Question Words

Question

When do you use que, as well as cúal, cómo, cuando, and dónde? It's confusing even if you know what the words mean, as they are interchangeable. Furthermore, when does que have an accent mark? For example, when you ask someone what their favorite color is, you ask: ¿Cúal es tu color favorito(a)? This is instead of ¿que es tu color favorito(a)? Also, when you say why, you say: ¿por qué?, as opposed to ¿por que?. Finally, when saying how disgusting, you say: ¡que asco! You don't say: ¡Cómo asco!

Hi, welcome to the forum! - rac1, Dec 15, 2012

Answer 1

As far as I know, cuando is always "when" and donde is always "where." Como generally means "how," but when used in comparisons it can also mean "as" or "like" (she is as tall as my mother/ella es tan alta como mi madre). When saying "how much," the word "cuanto" is used; "how many" is translated "cuantos." Que and cual are slightly more confusing. Basically, que means what and cual means which, but there are a few other rules. When asking a question, you almost always use cual before a verb and que before a noun (and so you say "¿Cuál es tu color favorito?" and "¿Qué comida prefieres?"). Que can also mean "than" when used in comparisons (I am taller than she is/yo soy más alta que ella). Phrases such as "que asco" or "que risa" are simply idiomatic; I don't know that there is really a reason why que is used (and if you think about it, the use of the word "how" in English doesn't make an awful lot more sense). Finally, there's the problem of accent marks. This one is easy to resolve-- always use an accent mark when asking a question, never use an accent mark when making a statement. Also remember that "por qué" means why and is always used as a question while porque means because and is always used in statements.

Excellent answer! - rogspax, Dec 15, 2012

Answer 2

Adding to what Qoutetheraven has said, the following may also help:

Fundamentally, "cuál / cuáles" have the meaning of "which one / which ones"

"¿Cuál de los chicos está enfermo?" "Which of the boys is sick?"

"¿Cuáles de los chicos son enfermos?" "Which of the boys are sick?"

When asking for a definition use "qué + ser"

"¿Qué es un Oscar?"

When asking for specific details use "cuál + ser"

"¿Cuál es su nombre, señor?" (Of all the names that exist, which one is yours?)

"¿Cuáles son los problemas?" (Of all the problems that exist, which ones are we talking about?)

Hope this helps