Six little words let you ask about any piece of any sentence, which is how you keep a conversation alive when your Spanish runs out. Twenty-four cards, a quiz in three tiers and four workshop activities cover the question words, the shape a Spanish question takes, and the -er and -ir verbs — which are one set of endings, not two.
One Spanish sentence, cut into its pieces. Ana comes pan en la escuela. Someone, something they do, what, and where.
There are six of these words and they are worth knowing cold: quién (who), qué (what), dónde (where), cuándo (when), por qué (why) and cómo (how). Every single one carries a written accent, and that accent is how you know it is asking rather than joining. And they all build a question the same way: the question word first, then the verb, then whoever is doing it. You are not learning six rules — you are learning six words and one shape.
Two things people get wrong
⚠️People often think…
Verbs that end in -er and verbs that end in -ir each need a whole new set of endings to learn.
They are the same set, apart from one single ending. Como, comes, come, comen. Vivo, vives, vive, viven. Identical. The only place they part company is nosotros: comemos against vivimos. So it is not two more sets to learn — it is one more set and one exception.
-er and -ir are one set. Only nosotros tells them apart.
⚠️People often think…
A question keeps the English order: ¿Dónde Ana vive?
In Spanish the verb comes straight after the question word, and whoever is doing it follows behind. ¿Dónde vive Ana? ¿Qué come Luis? ¿Cuándo estudian los niños? English does this too, in its own way — you say where does Ana live, not where Ana lives. Both languages move something; Spanish just moves the verb itself.
Question word · verb · who. Never word · who · verb.
Build a question from a sentence
1Watch one
Ana vive en Chicago. Ask about the place.
Decide which piece you want to ask about. You want en Chicago — a place.
A place is asked for with dónde.
Put dónde first, with the opening mark: ¿Dónde…
The verb comes next, not the person: ¿Dónde vive…
¿Dónde vive Ana? ✓ Word, verb, who. And the answer puts them back the other way round: Ana vive en Chicago.
2Do one with me
Luis come pan a las ocho. Fill in the three boxes.
To ask about pan, the question word is
To ask about a las ocho, the question word is
Write the whole question asking about pan
💬One sentence, then you move on
You already know como, comes, come. Why does that mean you nearly know vivo, vives, vive as well?
3Try one
Los niños escriben en la clase. Write a question that asks WHERE.
I want a hint first
Word, verb, who. Three pieces, always in that order, and do not forget the ¿ at the front.
💬Last one — then you’re done here
Every Spanish question word carries a written accent. What job is that little mark doing?
Where this goes
Where this lives
Every conversation you will ever have. Six words let you ask about anything anybody says, which means you can keep a conversation going even when most of your Spanish has run out.
What this feeds
Next room: first, then, last. Telling a whole day in order, with the words that hold the order together — and the last room of this band.
Write one Spanish sentence about your day. Then write two different questions about it, using two different question words.
One card at a time — tap “Show me” to check yourself, then Next. Start at Foundation; when those feel easy, climb.
Helpful Hints
🧭 The unit in one line
A question is a sentence with one piece taken out → the piece you took out decides the question word: quién, qué, dónde, cuándo, por qué, cómo → all six carry a written accent, and that accent means ASKING → the question is built word, then verb, then who → and to answer it you need -er and -ir verbs, which are one set of endings, not two.
Point at the missing piece. Then word, verb, who.
🔑 The one idea
Six question words sounds like six things to memorize, and it is not. Take any Spanish sentence and cut it into its pieces — who, what they do, what, where, when. Every piece has exactly one word that asks for it. So you do not choose the question word; you point at the piece you want back and the word is already decided. Then all six build a question the same way: the word first, the verb straight after it, and the person last. One shape, six words, and an accent that does the same job in all of them.
⚠️ Traps to avoid
¿Dónde Ana vive? is wrong. The verb goes straight after the question word: ¿Dónde vive Ana?
-er and -ir are NOT two sets of endings. They are one set, and nosotros is the only place they differ: comemos against vivimos.
Por qué (two words, accent) asks. Porque (one word, no accent) answers. They sound identical.
¿Dónde eres? is not how you ask where someone is from. The de comes with dónde: ¿De dónde eres?
Soy diez años is not Spanish. Age is something you HAVE: Tengo diez años.
A yes-or-no question has no question word at all. ¿Comes pan? is complete as it stands.
Answering ¿Dónde vives? with Vives en Darien tells somebody where THEY live. The ending has to move to yo: Vivo.
📐 The piece, the word, the question
The piece you want
Word
Example question
Answer
['a person', 'una persona']
['quién', 'quién']
¿Quién come pan?
Ana
['a thing', 'una cosa']
['qué', 'qué']
¿Qué come Ana?
Pan
['a place', 'un lugar']
['dónde', 'dónde']
¿Dónde vive Ana?
En Chicago
['a time', 'una hora']
['cuándo', 'cuándo']
¿Cuándo come Ana?
A las ocho
['a reason', 'una razón']
['por qué', 'por qué']
¿Por qué estudia Ana?
Porque tiene un examen
['in what way', 'de qué manera']
['cómo', 'cómo']
¿Cómo va Ana?
En autobús
['where FROM', 'de dónde']
['de dónde', 'de dónde']
¿De dónde eres?
Soy de México
['where TO', 'a dónde']
['adónde', 'adónde']
¿Adónde vas?
A la escuela
['one out of several', 'uno de varios']
['cuál', 'cuál']
¿Cuál es tu libro?
El azul
['how many', 'cuántos']
['cuántos/as', 'cuántos/as']
¿Cuántos años tienes?
Tengo diez años
['nothing — yes or no', 'nada — sí o no']
['—', '—']
¿Comes pan?
Sí / No
🎯 How you will be asked
“Which question word asks for this piece?” — with a sentence given and one piece underlined.
“Build a question from this sentence.” — word, verb, who, with both marks.
“Por qué or porque?” — one asks, one answers.
“Give como, comes, come and vivo, vives, vive — and say where they differ.”
“How old are you, in Spanish?” — and why it uses tener.
✅ Before the test, can you…
Say all six question words and what each one asks for?
Build a question from any Spanish sentence, in the right order, with both marks?
Explain what the written accent is doing on quién, qué and dónde?
Give the -er and -ir endings and name the one form where they differ?
Ask somebody their name, where they are from and how old they are — and answer all three yourself?
📚 Go to the sources
These open another website and need the internet. In the first two, look up comer and then vivir and put the two lists of endings side by side — you will see for yourself that they match everywhere except nosotros, which is faster than being told.
Look back at anything you missed — the hint that appeared is exactly what to reread tonight.
How sure did you feel?
Workshop
Label the pieces of a sentence with the word that asks for each, sort twelve answers back to their question words, put an interview in order, and then write the case that six question words are one shape, not six rules.
Your practice never leaves this device. There is no account and no sign-in. Your work is saved in this browser only, and you can erase it whenever you want.
Your practice record — saved on this device
This is your record of the module on screen — it stays here and goes nowhere. Independent means you got it right on the first tap; supported means you got it after the explain-and-retry, or marked ‘I had it’ on a revealed answer. Both count, and neither is a grade. If your teacher asks, copy the row or show them this screen.
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The answer key is for a teacher: it prints only from here, for the unit on screen. Print the study packet prints the study pages and a blank quiz — never the answers.