Spanish Interrogative Pronouns
You may have seen some of the interrogative pronouns in {link to lesson 41 – forming questions with question words}. This lesson will focus on the way those some of those question words function as pronouns – interrogative pronouns!
Quién [who or whom]
Quién is the pronoun for an unknown person. It has the plural form quiénes.
Examples:
¿Quién va contigo? [Who is going with you?]
¿Quiénes son tus amigos? [Who are your friends?]
Quién can follow a preposition.
Examples:
¿A quién buscas? [Who are you looking for?]
¿De quién piensan? [Who are they thinking of?]
Qué [what]
Qué is the pronoun for an unknown thing or idea.
Examples:
¿Qué quieres comprar? [What do you want to buy?]
¿Qué es esto? [What is this?]
Cuál [which]
Cuál is another pronoun for an unknown thing – but in this case, there are two or more things you are distinguishing between. The speaker has a more clear idea of what the unknown thing could be, or might have some possibilities in mind. It has the plural form cuáles.
Examples:
Tenemos muchas opciones. ¿Cuál prefieres? [We have a lot of options. Which do you prefer?]
Cuánto [how much] / Cuántos [how many]
Cuánto and cuántos are the pronouns for unknown quantities. They have the feminine forms cuánta andcuántas.
Examples:
¿Cuánto hay? [How much is there?]
Voy a comprar manzanas. ¿Cuántas quieres? [I'm going to buy apples. How many do you want?]
Dónde [where]
Dónde is the pronoun for an unknown place. It can follow the pronoun de, or with the pronoun a, it takes the form adónde.
Examples: ¿Dónde vives? [Where do you live?]
¿Adónde vamos? [Where are we going?]
Quién [who or whom]
Quién is the pronoun for an unknown person. It has the plural form quiénes.
Examples:
¿Quién va contigo? [Who is going with you?]
¿Quiénes son tus amigos? [Who are your friends?]
Quién can follow a preposition.
Examples:
¿A quién buscas? [Who are you looking for?]
¿De quién piensan? [Who are they thinking of?]
Qué [what]
Qué is the pronoun for an unknown thing or idea.
Examples:
¿Qué quieres comprar? [What do you want to buy?]
¿Qué es esto? [What is this?]
Cuál [which]
Cuál is another pronoun for an unknown thing – but in this case, there are two or more things you are distinguishing between. The speaker has a more clear idea of what the unknown thing could be, or might have some possibilities in mind. It has the plural form cuáles.
Examples:
Tenemos muchas opciones. ¿Cuál prefieres? [We have a lot of options. Which do you prefer?]
Cuánto [how much] / Cuántos [how many]
Cuánto and cuántos are the pronouns for unknown quantities. They have the feminine forms cuánta andcuántas.
Examples:
¿Cuánto hay? [How much is there?]
Voy a comprar manzanas. ¿Cuántas quieres? [I'm going to buy apples. How many do you want?]
Dónde [where]
Dónde is the pronoun for an unknown place. It can follow the pronoun de, or with the pronoun a, it takes the form adónde.
Examples: ¿Dónde vives? [Where do you live?]
¿Adónde vamos? [Where are we going?]
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Related Links: Possessive Pronouns in Spanish Spanish Worksheets Spanish Quizzes Spanish Games Spanish FlashCards |
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