How do I use the question words like ¿dónde, ¿qué, ¿cuándo, ¿por qué, ¿quién, ¿cómo in sentences
The Spanish question words “¿por qué?”, “¿quién?”, and “¿cómo?” each have specific uses in sentences, and “quien” without an accent is different from “quién” with an accent. Here is a summary:
-
¿Por qué? means “why” and is used to ask for the reason or cause of something. For example: ¿Por qué estás triste? (Why are you sad?). It is written as two words with a question mark and an accent on “qué”. 6, 14, 19
-
¿Quién? means “who” and is used to ask about a person. It has an accent and question marks. For example: ¿Quién es ella? (Who is she?). Its plural form is ¿Quiénes? when asking about multiple people. 2, 20, 6
-
Quien without an accent is a relative pronoun equivalent to “who” or “that” in English. It is used to connect clauses and refer to people previously mentioned, e.g., “El autor quien escribió el libro…” (The author who wrote the book…). It does not carry a question mark or accent and can have a plural form “quienes”. 3, 5, 7, 2
-
¿Cómo? means “how” and is used to ask about manner, means, or degree. For example: ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?). It is always with an accent and question marks. 8, 6
Summary of each word in sentences
| Word | Meaning | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¿Por qué? | Why | Ask reason or cause | ¿Por qué no vas a la fiesta? (Why not go to the party?) |
| ¿Quién? | Who | Ask about a person (singular) | ¿Quién viene a la reunión? (Who is coming to the meeting?) |
| Quien | Who/that (relative pronoun) | Connects clauses, refers to person(s) mentioned | El hombre, quien es médico, está aquí. (The man, who is a doctor, is here.) |
| ¿Cómo? | How | Ask manner or way | ¿Cómo te llamas? (What is your name literally: How do you call yourself?) |
This clarifies their grammatical role, accentuation, and use in questions and sentences. 5, 2, 3, 6, 8