How do I say in English "¿En qué año nació él?" and "¿En qué año nací yo?"

Question

Can I say: "What year was he born (at, in, or on)?"

"What day was I born (at, in, on)?"

I don't know which one I have to use: at, in, or on.

I always have problems with this because in Spanish we use always "en". In Spanish we use only one word ("en") but in English you use three words (in, on, at).

en = in, on, at

I need a little bit of help with this.

Answer 1

Can I say: "What year was he born (at, in, or on)?"

1. What year was he born? (good)
2. What year was he born in?

"What day was I born (at, in, on)?"

• What day was I born on.

You are born in a year, on a date, on a day, at a place. So you are saying that "en" can mean at? Can you provide me an example of en meaning at? Gracias.

Oh do you mean "en el hospital" meaning at the hospital? I always thought of it as "in the hospital" but I guess it could mean at, huh? So natives think of "en" as "at" in that sense and not as "in"? Gracias

Answer 2

Yes Jeezzle, we say, "en el hospital" no matter if the person is hopitalized or is just working there. Somebody told me that when the person is a patient I should say "he is in the hospital", but if he is a doctor, or is just working there, I should say "he is at the hospital".

Some examples:

Ella esta en la tienda. She is at the store.

Ella esta en la casa. She is in the house.

Ella esta en el telefono. She is on the phone.

Answer 3

What year was he born in & what day was I born on.

Good question, I had to think about it first !

He didn't say what day it was year in both cases. well I was reading the title to the thread so I beg your pardo he does mention the day in his post. - kenwilliams, Feb 3, 2011

Answer 4

En can mean in or on, Nací en Manchester, I was born in Manchester. El libro esta en la mesa. The book is on the table. ¿En que año nació el? What year was he born? ¿En que año nací yo? and I think that should be cuál rather than que and means Which year was I born?