¿Qué es...? / ¿Cuál es...?
'¿Qué es tu nombre'? is a common mistake in Spanish, and the only way to answer this definition is by answering it as a definition, i.e. "My name is the word that I am known by". If you use '¿Qué..:? and the verb 'ser', these is how you should answer these questions:
What is your name? The Word that I am known by.
What is your age? The period of time I have been alive.
What is your height? The distance from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet.
What is your job? The regular work which I normally do to earn money.
What are the dimensions of the room? The distance between its walls.
¿Qué es tu nombre? La palabra con la que me conocen.
¿Qué es tu edad? El periodo de tiempo que llevo vivo.
¿Qué es tu altura? La distancia desde lo más alto de mi cabeza hasta mis pies.
¿Qué es tu trabajo? Lo que hago regularmente para ganar dinero.
¿Qué son las dimensiones de la habitación? La distancia entre sus paredes.
If you want a more 'normal? question, you shouldn't use '¿Qué''', but '¿Cuál''':
¿Cuál es tu nombre? Lazarus.
¿Cuál es tu edad? 35
¿Cuál es tu altura? 1,80
¿Cuál es tu trabajo? Profesor
¿Cuáles son las dimensiones de la habitación? 2 por 3 metros.
What is your name? Lazarus.
What is your age? 35
What is your height? 1,80
What is your job? Teacher.
What are the dimensions of the room? 2 by 3 metres.
As you can see, English works on common sense interpretations rather than on choice of words, but Spanish has a very precise mechanism here to determine whether one expects a definition, or simply information on a topic inquired. This mechanism, necessary or useless as it may seem, is a reality, and using it correctly is a must.
The same goes with other "qué" plus "ser" sentences:
Sé qué es tu nombre = I know what your name is (= I know the definition of "your name")
Sé (cuál es) tu nombre = I know what your name is (= I know exactly what people call you)
Sé qué es tu edad = I know what your age is (= I know the definition of "your age")
Sé (cuál es) tu edad = I know what your age is (= I know exactly how old you are)
13 Answers
Heitor, my comment was about the "What is" construction... ONLY!, not about the entire English language. Both languages have strengths and weaknesses, and both can be ambiguous at times; all I said is that in this "What is" case, Spanish makes this particular distinction explicitly, whereas in English it is done pragmatically. If you read my comments again, you'll find that I said that this mechanism may look necessary or useless, so I really did not make any judgement at all. My main complaint about English is actually its spelling.
Besides, the comments above where not intended to be a criticism of the English language, but for those who keep asking "¿Qué es tu nombre'" and similar questions, which happens surprisingly often in the forum.
Apart from learning something I find this thread touches upon some very interesting aspects of language.
Hi Lazarus and Heitor.
The tennis from Roland Garros was on TV but your chat was nore interesting.
By the way Heitor it is "A" universal not "an" universal.
Why? Because although uninversal starts with a vowel the "sound is not a vowel. It is like the word "you" - it is the sound not the letter that determines if we use A or AN.
Sorry Lazarus, you excel in Spanish grammar but you suck at fiction writing.
It is not fiction; it is a true story (I changed the name of the guy, though); one I found quite funny, because for provided several minutes of confusion before we found out what this guy wanted. It was then when I realized how ambiguous that sentence could be in the right context.
If Martin doesn't know what "your name" means, he would reply "I don't know" to the question "what is your name'"
Do you always reply with "I don't know" if there is a word in the question you don't know? I tend to ask what does that word mean before asking, and so did the real "Martin" (who, most likely, didn't know how to say "I don't know" either). Do not expect the entire mankind to think exactly the way you do.
Anyway, wasn't here to write fiction, but to show my point. I rest my case.
The question "what is your age'" is perfectly unambiguous and requires no interpretation or further context.
It is unambiguous for most of us because we use common sense and a cultural database that allows us to interpret the sentence correctly, but the sentence is objectively ambiguous (just answer it by saying "My name is the word I go by"), like most things in natural languages. Machine translators and programs that attempt to emulate natural speech find natural languages blunder so often because they follow a strict logical set of rules, but don't understand all the pragmatics that allow us to make sense of our languages.
But let's make up a story for fun:
A guy, let's call him Martin, goes to an English speaking country not knowing but a few words. He meets someone, and this new person asks him: What is your name? Martin can't understand him, because he has never heard the words "your" and "name" before; for all he knows, it could be just one word (ie. "yourname"). One of the few things Martin knows in English is "What is....'", quite a useful sentence, so Martin decides to ask the other guy what does "your name" means, so he asks: "What is your name'". Now, what are the chances that the other person will understand correctly his perfectly constructed question? The other person, fluent in English, would probably be surprised that Martin returned the question without answering it, and he will simply tell Martin his own name instead of explaining what "your name" means. Not ambiguous? Let's say, context and common sense will make it unambiguous for most people most of the time, but it is objectively more ambiguous than in Spanish.
What and Which in English.
Which is used when there is a "list" to choose from - explicit or inferred. What is used when there is not a list or it is very long.
What is you name? - because the list is very long
Which Premier football team do you support? - because the list is finite.
There are exceptions. What day is it today? There are only 7 possibilities but we use what and not which here.
Yet when you say "what is..." is objectively ambiguous, you are the one making an universal claim.
But, essentially, Lazarus' objection is valid. In English we can ask "What's "quidity"'" of "What's "antidisestablishmentarianism'" when we mean that we don't understand the word/phrase. or "What's your favorite color'" when we understand (perfectly) the meaning of "favorite color". there is no formal difference in the questions. Similarly with "What's your name'" If it were written, one might make the distinction by writing "What's 'your name''" when seeking a definition of "your name" but, in speech, that option is not available (except, possibly, by an unusual intonation pattern). When faced with such a question, one tends to think "It is far less likely that this person doesn't understand the meaning of "your name" than that he doesn't know what my name is.", and one (normally) answers accordingly. However, the form of the question is the same in both cases (in English, unlike Spanish). The conclusion has to be that "what" (in English) can be either "qué" or "cuál" but that the distinction depends on a distinction that is not made explicitly in English.
It is not fiction; it is a true story
No wonder people say reality is stranger than fiction!
Do not expect the entire mankind to think exactly the way you do
Yet when you say "what is..." is objectively ambiguous, you are the one making an universal claim. That is essentially the only thing I'm disputing, but this has gone too far already. Hopefully we didn't bore everyone else with our silly discussion.
The other person, fluent in English, would probably be surprised that Martin returned the question without answering it, and he will simply tell Martin his own name instead of explaining what "your name" means. Not ambiguous? Let's say, context and common sense will make it unambiguous for most people most of the time, but it is objectively more ambiguous than in Spanish.
Sorry Lazarus, you excel in Spanish grammar but you suck at fiction writing. If Martin doesn't know what "your name" means, he would reply "I don't know" to the question "what is your name'", just as he would if the other person asked him "what is encephalitis'". (assuming he doesn't know what encephalitis means either)
Nice try though.
Muchas gracias... that elucidates very clearly a question that I've had... so often I tend to phrase my Spanish in terms of my English, since English is my first language, and very few references explain the difference that clearly.
Heitor, my comment was about the "What is" construction... ONLY!, not about the entire English language.
Even then I still think your comment makes no sense. The question "what is your age'" is perfectly unambiguous and requires no interpretation or further context.
And the reason I thought you were talking about the English language in general is because I notice that slant in many of your posts. But let's not argue about that because I'm not taking it personally to start with. (as I said, I probably perceive English much the same way you do)
Besides, the comments above where not intended to be a criticism of the English language, but for those who keep asking "¿Qué es tu nombre'" and similar questions, which happens surprisingly often in the forum.
I know, and I think it's nice of you to take the time to explain why it is wrong. But I don't find it surprising, since beginners in any foreign language start by translating their thoughts word for word. Only after years of practice do they begin to "think" in the foreign language.
As you can see, English works on common sense interpretations rather than on choice of words, but Spanish has a very precise mechanism here to determine whether one expects a definition, or simply information on a topic inquired.
This is nonsense. Choice of words in English is just as important as in Spanish. The fact that "what" and "which" do not always translate to "qué" and "cuál" says absolutely nothing about either language.
Furthermore, one could make an equally silly argument that Spanish is imprecise and requires common sense to tell when "hacer" means "to do" or "to make", or when "carne" means "meat" or "flesh", or when "hablar" means "to talk" or "to speak", or... well, I think I've made my point.
Last, I'm as prejudiced as you are against English. I also find my native language more accurate, sophisticated, and beautiful. But I have a strong suspicion that it is mere narcissism.
¿Y cuál es el mecanismo?
Sé que usted tiene toda la razón (como siempre, Lazarus), pero a veces no estoy seguro de cuál de las palabras debo usar. No siempre se pueden traducir a "what" o "which".
