9.9.1 Questions
The main question words are: what, which, who, whose, how, where and why.
We use who, how, where and why in ways similar to Spanish, e.g.:
 | Who did you see?
(¿A quién viste?) |
| How did they do it?
(¿Cómo lo hicieron?) |
| Where are you going?
(¿A dónde vas?) |
| Why have they gone to the bank?
(¿Por qué han ido al banco?) |
We can use what, which and whose with and without a noun, e.g.:
| What do you like?
(¿Qué te gusta?) |
| What music do you like?
(¿Qué música te gusta?) |
| Which do you want?
(¿Cuál queréis?) |
| Which film do you want to see?
(¿Qué película queréis ver?) |
| Whose is this coat?
(¿De quién es este abrigo?) |
| Whose coat is this?
(¿De quién es este abrigo?) |
What is for an open choice; which is for a restricted choice, e.g.:
| What do you like to drink with your food?
(¿Qué te gusta beber con la comida?) |
| We have wine and beer. Which would you like?
(Tenemos vino y cerveza, ¿qué queréis?) |
How combines with adjectives, adverbs and with much and many, e.g.:
| How big is their flat?
(¿Cómo es de grande su piso?) |
| How long does it take?
(¿Cuánto tiempo tarda?) |
| How fast was she driving?
(¿A qué velocidad iba?) |
| How often do you clean your teeth?
(¿Con qué frecuencia te lavas los dientes?) |
| How much money have you got?
(¿Cuánto dinero tienes?) |
| How many Spielberg films have you seen?
(¿Cuántas películas de Spielberg ha visto usted?) |
Notice the difference between How and What ... like:
| A: How is your cousin? (¿Cómo está tu prima?) |
| | B: She's feeling a lot better, thank you. (Se encuentra mucho mejor, gracias.) |
| C: What's your cousin like? (¿Cómo es tu prima?) |
| | D: She's tall and slim. (Es alta y delgada.) |
| What is Moscow like?
(¿Cómo es Moscú?) |
| How was your trip to Moscow?
(¿Qué tal tu viaje a Moscú?) |
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