Spanish for Beginners: Asking Who, What, and Where Questions
Learn to form Spanish information questions with quién, qué, and dónde using simple verbs, and see how they differ from yes/no questions.
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In Spanish, information questions ask for specific details rather than a simple yes or no. You form them with question words such as quién (who), qué (what), and dónde (where), plus a verb. Most Spanish question words carry a written accent mark, and word order is often more flexible than in English. This lesson gives you a small set of patterns you can use right away in everyday conversations.
By the end, you can…
- ask who, what, and where questions in Spanish using simple verbs.
- tell the difference between a yes/no question and an information question in Spanish.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
¿Dónde vives?
Where do you live?
DON-deh BEE-bes
Informal tú form; common in Latin America and Spain. The plural informal form is ¿Dónde vivís? in vos regions and ¿Dónde vivís?/¿Dónde vivís? — in Spain the plural is ¿Dónde vivís? No: in Spain the plural informal is ¿Dónde vivís? (vosotros vivís).
¿Dónde vive usted?
Where do you live? (formal)
DON-deh BEE-beh oos-TED
Use usted with strangers, older people, or in formal situations. Common throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
¿Qué haces?
What are you doing? / What do you do?
keh AH-ses
Informal tú form. Context decides whether it means 'right now' or 'for a living'.
¿Quién es ella?
Who is she?
KYEN es EH-yah
Quién is singular. For more than one person, use quiénes: ¿Quiénes son ellos?
¿De dónde eres?
Where are you from?
deh DON-deh EH-res
A very common getting-to-know-you question. The preposition de stays before dónde.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
Spanish question words usually come first, followed by the verb: ¿Dónde vives? (Where do you live?), ¿Qué comes? (What do you eat?), ¿Quién habla? (Who is speaking?). Unlike English, Spanish often does not need a helping verb like 'do' or 'does'. You can also put the subject after the verb or leave it out: ¿Dónde vive Ana? and ¿Dónde vive? are both fine when the person is clear.
When to use it
Use information questions when you need a detail, not a yes or no. Compare ¿Vives en Lima? (Do you live in Lima?) with ¿Dónde vives? (Where do you live?). The first expects sí or no; the second expects a place. Use qué for things and actions, quién for people, and dónde for places. Add de before dónde to ask about origin: ¿De dónde eres?
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás?
Hi! How are you?OH-lah KOH-moh es-TASBien, gracias. ¿Y tú?
Good, thanks. And you?BYEN GRAH-syahs ee TOOBien. ¿De dónde eres?
Good. Where are you from?BYEN deh DON-deh EH-resSoy de México. ¿Y tú? ¿Dónde vives?
I'm from Mexico. And you? Where do you live?SOY deh MEH-hee-koh ee TOO DON-deh BEE-besA little context goes a long way
In much of Latin America, tú is the normal informal 'you' and usted shows respect or distance. In parts of Argentina, Uruguay, and Central America, vos replaces tú in informal speech, so you may hear ¿Dónde vivís? instead of ¿Dónde vives? The meaning is the same; only the verb form changes. In Spain, the informal plural is vosotros, so 'Where do you all live?' is ¿Dónde vivís? (vosotros) rather than ¿Dónde viven? (ustedes).
One thing to watch for
Saying ¿Tú dónde vives? and thinking the subject pronoun is required, or dropping the accent mark and writing ¿Donde vives?
Try this instead: The subject pronoun is optional: ¿Dónde vives? is the natural form. Keep the written accent on question words: ¿Dónde vives?, ¿Qué haces?, ¿Quién es? Without the accent, donde and que are not question words.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you ask a new friend 'Where do you live?' informally?
Show a sample answer
¿Dónde vives?
Dónde means 'where' and vives is the tú form of vivir. In vos regions, ¿Dónde vivís? is also correct.
2How do you ask 'Who is he?'
Show a sample answer
¿Quién es él?
Quién means 'who' and es means 'is'. The pronoun él is optional: ¿Quién es? also works if the person is clear.
3What is the difference between ¿Comes pizza? and ¿Qué comes?
Show a sample answer
¿Comes pizza? expects yes or no; ¿Qué comes? asks for the specific food.
The first is a yes/no question, the second is an information question with qué. Both are correct in different situations.
Start information questions with a question word such as quién, qué, or dónde, keep the accent mark, and let the verb follow. Use these patterns to ask for details instead of yes or no answers.
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