A1
Asking a question
How Spanish forms questions, why the inverted question mark exists, and the accents that separate question words from ordinary ones.
A statement becomes a question by intonation alone. Nothing needs to move.
¿Hablas español?
you-speak Spanish
Do you speak Spanish?
There is no do, and no inversion is required — though the subject often moves behind the verb when it is stated: ¿habla usted inglés?
The inverted question mark
Spanish opens a question with ¿ and an exclamation with ¡. It is not decoration — it tells the reader that the intonation rises before they reach the end, which matters in a language where nothing else marks the question.
Hablas español?
¿Hablas español?
The opening mark is compulsory in written Spanish. It goes where the question starts, which is not always the start of the sentence: Si tienes tiempo, ¿vienes conmigo?
Question words carry an accent
| qué | what |
| quién | who |
| dónde | where |
| cuándo | when |
| cómo | how |
| cuánto | how much |
| por qué | why |
¿Dónde está el baño?
where is the bathroom
Where’s the toilet?
¿Cuánto cuesta?
how-much costs
How much is it?
The accent is the whole difference
The same words without an accent are ordinary conjunctions and relative pronouns.
No sé dónde está.
not I-know where is
I don’t know where he is.
Dónde keeps its accent inside an indirect question. But donde vives — where you live — as a plain relative clause has none. Likewise porque (because) against por qué (why), and que against qué.
Answering a why
Por qué asks; porque answers. Two words against one, and the accent moves.
¿Por qué no vienes? — Porque estoy cansado.
for what not you-come — because I-am tired
Why aren’t you coming? — Because I’m tired.