Yes/No Questions
Yes/No questions in Spanish are formed by raising the intonation at the end of a statement or by inverting the subject and verb. The sentence structure remains mostly the same as in declarative sentences.
For example, to ask "Do you speak Spanish?" you can keep the word order but use a rising intonation:
¿Hablas español?
AH-blahs es-pah-NYOHL?
Do you speak Spanish?
Notice the use of question marks at the beginning (inverted) and the end of the sentence. This punctuation is mandatory in Spanish.
Question Words (Interrogatives)
Spanish has several question words used to ask for specific information. These typically start with an accent mark and are placed at the beginning of the question.
| Question Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ¿Qué? | What? |
| ¿Quién? / ¿Quiénes? | Who? (singular/plural) |
| ¿Dónde? | Where? |
| ¿Cuándo? | When? |
| ¿Por qué? | Why? |
| ¿Cómo? | How? |
| ¿Cuánto/a(s)? | How much / How many? |
¿Dónde está la biblioteca?
DON-deh es-TAH lah bee-bli-oh-TEH-kah?
Where is the library?
Inversion in Questions
One common way to form questions in Spanish is by inverting the subject and the verb, especially in formal or written language. This means placing the verb before the subject.
¿Vas tú al mercado?
Vahs too al mer-KAH-doh?
Are you going to the market?
Alternatively, the subject pronoun can be omitted if it is clear from the verb conjugation:
¿Va al mercado?
Vah al mer-KAH-doh?
Are you/he/she going to the market?
Intonation in Questions
In spoken Spanish, intonation plays a crucial role in signaling a question, especially in yes/no questions. The pitch of the voice rises at the end of the sentence, even if the word order is the same as in a statement.
¿Comes pizza?
KOH-mes PEE-tsah?
Do you eat pizza?
Rising intonation alone can indicate a question, but in writing, you must always use the question marks.
Questions with the Verb "Ser"
The verb ser (to be) is often used in questions to ask about identities, origins, or descriptions. The question formation follows the same inversion or intonation rules.
| Subject | Conjugation of ser |
|---|---|
| Yo | soy |
| Tú | eres |
| Él/Ella/Usted | es |
| Nosotros | somos |
| Vosotros | sois |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | son |
¿Eres estudiante?
EH-res es-too-dee-AHN-teh?
Are you a student?
Embedded Questions
Embedded questions are indirect questions included within statements or other questions. In Spanish, the word order becomes that of a declarative sentence (subject before the verb), and no question marks are used.
No sé dónde está el restaurante.
No seh DON-deh es-TAH el res-tau-RAHN-teh.
I don't know where the restaurant is.
Notice that dónde está retains the question words but is structured like a statement.
Practice Examples
Try identifying the type of question and translating the following sentences:
¿Cuántos años tienes?
KWAN-tos AH-nyos TYEH-nes?
How old are you?
¿Dónde viven tus padres?
DON-deh VEE-ven toos PAH-dres?
Where do your parents live?
¿Hablas inglés?
AH-blahs een-GLES?
Do you speak English?
Quiero saber por qué no viniste.
KYEH-roh sah-BER por KEH noh vee-NEES-teh.
I want to know why you didn't come.
Tips for Remembering Rules
- Always use inverted question marks (¿) at the beginning of a question and regular question marks (?) at the end.
- Remember that question words always have an accent mark to differentiate them from relative pronouns.
- In yes/no questions, raising intonation is key in speech, but punctuation is essential in writing.
- Use inversion (verb before subject) to form more formal or clear questions.
- Embedded questions do not use question marks and follow statement word order.