Questions

  • Formation of questions in Spanish: In Spanish, similar to English, questions are usually asked by changing the order of the subject and the verb. However, unlike English, Spanish also uses inverted question marks at the beginning of the sentence. For example, the statement “Tienes un lápiz.” (You have a pencil.) becomes “¿Tienes un lápiz?” (Do you have a pencil?) when a question is asked.

  • Use of question words: Spanish uses specific question words such as ¿Qué? (What?), ¿Quién? (Who?), ¿Dónde? (Where?), ¿Por qué? (Why?), ¿Cuándo? (When?), ¿Cómo? (How?), and ¿Cuánto? (How much?).

  • ‘Tú’ vs ‘usted’: Remember that in Spanish, when addressing someone formally (e.g., a teacher or an elderly person), we use ‘usted’ and when addressing someone informally (e.g., a friend or sibling), you would use ‘tú’.

  • Intonational questions: Spanish sometimes uses statements as questions by changing the intonation. For example, “Vas a la fiesta.” could be said with a rising intonation to ask “You’re going to the party?”

  • Indirect questions: Spanish may use indirect questions, which involve an introductory phrase, question word and verb. For example, “No sé qué es.” (I don’t know what it is.).

  • Yes/No questions: Yes/No questions in Spanish are typically formed by inverting the subject and the verb. There isn’t a specific word for ‘do’. An example would be “¿Comes pizza?” (Do you eat pizza?).

  • Politeness: Just like in English, you can make your questions sound more polite by using certain phrases. For instance, using “por favour” (please) at the end of your question or “¿Podría(s)” (Could you) at the start can show politeness.

  • Open-ended questions: Open-ended questions are asked when you want more than a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. Key words often begin these questions, such as ‘qué’ (what), ‘por qué’ (why), ‘cuándo’ (when), etc.

Note: It is always important to listen for the cues in conversation to know when a question is being asked, as the change may be subtle. Practice listening and responding to different types of questions to improve your understanding and communication.