¿Por qué harías eso?
The English phrase "why would you do that?" is expressed in Spanish as ¿Por qué harías eso?
This question is used to express confusion or disapproval regarding someone's decision or action.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of por qué (why), harías (you would do) and eso (that).
Which one should you use?
While ¿Por qué harías eso? expresses confusion or disbelief about a hypothetical or recent decision, the phrase ¿Por qué haces eso? is used to ask for the reason behind an action currently in progress.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb harías is the conditional tense of hacer, which is used here to express a hypothetical or speculative reason for an action. The question uses the second-person singular informal form harías. To use the formal "you" (usted), the verb changes from harías to haría.
Did you know?
- The word eso traces back to the Latin word ipsum, which means 'itself'. This makes 'that' in Spanish more closely related to the English concept of 'identity' or 'self' than to the English word 'that'.
- While this phrase asks 'why', Spanish has a separate word para qué to ask about the purpose or goal of an action, meaning 'what for'.
- While English uses 'why' for both the question and the explanation, Spanish requires two different spellings: por qué for the question and porque for the answer.
Examples in context
- ¡Pero por qué! ¿Por qué lo hiciste? No te imagino haciendo algo así.But why! Why did you do that? I can't picture you doing something like that.
- ¿Por qué lo haría usted? No entiendo su decisión.Why would you do that? I don't understand your decision.
- No entiendo tu decisión, ¿por qué harías eso?I don't understand your decision, why would you do that?
Example conversation
Alejandro tells Sofia he wants to quit his stable job without a plan.
- AlejandroVoy a renunciar a mi trabajo mañana.I'm going to quit my job tomorrow.
- SofíaPero no tienes otro empleo, ¿por qué harías eso?But you don't have another job, why would you do that?
- AlejandroNecesito un descanso y quiero viajar.I need a break and I want to travel.
- SofíaEs una decisión muy arriesgada, Alejandro.It is a very risky decision, Alejandro.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries eso, por, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
