A1 Spanish grammar
Spanish Question Words: Ask Clear Beginner Questions
Spanish question words help you ask for specific information, while a basic yes-or-no question can use familiar sentence words with question intonation. Written Spanish marks both the beginning and end of every direct question.
Choose the right Spanish question words
Use qué for what, dónde for where, cuándo for when, quién for who, cómo for how, and cuánto for how much or how many.
¿Dónde vives?Quick check
Turn Comes aquí into a yes-or-no question.
Build simple yes-or-no questions
Spanish often keeps the same words as a statement and uses question intonation: Hablas español becomes ¿Hablas español? A subject may also appear after the verb when that sounds natural.
¿Comes aquí?Use both question marks and written accents
A direct question begins with ¿ and ends with ?. Question words such as qué, dónde, and cómo keep their written accent in a question.
¿Cuándo trabajan ustedes?Common mistakes
Donde vives?
¿Dónde vives?
A direct question needs the opening mark, and dónde carries an accent when it asks where.
¿Qué tú comes?
¿Qué comes?
The ending of comes already identifies tú, so the pronoun is unnecessary in this neutral beginner question.
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Questions and question words FAQ
What are the main Spanish question words?
Useful beginner question words include qué, dónde, cuándo, quién, cómo, cuál, and cuánto.
Why does Spanish use an upside-down question mark?
The opening ¿ tells the reader immediately that a direct question has begun.
Do Spanish question words need accents?
Yes when they function as question words: qué, dónde, cuándo, quién, cómo, cuál, and cuánto.
Do I always invert the subject and verb in Spanish questions?
No. Spanish question order is flexible, and yes-or-no questions can use statement order with question intonation.