Interrogative Pronouns & Adjectives in Spanish

In this lesson, we will study interrogative pronouns and adjectives in Spanish.

Interrogative pronouns and adjectives are the tools we use to ask questions.

If the interrogative pronoun is followed by a noun, it becomes an interrogative adjective, e.g., “¿Qué libro te gusta leer?” (What book do you like to read?). In this case, the interrogative “qué” is considered an interrogative adjective. If the noun is dropped, “qué” becomes an interrogative pronoun, e.g., “¿Qué te gusta leer?” (What do you like to read?).

Interrogative pronoun	English meaning	Examples
¿Qué?	What?	¿Qué estás haciendo? What are you doing?
¿Quién(es)?	Who/Whom?	¿Quién hizo esto? Who did this?
¿De quién(es)?	Whose?	¿De quién es este libro? To whom does this book belong?
¿Cuál(es)?	Which?	¿Cuál es tu auto? Which one is your car?
¿Cuánto(-a,-os,-as)?	How much? How many?	¿Cuánto cuesta este abrigo? How much does this coat cost?
¿Cuándo?	When?	¿Cuándo quieres venir? When do you want to come?
¿Dónde?	Where?	¿Dónde has estado? Where have you been?
¿Cómo?	How?	¿Cómo hiciste eso? How did you do that?
¿Por qué? ¿Para qué?	Why?	¿Por qué no quieres comer? Why don’t you want to eat? ¿Para qué fuiste allá? Why did you go there?

“¿Por qué?” vs. “Porque”

The interrogative pronoun “¿por qué?” means “Why?”

If written without the accent and the space, i.e., “porque,” it means “because.”

“¿Por qué?” vs. “¿Para qué?”

Both “¿por qué?” and “¿para qué?” are often translated as “Why?” However, there is a subtle difference. Whereas “¿por qué?” enquires about the reason, “¿para qué?” enquires about the purpose and can be better translated as “What for?”, e.g., “¿Para qué necesitas eso?” (What do you need this for?).

Plural Forms of “Cuál” and “Quién”

Finally, notice that the interrogative pronouns “cuál” and “quién” have the plural forms “cuáles” and “quiénes,” respectively, whereas “cuánto” has four forms based on gender and number.