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3.5: ¿Qué? ¿Cuál? ¿Cuáles?

  • Page ID
    317252
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    What? Which? Which Ones?

    We have learned that "qué" and "cuál" or "cuáles" are used as interrogative words that mean "what" or "which" in English. However, they are not used interchangeably.

    Uses

    • "Qué" is used to ask for an explanation, definition, or an identification.
    • ¿Qué estás haciendo ahora? (What are you doing now?)
    • ¿Qué es el amor? (What is love?)
    • ¿Qué es esto? (What is this?)
    • "Cuál" and "Cuáles" are used when there is more than one option or possibility to choose from.
    • ¿Cuál de estas películas quieres ver? (Which of these movies do you want to watch?)
    • ¿Cuáles son tus clases favoritas este semestre? (Which are your favorite classes this semester?)
    • "Cuál" is never used before a noun, "qué" is used instead.
    • ¿Qué clases vas a tomar el próximo semestre? (What classes are you going to take next semester?)
    • ¿Qué tipo de música te gusta? (What type of music do you like?)
    • ¿Qué hora es? (What time is it?)
    • ¿Qué tiempo hace? (What is the weather like?)
    Other Interrogative Words
    Spanish English
    ¿Adónde? (To) where?
    ¿De dónde? (From) where?
    ¿Dónde? Where?
    ¿A qué hora? At what time?
    ¿Cuál?, ¿cuáles? What?, which?
    ¿Qué? What?, which?
    ¿Cuándo? When?
    ¿Cuánto? How much?
    ¿Cuántos?, ¿Cuántas? How many?
    ¿Para qué? For what?
    ¿Por qué? Why?
    ¿Quién?, ¿Quiénes? Who?
    ¿A quién?, ¿A quiénes? To whom?
    ¿Con quién?, ¿Con quiénes? With whom?
    ¿De quién?, ¿De quiénes? Whose?
    ¿Para quién?, ¿Para quiénes? For whom?

    This page titled 3.5: ¿Qué? ¿Cuál? ¿Cuáles? is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Sara Jacome-Thompson, Evergreen Valley College (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative) .