Unit 7 · Who, Where, When, Why

Picture a knock at your door. You want to know who it is. In Spanish you ask ¿quién? (who?). ¿Quién es? means Who is it? The answer names a person: Es mi tía. (It is my aunt.) A question word is a word that starts a question and asks for one kind of answer.

Look at more examples. ¿Quién es tu maestra? (Who is your teacher?) ¿Quién canta? (Who is singing?) If you ask about more than one person, use ¿quiénes? (who, for a group). ¿Quiénes son ellos? (Who are they?) The -es ending shows that the answer is more than one person.

Spanish questions start with an upside-down mark, ¿, and end with ?. English speakers often forget the first one. Also look at the accent mark on the é in quién. Every question word in this chapter carries a written accent. Without it, the word is spelled wrong.

Picture a friend holding a gift box. You want to know what is inside. You ask ¿qué? (what?). ¿Qué es? means What is it? Your friend answers: Es un libro. (It is a book.) The answer names a thing, not a person.

¿Qué? can also ask about an action. ¿Qué haces? means What are you doing? The answer is a verb: Leo. (I am reading.) Try more. ¿Qué comes? (What are you eating?) Como una manzana. (I am eating an apple.) Look at the question word first. It tells you what kind of answer to give.

Watch the accent. Qué with an accent asks a question. Que without an accent means that, as in Creo que sí (I think so). English speakers often mix up ¿qué? and ¿quién? Remember: qué is for things, quién is for people.

Picture a friend coming back from being sick. You want to know how she feels. You ask ¿cómo? (how?). ¿Cómo estás? means How are you? She answers: Estoy bien. (I am fine.) You already know this question from greetings.

¿Cómo? also asks what something is like. ¿Cómo es tu perro? (What is your dog like?) Es pequeño y negro. (It is small and black.) Notice that English says what here, but Spanish says cómo. That surprises many English speakers. Think of it as How is your dog, in looks?

Watch the accent again. Cómo with an accent asks how. Como without an accent can mean I eat. Como tacos means I eat tacos. The accent changes a question word into a different word. So write cómo with an accent every time you ask.

Picture yourself looking for your backpack. You ask your brother ¿dónde? (where?). ¿Dónde está mi mochila? means Where is my backpack? He answers: Está en la cocina. (It is in the kitchen.) The answer is a place.

Look at the verb in the question. To ask where something is, Spanish uses está, from estar. ¿Dónde está el baño? (Where is the bathroom?) ¿Dónde están mis zapatos? (Where are my shoes?) Use están when you ask about more than one thing.

A common mistake is ¿Dónde es el baño? Use estar, not ser, for where something is. Another mistake is dropping the accent on the o. Write dónde with the accent. The word en (in, at) often starts the answer: en la escuela, en casa.

Picture your friend talking about a party. You want to know when it is. You ask ¿cuándo? (when?). ¿Cuándo es la fiesta? means When is the party? She answers: Es el sábado. (It is on Saturday.) The answer is a time or a day.

Here ser is correct, because an event is happening. ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? (When is your birthday?) Es el 5 de mayo. (It is May 5.) Notice the order: the day comes first, then de, then the month. Spanish writes months with small letters.

Holidays make good practice. ¿Cuándo es el Día de la Independencia de México? It is el 16 de septiembre. ¿Cuándo es el Día de los Muertos? It is el 1 y el 2 de noviembre. Remember the accent: cuándo, with the mark on the a.

Picture a food stand with empanadas. You want to know the price. You ask ¿cuánto? (how much?). ¿Cuánto cuesta? means How much does it cost? The seller answers: Dos dólares. (Two dollars.) The answer is a number.

To ask how many, the word matches the thing you count. For a masculine word, use ¿cuántos? ¿Cuántos perros tienes? (How many dogs do you have?) For a feminine word, use ¿cuántas? ¿Cuántas empanadas hay? (How many empanadas are there?) The ending -os or -as matches the noun.

English speakers often say ¿Cuántos empanadas? That is a mistake, because empanada is feminine. Check the noun first, then pick -os or -as. And keep the accent on the a: cuánto, cuántos, cuántas.

Picture your little brother looking sad. You ask ¿por qué? (why?). ¿Por qué estás triste? means Why are you sad? He answers: Porque no hay empanadas. (Because there are no empanadas.) The question and the answer sound almost the same.

Look at how they are written. The question is two words, por qué, with an accent on the é. The answer is one word, porque, with no accent. It means because. Say both aloud. In the question, your voice leans on qué. In the answer, it leans on por.

Many students write porque in the question. That is a mistake. Use this check. Does it have question marks around it? Then write ¿Por qué? Is it the start of an answer? Then write porque. This small difference shows up in many Spanish tests.

Look at this list: quién, qué, cómo, dónde, cuándo, cuánto, por qué. Every one has an acento (a written accent mark). The mark sits on one vowel. It shows the question word, and it shows which part to say louder.

Many of these words have a twin without the accent. Que means that. Como can mean I eat or like. Donde means where in a statement: la casa donde vivo (the house where I live). Porque means because. The twin words are not questions, so they have no accent.

Here is a simple rule for now. If the word asks a question, write the accent. A common mistake is to type fast and skip it. On a phone, hold down the letter to find é, ó or á. Check each question word before you send it.

Start with one sentence: Tomás come una empanada en la cocina a las seis. (Tomás eats an empanada in the kitchen at six.) Each piece answers a different question. You can ask about any piece you do not know.

Swap the person for quién: ¿Quién come una empanada? Swap the food for qué: ¿Qué come Tomás? Swap the place for dónde: ¿Dónde come Tomás? Swap the time for cuándo: ¿Cuándo come Tomás? Notice the verb often moves before the person in a question: ¿Qué come Tomás?

English speakers often keep English order and say ¿Qué Tomás come? Spanish usually puts the verb right after the question word. Question word first, then the verb, then the person. This pattern works with every question word you learned.

Picture a new student sitting next to you. You want to know her name. You ask ¿Cómo te llamas? (What is your name?). Word for word, it is How do you call yourself? She answers: Me llamo Sofía. (My name is Sofía.)

Look at the pattern. Te goes with tú (you, for a friend). Me goes with yo (I). ¿Cómo te llamas? Me llamo Sofía. You can also answer Soy Sofía (I am Sofía). Both answers are correct.

English speakers sometimes say Me llamo es Sofía. That is a mistake, because llamo is already the verb. Say Me llamo Sofía, with no es. With an adult, ask the polite way: ¿Cómo se llama usted? (What is your name?)

Picture a birthday party with candles on a cake. You want to know how old your cousin is. You ask ¿Cuántos años tienes? (How old are you?). Word for word, it is How many years do you have? Your cousin answers: Tengo diez años. (I am ten.)

Look at the verb. Spanish uses tener (to have) for age, not ser. Tengo means I have. Tienes means you have. Tiene means he or she has. Mi hermano tiene seis años. (My brother is six.) Say the number, then años (years).

English speakers often say Soy nueve. That is a mistake. It sounds like I am the number nine. Always use tener for age: Tengo nueve años. Also keep cuántos with -os, because año is masculine.

Picture a new friend at the park. You want to know where she lives. You ask ¿Dónde vives? (Where do you live?). She answers: Vivo en Chicago. (I live in Chicago.) Vives and vivo come from vivir (to live).

Look at the endings. Vives ends in -es and goes with tú. Vivo ends in -o and goes with yo. Her answer can be a city, a street or a neighborhood: Vivo en Pilsen. Vivo en la calle Main. (I live on Main Street.) The word en means in or on.

Do not mix this up with ¿De dónde eres? That asks where you are from. Soy de México. (I am from Mexico.) A person can be from one place and live in another. The reporters in the story heard both: Soy de Puerto Rico, pero vivo en Chicago.

Picture a fast question from a new friend. You may not catch every word. Listen for the question word first. It is usually at the start. If you hear dónde, answer with a place. If you hear cuándo, answer with a time.

Try it. ¿Cuántos hermanos tienes? You hear cuántos, so the answer is a number: Tengo dos hermanos. (I have two brothers or siblings.) ¿Quién es tu mejor amigo? You hear quién, so the answer is a person: Es Diego.

A common mistake is to answer the wrong kind of question. If someone asks ¿Dónde vives? and you say Tengo diez años, the talk stops. When you miss the question, it is fine to say ¿Cómo? (What? Pardon?) or Otra vez, por favor. (Again, please.)

Picture your teacher asking, ¿Dónde vives? You could say just Chicago. A frase completa (full sentence) is better: Vivo en Chicago. It shows you know the verb. It also gives the listener more to work with.

Here is the trick. Find the verb in the question and change its ending. ¿Hablas español? Sí, hablo español. ¿Tienes un perro? Sí, tengo un perro. ¿Vives en Chicago? Sí, vivo en Chicago. The tú ending -as or -es becomes the yo ending -o.

Many students repeat the question’s ending by mistake: Sí, hablas español. That means Yes, you speak Spanish. Change the ending to -o for I. To say no, put no before the verb: No, no tengo un perro. The first no answers; the second makes the sentence negative.

Picture a talk that stops after one answer. It feels stiff. A conversation is a back-and-forth. After you answer, ask the same thing back with ¿Y tú? (And you?). ¿Cómo te llamas? Me llamo Diego. ¿Y tú? Me llamo Sofía.

With an adult, use the polite form, ¿Y usted? (And you?). Buenos días, ¿cómo está usted? Bien, gracias. ¿Y usted? Muy bien. The reporters in the story would use ¿Y usted? with the principal.

A common slip is to use ¿Y tú? with a teacher. It is not rude to a friend, but it is too casual for an adult you do not know well. Remember: tú for friends and family, usted for adults at school and people you should show respect.

Picture yourself asking the principal for five minutes of her time. You add por favor (please). Un momento, por favor. (One moment, please.) Por favor can go at the start or the end of a request.

When someone helps you, say gracias (thank you). For extra thanks, say muchas gracias (thank you very much). Notice muchas ends in -as, to match gracias. Many learners say mucho gracias, but that is not correct.

The reporters used both words. They asked each question politely and ended with Muchas gracias. In many Spanish-speaking families, children learn to use these words with every adult. They are small words, but people notice them.

Picture yourself handing a friend a pencil. She says Gracias. You answer de nada (you are welcome). Word for word, it means of nothing, as if to say it was no trouble. De nada always answers gracias.

Now picture yourself bumping into someone in the hall. You say perdón (sorry, or excuse me). You can also use perdón to get attention: Perdón, ¿dónde está la biblioteca? (Excuse me, where is the library?) Keep the accent on the o.

A common mix-up is to answer gracias with gracias, or with por favor. The right reply is de nada. Diego in the story used both words. He dropped his pencil and said perdón. The principal handed it back, he said gracias, and she said de nada.

Picture your own interview with a classmate. It has four parts. First, a greeting: Hola or Buenos días. Second, three to five questions, each with a different question word. Third, listening and writing down each respuesta (answer).

Fourth, a polite ending: Muchas gracias. Here is a sample list of questions. ¿Cómo te llamas? ¿Cuántos años tienes? ¿Dónde vives? ¿Cuál es tu comida favorita? (What is your favorite food?) ¿Por qué te gusta?

Check your list before you start. Does each question have ¿ at the start and ? at the end? Does each question word have its accent? Did you use tú for a classmate and usted for an adult? Then take turns being the reportero or reportera (reporter).