Quiero saber por y para qué: the interrogatives cómo, por qué y para qué
e continue with this series of articles in which we have been examining interrogatives of very frequent use in the Spanish language. In this particular article, we will look at the interrogatives cómo, por qué, and para qué, and we will place special emphasis on the difference between por qué and para qué, since they can be confusing for those learning the language because, as we will see, in most cases the same question can be formulated with por qué or para qué, but the answer will always be different, although the difference can often be very subtle. Let's go!
Cómo.
This interrogative is used to know the form or manner in which an action is performed, that is, it refers to methods or processes. More specifically, it allows us to question the way in which the message transmitted with the verb being used is completed, so to speak. And I say it this way because it is possible to use this interrogative with copulative verbs like ser or estar, which strictly speaking do not represent an action, but rather unite a subject with an attribute without providing semantic meaning by themselves. In this latter case, it refers to the condition in which something or someone is or was. Let’s see examples.
Processes, methods or forms:
¿Cómo se hacen las morcillas? (How are blood sausages made?)
¿Cómo aprendiste español? (How did you learn Spanish?)
¿Cómo se dice hola en alemán? (How do you say hello in German?)
States:
¿Cómo era la casa donde naciste? (What was the house where you were born like?)
¿Cómo está tu mamá? (How is your mom?)
Expressions.
¿Cómo así? Used to ask for explanations about something that catches our attention and seems unexpected to us.
– Hoy me enojé con mi jefe y renuncié a mi trabajo. (Today I got angry with my boss and quit my job.)
– ¿Cómo así?
¿Cómo que…? Also used to ask for explanations. Usually about something that bothers us or about, for example, a change of plans that we didn’t expect to happen. Also to confirm something that surprises us.
– ¿Cómo que no vas a la fiesta? (What do you mean you’re not going to the party?)
– ¿Cómo que ganaste la lotería? (What do you mean you won the lottery?)
¿Cómo estás? (How are you?) While this expression falls within the uses of cómo to ask about states, it’s worth highlighting. It’s used very frequently as a greeting in Spanish (Hola, ¿cómo estás? – Hello, how are you?). And I highlight it mainly because there can be cultural differences in its use. In Spanish, someone is asked how they are as a matter of courtesy, that is, a detailed and sincere response about the person’s state is not expected, and the most frequent response is (muy) bien, ¿y tú? ((very) well, and you?), even if the person responding is going through their worst moment. To the extent that this question can be asked to strangers whom we may never see again, such as a cashier at a supermarket in a city we’re passing through. In other cultures, particularly in Germanic culture, according to what I have learned academically and what people from that culture with whom I do language exchange and, indivisibly, culture exchange have confirmed to me, asking ¿cómo estás? means that the person asking really wants to know how the other person is. In Spanish it’s not like that. If we want someone to tell us how they are, we have to, on one hand, reinforce the question linguistically:
– Hola, ¿cómo estás? (Hello, how are you?)
– Bien, ¿y tú? (Fine, and you?)
– Bien. ¿Y tú? ¿Cómo estás, todo en orden / todo bien / cómo te está yendo / tus cosas bien? (Fine. And you? How are you, everything okay / everything good / how is it going / your things good?) and a thousand more options, and reinforce the message also paralinguistically: eye contact, physical contact, the tone of voice used, etc. I always say it: learning a language is, in addition, learning a new culture and, I myself, in this journey of learning my language to be able to teach it, have learned a lot about our culture, in addition to having had the fortune of being able to travel and having exchanged with native Spanish speakers from almost all the countries where Spanish is a native language. While the Spanish language is spoken by many millions of people in many countries that include many different cultures, there are still things that unite us. So, and now I’m speculating based on my own experience, the private sphere, how I am, is not as private as in other cultures. Thus, Spanish speakers can ask each other ¿cómo estás? just to ask because, unconsciously, we know that the conversation about how we are will emerge later. From the interaction itself with the person we ask, just because, how are you?
Por qué.
Por qué is used to ask about the cause or reason for something. As we will see, por qué and para qué can be quite confusing for those acquiring the Spanish language. Let’s see examples of using por qué.
Asking about causes:
¿Por qué llegaste tarde? (Why did you arrive late?)
¿Por qué está cerrada la tienda? (Why is the store closed?)
¿Por qué no funciona el televisor? (Why doesn’t the television work?)
Asking about motives or reasons:
¿Por qué estudias español? (Why do you study Spanish?)
¿Por qué elegiste esa carrera? (Why did you choose that career?)
¿Por qué te mudaste a esta ciudad? (Why did you move to this city?)
Expressing surprise or incomprehension:
¿Por qué me miras así? (Why are you looking at me like that?)
¿Por qué no me dijiste la verdad? (Why didn’t you tell me the truth?)
¿Por qué actúas de esa manera? (Why do you act that way?)
Para qué.
The interrogative para qué is used to ask about the purpose, objective, or goal of an action. Unlike por qué, which seeks the cause, para qué seeks the end or goal.
Asking about purpose:
¿Para qué sirve esta herramienta? (What is this tool for?)
¿Para qué estudiaste medicina? (What did you study medicine for?)
¿Para qué necesitas el dinero? (What do you need the money for?)
Asking about objectives:
¿Para qué viniste aquí? (What did you come here for?)
¿Para qué me llamaste? (What did you call me for?)
¿Para qué quieres aprender español? (What do you want to learn Spanish for?)
Expressing that something is useless or unnecessary:
¿Para qué te preocupas tanto? (Why do you worry so much? / What’s the point of worrying so much?)
¿Para qué discutir si ya está decidido? (Why argue if it’s already decided? / What’s the point of arguing if it’s already decided?)
¿Para qué llorar por algo que no se puede cambiar? (Why cry over something that can’t be changed? / What’s the point of crying over something that can’t be changed?)
Having seen these examples, let’s make a clarification. In many cases, the same question can be asked using the three interrogatives we have seen in this article, although the information we seek is different. However, in the case of por qué and para qué, it is possible to ask for the same information in both ways, so the difference can be very subtle and is understood with practice of the language.
¿Cómo aprendes español? (How do you learn Spanish?)
Voy a clases y miro películas. (I go to classes and watch movies.)
¿Por qué aprendes español? (Why do you learn Spanish?)
Porque me gusta el idioma y porque voy a ir de vacaciones a España. (Because I like the language and because I’m going to go on vacation to Spain.)
¿Para qué aprendes español? (What do you learn Spanish for?)
Para poder comunicarme con la familia de mi novia, y para ir de vacaciones a España. (To be able to communicate with my girlfriend’s family, and to go on vacation to Spain.)
We have reached the end of this article. I hope these lines have been useful to you. Here I leave you exercises to practice this topic and, if you have doubts, I’ll read you in the comments or you can write to me. Thanks for reading!
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