Questions are vital tools in order to open lines of communication, give us information, improve interaction and facilitate analysis. To be more specific, “interrogative words” or better known as “question words” are very useful in our everyday language.
Question words
They are known as interrogative words or question words. These words are quite similar in English and Spanish. Have a look ate the following chart:
| CONCEPT | QUESTION WORDS | EXAMPLES |
| “cosa” > thing | “¿Qué?” > What? | “¿Qué haces?” |
| “lugar” > place | “¿Dónde?” > Where? | “¿Dónde vives?” |
| “tiempo” > time | “¿Cuándo?” > When? | “¿Cuándo viajas?” |
| “modo” > manner | “¿Cómo?” > How? | “¿Cómo estudias?” |
| “persona”/ “cosa” > people/ thing | “¿Cuáles?” > Which? | “¿Cuál escoges?” |
| “cantidad” > quantity | “¿Cuánto?” > How many/much? | “¿Cuántos hay?” |
| “persona” > people | “¿Quién(es)?” > Who? | “¿Quién viene?” |
Interrogative words and prepositions
Generally these questions start with prepositions such as: “por” < “by”, “para” < “for”, “con” > “with” and so forth. When a preposition is needed, it comes before the pronoun. Let’s see the chart:
| “¿Con quién?” > Who with? | “¿Con quién vas al parque?” > Who do you go to the park with? |
| “¿Para quién?” ¿A quién? >Who for ? | “¿Para quién trabajas?” > Who do you work for? |
| “¿De qué?” > About what? | “¿De qué trata el libro?” > What is this book about? |
| “¿De quién(es)?” > Whose? | “¿De quiénes son esos libros?” > Whose books are these? |
| “¿Para qué?” > What for? | “¿Para qué vas al hospital?” > What reason do you go to the hospital? |
| “¿Por qué?” > Why? | “¿Por qué aprendes español?” > Why do you learn Spanish? |
| “¿Hasta cuándo?” > How long? | “¿Hasta cuándo vas a esperar?” > How long are you going to wait? |
Knowing how to ask questions is really important as they enable speakers to find out more information about something and also to provide further information. What is more, making questions not only shows how we learn, but also our social skills. In order to expand your command of Spanish, I encourage you to take lessons at Bright Lingua. You will find the most dynamic lessons and count on native teachers who will accompany you on your Spanish learning journey.