CSG313

302 Complete Spanish Grammar

<:Quien?, <:Quienes?    Who?

<:Quien?, <:A quienes?    Whom?

<:De quien?, <:De quienes?    Whose?

Other Uses of Interrogative Words and Expres$ions

In addition to the equivalents given above, some Spanish interrogative words have other uses:

•    Use (jCómo? to ask someone to repeat information you missed or did not understand. The English equivalent in this case is What?

—Necesito diez dólares. —<:Cómo?    “Ineed ten dollars.” “What?”

•    <iQue? is also used to clarify information.

—(iQue dijiste?    “What did you say ?”

•    (jCual? and its plural form <:cuales? are pronouns used to indicate which one and the plural which ones in most areas of the Spanish-speaking world. Use this word to ask about a choice. If the interrogative word is followed by a noun, use the adjective <:que? instead.

El traje rojo y el azul son bonitos.    The red suit and the blue one are beautiful

^Cual prefieres?    Which (one) do you prefer?

ćQ^ue blusa vas a usar?    Which blouse are you going to wear?

Here are two ways of requesting the same information about today’s datę, with £cual? and ique?

^Que fecha es hoy?    Whats the datę today ?

,Cual es la fecha?    Whats the datę?

The noun fecha follows the interrogative adjective <:que?, and £cual? is followed by a verb. However, £cual? and ^cuales? followed by a noun is used instead of <:que? in some areas of the Hispanic world.

•    ^Cuantos? and the feminine form ^cuantas? are adjectives if followed by a noun, and they are pronouns if they refer to a noun previously mentioned and understood from the context. They agree in gender and number with the noun. The English equivalent is how many ?

;Cuantos chicos y cuantas chicas hay How many boys and how many girls are there en este salon?    in this room?

•    (iCuanto?, how much?, seeks information about amounts.

;Cuanto cuesta esta nevera?    How much does this refrigerator cost?

•    (jAdónde? and <:Dónde? both refer to places. ^Adónde? is directional; it appears with verbs indicating motion. <:Dónde? asks for locations.

;Adónde vas eon tan ta prisa?    Where are you going in such a hurry?

^Dónde esta mi reloj?    Where is my watch?

•    Prepositions may precede a question word in Spanish, changing the meaning of the basie interrogative word. Don’t try to translate the English equivalents word for word.

—^Con quien hablas?    “Wh o(m ) are you talking t o ?”

—Gon mi novio.    “My boyfriend. ”

—<jA quien esperas?    “Wh o(m ) are you waiting for?”

—A mi hermana.    “My sister.”