In Spanish, the interrogative sentence is characterized by the use of double punctuation. In addition to the final question mark, a reversed question mark is placed at the beginning of the sentence.

Spanish grammar has the particularity that it does not have a structure to indicate to the reader that it is a question or an exclamation, hence the use of the double punctuation.

Not doing so is a spelling mistake!

Examples :

– You like sports ==> Do you like sports?

In English, the sentence structure is modified into an interrogative form.

– Te gusta el deporte==> ¿ Te gusta el deporte ?

In Spanish, the sentence structure is not changed. The use of question marks at the beginning and end of the sentence therefore helps to clarify the meaning.

In addition, by placing an inverted question mark at the beginning of a sentence, the reader can adjust his or her tone as the sentence progresses.

There are two ways to ask questions in Spanish.

1. Closed or dichotomous questions

* If the answer to the question can be yes or no, simply add question marks at the beginning and end of the sentence, raising the intonation of the voice at the end of the question.

* The interrogative sentence is constructed in the same way as the affirmative sentence (subject-verb-complement)

Here, the presence of the double punctuation indicates that it is a question.

Examples :

– Te gusta cantar ==> ¿ Te gusta cantar ? (Do you like to sing?)

– Puedo escucharte ==> ¿ Puedo escucharte ? (Can I listen to you?)

– Vas a un concierto ==> ¿ Vas a un concierto ? (Are you going to a concert?)

2. Open questions and interrogative words

If you want to ask a question whose answer is not limited to yes or no, you must use an interrogative word: who, what, how…

Here is a list of the most commonly used interrogative words:

– Por qué : Why
– Cuándo : When
– Dónde : Where
– Cómo : How
– Qué: What 
– Cuál:What / Which
– Quién: Who
– Cuánto: How much (before a singular masculine noun)
– Cuántos/Cuántas :How much / How many (before a plural masculine / feminine noun)
– Cuáles:What / Which ones (Before a plural noun)

Examples :

– ¿ Por qué quieres aprender español ? ==> Why do you want to learn Spanish?
– ¿ Cuándo abre el gimnasio ? ==> When does the sports club open?
– ¿ Dónde es la estación de policía ? ==> Where is the police station?
– ¿ Cómo se dice… en español ? ==> How do you say… in Spanish?
– ¿ Qué día es ? ==> What day is it?
– ¿ Cuál es tu número ? ==> What is your number?
– ¿ Quién es esta chica ? ==> Who is this girl?
– ¿ Cuánto vale una entrada al cine ? ==> How much does a movie ticket cost?
– ¿ Cuántos países hay en el mundo ? ==> How many countries are there in the world?
– ¿ Cuáles son los actores de esa pelicula ? ==> Who are the actors in this movie?

Exercise on interrogative sentences

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