¿Qué o Cuál?, ¡Uf! ¡Qué dolor de cabeza!

Question

Qué and Cuál.

Questions with “qué” and “cuál.”

Qué and cuál with the verb “ser”

Use “qué” if you want a definition or to know what something is.

¿Qué es eso/esto?” What is that/this? (Asking what something is.)

¿Qué es “paralipómenos?” What is “paralipómenos?” (Asking for a definition)

¿Qué es un carburador? What is a carburetor? (Asking for a definition)

Use “cuál” when you want information.

¿Cuál es su apellido? What is your family name?

¿Cuáles son los siete días de la semana? What are the seven days of the week?

¿Cuál es el nombre de su profesor de algebra? What is your Algebra teacher’s name?

---

Qué and Cuál with other verbs.

Always use “qué” when the next word is a noun, either singular or plural. Sometimes it is translated “which” in English, sometimes as “what.”

¿Qué día va a regresar Pedro?” What day is Pedro going to return?

¿Qué cosas me traes?” What things are you bringing me?

¿Qué muchacho rompió la ventana? Which boy broke the window ( Note “which” here”

¿Qué chicas van a participar en el concurso de belleza? Which girls are going to participate in the beauty contest. (Again “which” in English)

---

“Qué” when the next word is a verb.

¿Qué vamos a hacer ahora? What are we going to do now?

¿Qué dijo Alfonso cuando fue arrestado por la policía? What did Alfonso say when he was arrested by the police.?

---

“Cuál/Cuáles” with “de” plus a noun.

¿Cuáles de los chicos fueron escogidos para particpar en el torneo de fúbol”

Which (ones) of the boys were chosen to participate in the Soccer tournament?

¿Cuál de las hermanas toca la guitarra? Which (one) of the sisters plays the guitar?

---

I hope that this little article has cleared up some problems regarding “qué” and “cuál."

Great and useful post , we have needed this for along time as I have inter-mated. thanks F Y S . - ray76, Jan 3, 2016

Estoy de acuerdo. Gracias, Daniela. - AnnRon, Jan 3, 2016

Thanks, Dani, very helpful! ♥ - rac1, Jan 3, 2016

Gracias Dani - ian-hill, Jan 3, 2016

Dani, you're wasted here, how can we get you out to a bigger audience, you have a way of summarizing things tha tis little short of brilliant. - annierats, Jan 3, 2016

jejejeje, I thought my answers W E R E brilliant! ;) - Daniela2041, Jan 3, 2016

Sshh Annie, lol we don't want to lose her Seriously speaking, you know we value your tremendous teaching gift for explaining things clearly :) - FELIZ77, Jan 3, 2016

Nice and very Spanish, which is what I use. Some Latin Americans will use cuál before a noun. I don't always follow the rules from Spain, but I do here. :) - bosquederoble, Jan 4, 2016

I'm going to steal this and put it in my brain. - Jubilado, Jan 4, 2016

Fantastic. And to think I missed it the first time around. - gringojrf, Jan 6, 2016

Muchas gracias! - AuntieJenny, Mar 20, 2016

You're a godsend, Daniela! Thank you!!!!!!!! - tesss, Aug 11, 2016

I forgot to say mil gracias to all of you. ♥ - Daniela2041, Aug 12, 2016

Answer 1

Excelente! For my own quick-study reference, I distilled the main points of your EXCELLENT lesson down to this (please feel free to correct me!):

Qué + ser = definition

Cuál + ser = information

Qué + noun

Qué + verb

Cuál/Cuáles + de + noun = "which one(s)...?"

---

Or, organized a little differently:

QUÉ:

Qué + ser = definition

Qué + noun

Qué + verb

CUÁL:

Cuál + ser = information

Cuál/Cuáles + de + noun = "which one(s)...?"

Sorry the formatting isn't pretty! - AuntieJenny, Mar 21, 2016

Answer 2

Daniela, please correct the following.

Marcela: Soy de Colombia.

Alberto: Cuál ciudad de Colombia eres?

Alberto: ¿De qué ciudad de Colombia eres? ¿Vale? ¡Claro que vale! :) - Daniela2041, Jan 3, 2016

(On the last bit) OK? Of course OK! - Daniela2041, Jan 3, 2016

Gracias, Daniela. Claro que vale! :) - Raja-jani, Jan 3, 2016

Answer 3

¿ Cuál ( Qué) Bruja ,es la bruja malvada ?

Which witch is the wicked witch?

Jejeje, She must be a relative of the jolly green giant. - Daniela2041, Jan 4, 2016

And it is "Qué." - Daniela2041, Jan 4, 2016