién changes to quienes when asking about more than one person, making it one of the few question words in Spanish that must agree in number with the subject.
- If you use a question word to express surprise rather than a literal inquiry, such as 'How beautiful!', you use the interrogative form with an accent.
- Unlike English, where question words like 'who' or 'what' usually move to the front of the sentence, Spanish allows question words to remain in their natural position within the sentence.
Examples in context
- ¿Qué estás haciendo?What are you doing?
- ¿Quién es ese hombre?Who is that man?
- ¿Cuándo nos vemos?When do we meet?
- ¿Dónde está el baño?Where is the bathroom?
- ¿Por qué estás enojado?Why are you angry?
- ¿Cómo te llamas?What is your name?
- ¿Quién es ese señor?Who is that gentleman?
- ¿Quién es ese chico?Who is that guy?
- Los pronombres interrogativos son útiles en clase.The question words are useful in class.
- Necesito estudiar los pronombres interrogativos para el examen.I need to study the question words for the exam.
- No entiendo bien los pronombres interrogativos.I do not understand the question words well.
Example conversation
Daniel and Sofía are studying Spanish grammar together in a library.
- Daniel¿Sabes usar los pronombres interrogativos?Do you know how to use the question words?
- SofíaSí, pero todavía tengo algunas dudas.Yes, but I still have some doubts.
- DanielYo también, son un poco complicados.Me too, they are a bit complicated.
- SofíaVamos a practicar con este libro.Let's practice with this book.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
