Learn About Spanish Interrogative Pronouns

Quà © and cuà ¡l  are two words that can be confusing to people learning Spanish, because they can be translated as the same word into English, namely, what.  It is sometimes said that  quà ©Ã‚  is closer to what in meaning, and  cuà ¡l  is closer to which. But that rule isnt always true. When to Use Accent Marks The two words, when they have  accents, are used as interrogative  pronouns  in questions to mean what or which.  Quà ©Ã‚  is the same in the singular and plural forms; the plural of  cuà ¡l  is  cuà ¡les. Accented  forms of these words appear only in exclamations and in questions, which includes an  indirect  question. The accented  quà ©Ã‚  is found most often at the beginning of a sentence, although  it sometimes follows de  and other prepositions, especially in indirect questions.  For example,  Ã‚ ¿De quà © color es la  camisa?  meaning, What color is the shirt?   Without accents, normally que  and  cual are not being used as a question. Most often, they are connecting words or, technically speaking, relative pronouns, translated to mean which or that. They can stand for either feminine or masculine objects as well as ideas or concepts. An example of this usage is a popular phrase,  Creo que sà ­, meaning, I think that is so. Use Cases of Quà © and Cuà ¡l When Asking Questions There are a number of ways to ask questions using the words  quà ©Ã‚  and  cuà ¡l.  A speaker can ask for a definition, like What is this?, which uses quà ©.  Or, you can ask for a choice selection from a group, What looks better, this red blouse or this black one?, which uses  cuà ¡l. Quà ©Used for Definitions A number of examples may help explain usage of quà © asking for a definition:  Ã‚ ¿Quà © es una ciudad?,  meaning, What is a city? Or,  Ã‚ ¿Quà © hace un presidente?, meaning,  What does a president do? Or,  Ã‚ ¿Quà © significa talanquera?, asking, What does talanquera mean? Quà ©Used Before Nouns Quà © is usually the interrogative pronoun that is used right before nouns. For example,  Ã‚ ¿Quà © casa prefieres?,  meaning, Which house do you prefer? Or,  ¿Quà © libro leà ­ste?,  asking, Which book did you read? Cuà ¡lUsed Before Forms of Ser Cuà ¡l  is used before  es  and other forms of the verb  ser, meaning to be, when not seeking a definition. For example,  Ã‚ ¿Cuà ¡l es tu nà ºmero de telà ©fono?,  meaning, What is your phone number? Or,  Ã‚ ¿Cuà ¡l es tu problema?,  meaning, What is your problem? Or,  ¿Cuà ¡les son las ciudades mà ¡s grandes?,  asking, What are the biggest cities? Cuà ¡l Used toMake a Choice Cuà ¡l  is used to suggest or ask for a selection or choice from a group. For example,  Ã‚ ¿Cuà ¡l miras?,  meaning,  Which one are you looking at? But,  ¿Quà © miras?,  would be used to ask when you want to know, What are you looking at? An example of the plural form of the interrogative pronoun used in making a choice would be,  Ã‚ ¿Cuà ¡les quieres?, meaning,  Which ones do you want? But,  ¿Quà © quieres?,  would be the proper way to ask, What do you want? Quà © as an Idiom An  idiom  is an  expression, word or phrase that has a figurative meaning traditionally understood by native speakers. For example,  Ã‚ ¡Quà © là ¡stima! meaning, What a shame! Or,  Ã‚ ¡Quà © susto!  meaning, What a fright!   Some of the most common idiomatic expressions that are used daily in native Spanish speech  are  ¿Y quà ©? or  ¿Y a mà ­ quà ©?,  both meaning, So what? Or,  Ã‚ ¿Para quà ©? or  ¿Por quà ©?,  meaning,  Why?