¿Dónde están?
To ask "where are they?" in Spanish, say ¿Dónde están?
¿Dónde están? asks where two or more people or things are, such as your friends or your keys.
What does it mean word for word?
Dónde means where and están means they are.
How does it change in a sentence?
están is plural. For one person or thing, use Dónde está.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Spanish has two verbs for to be. Location always takes the one in están.
Did you know?
- The word están comes from the Latin 'stare', which means 'to stand', implying that the people or things are in a fixed, standing position in that location.
- If you are looking for people who are missing or lost, you might hear ¿Dónde andarán?, which literally asks where they might be walking.
- If you use the wrong version of 'to be' and say ¿Dónde son?, people will think you are asking for their place of origin or their profession rather than their location.
Example conversation
Elena and Javier are looking for their friends at a party.
- ElenaNo veo a Luis y Ana. ¿Dónde están?I don't see Luis and Ana. Where are they?
- JavierCreo que están en la cocina.I think they are in the kitchen.
- ElenaNo están allí tampoco.They aren't there either.
- JavierVamos a buscarlos afuera.Let's go look for them outside.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dónde, CC BY-SA 4.0.
