{"id":17102,"date":"2025-05-04T03:37:56","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T01:37:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/que-idiomas-hablas-the-interrogatives-que-cual-and-quien\/"},"modified":"2025-05-04T08:16:28","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T06:16:28","slug":"que-idiomas-hablas-the-interrogatives-que-cual-and-quien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/que-idiomas-hablas-the-interrogatives-que-cual-and-quien\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00bfQu\u00e9 idiomas hablas? The interrogatives qu\u00e9, cu\u00e1l, and qui\u00e9n"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\tI<\/span>\n\t\t\t

n the previous article, we saw an introduction to interrogative sentences in Spanish. In this series of articles, we will examine interrogative particles in detail, their use with prepositions, and more. In this particular article, we will look at the interrogatives qu\u00e9, cu\u00e1l, and qui\u00e9n, and specifically the difference between qu\u00e9 and cu\u00e1l, a frequent source of confusion for those learning Spanish.<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Qu\u00e9.<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The interrogative qu\u00e9 is one of the most widely used in Spanish and has different syntactic functions. Like all interrogatives, it always carries a written accent: the word que, without an accent mark, has different syntactic functions than qu\u00e9. As a neutral interrogative pronoun, it is used to ask about things, concepts, definitions, or actions, accompanied by a verb.<\/p>

\u00bfQu\u00e9 es esto? (What is this?)
\u00bfQu\u00e9 necesitas? (What do you need?)
\u00bfQu\u00e9 hiciste ayer? (What did you do yesterday?)<\/p>

As an interrogative adjective, accompanied by a noun, it is used to ask about one or several things or people in a group, about the class or type of things that make up a group, or about the quantity in which the noun it modifies occurs, especially in the case of some uncountable nouns in singular.<\/p>

\u00bfQu\u00e9 libro est\u00e1s leyendo? (What book are you reading?) Out of all books.
\u00bfQu\u00e9 pel\u00edculas te gustan? (What movies do you like?) Out of all movie genres.
\u00bfQu\u00e9 edad tienes? (How old are you?).<\/p>

The interrogative qu\u00e9 is frequently combined with different prepositions to ask about different things. Let’s look at combinations, functions, and examples.<\/p>

\u00bfA qu\u00e9?<\/strong> To ask about purpose, destination, or time. \u00bfA qu\u00e9 has venido? (What have you come for?) (For what purpose?) \u00bfA qu\u00e9 hora sales? (At what time are you leaving?)<\/p>

\u00bfCon qu\u00e9?<\/strong> To ask about instrument or means. \u00bfCon qu\u00e9 escribiste la carta? (With what did you write the letter?) \u00bfCon qu\u00e9 vas a pagar? (With what are you going to pay?)<\/p>

\u00bfDe qu\u00e9?<\/strong> To ask about material, topic or content. \u00bfDe qu\u00e9 est\u00e1 hecho este mueble? (What is this furniture made of?) \u00bfDe qu\u00e9 hablaron en la reuni\u00f3n? (What did you talk about in the meeting?)<\/p>

\u00bfEn qu\u00e9?<\/strong> To ask about place, means of transport or moment. \u00bfEn qu\u00e9 piensas? (What are you thinking about?) \u00bfEn qu\u00e9 autob\u00fas vas a viajar? (On which bus are you going to travel?)<\/p>

\u00bfPor qu\u00e9?<\/strong> To ask about cause or reason. \u00bfPor qu\u00e9 no viniste ayer? (Why didn’t you come yesterday?) \u00bfPor qu\u00e9 estudias espa\u00f1ol? (Why do you study Spanish?)<\/p>

\u00bfPara qu\u00e9?<\/strong> To ask about purpose or objective. \u00bfPara qu\u00e9 necesitas el dinero? (What do you need the money for?) \u00bfPara qu\u00e9 sirve esto? (What is this used for?)<\/p>

It is possible, for example, and this is something that confuses Spanish students, to ask \u00bfPor qu\u00e9 aprendes espa\u00f1ol? and \u00bfPara qu\u00e9 aprendes espa\u00f1ol? In the first case, we are asking about the reason, and we could answer “aprendo porque me gusta” (I learn because I like it) and in the second case, we are asking about the purpose, and we could answer “para leer El Quijote” (to read Don Quixote). In this<\/strong> <\/a>article, you can read more about the differences between por and para.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Cu\u00e1l, cu\u00e1les.<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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This interrogative is used to select among limited or known options. It has a singular form, cu\u00e1l, and a plural form, cu\u00e1les, and does not change according to the grammatical gender of the noun. It asks about the identity of one or several things within a set of known or limited options.<\/p>

\u00bfCu\u00e1l es tu color favorito? (What is your favorite color?)
\u00bfCu\u00e1les son tus llaves? (Which ones are your keys?)
\u00bfCu\u00e1l es el problema? (What is the problem?)
\u00bfCu\u00e1les flores te gustan m\u00e1s? (Which flowers do you like more?)<\/p>

As we pointed out above, the difference between qu\u00e9<\/em> and cu\u00e1l<\/em> can be a headache for Spanish learners. Because yes, you can ask “\u00bfQu\u00e9 libro est\u00e1s leyendo?” and “\u00bfCu\u00e1l libro est\u00e1s leyendo?” and no, they are not interchangeable nor do they mean exactly the same thing, although both questions could be answered with the same response. To understand this, we need to review the concepts of deictic and anaphoric references, concepts that may seem boring but for me, as a language geek, are very interesting. Deictic references are those that refer to extralinguistic elements, that is, from the situation or context in which the communicative act takes place. To put it simply, a deictic reference cannot be understood unless we are in the place where the communicative act occurs. An anaphoric reference, on the other hand, is one that refers to elements that have already been named in the discourse even though they are not in the situation where the communicative act takes place. That is, if we read a dialogue that occurred in a specific situation, we will be able to understand the anaphoric references, but not the deictic ones. Let’s look at a brief example.<\/p>

\u00a0– No encuentro mi bufanda. (I can’t find my scarf.)
\u00a0– \u00bfLa roja o la azul? (The red one or the blue one?)
\u00a0– La roja. (The red one.)
\u00a0– Est\u00e1 ah\u00ed, mira. (It’s there, look.)<\/p>

In that brief dialogue, “la roja<\/em>” is an anaphoric reference to the red scarf, so just by reading the dialogue, we can understand it. “Ah\u00ed<\/em>,” on the other hand, is a deictic reference to the place where the red scarf is, so by reading the dialogue, it is impossible to know what place “ah\u00ed” is. This is the difference in the use of qu\u00e9 and cu\u00e1l when they seem interchangeable: qu\u00e9 is used to refer to something without deictic or anaphoric reference, that is, to the general group of things we are referring to, and cu\u00e1l is used to refer to something with deictic or anaphoric reference, that is, to a limited and known subgroup of certain things. Let’s look at examples.<\/p>

\u00a0– \u00bfQu\u00e9 libro est\u00e1s leyendo? (What book are you reading?)
\u00a0– El C\u00f3digo da Vinci. (The Da Vinci Code.)<\/p>

In this context, we are asking what book the person is reading among all the books that exist.<\/p>

\u00a0– Me compr\u00e9 estos tres libros. (I bought these three books.)
\u00a0– \u00bfY cu\u00e1l est\u00e1s leyendo? (And which one are you reading?)
\u00a0– El C\u00f3digo da Vinci. (The Da Vinci Code.)<\/p>

In this context, we want to know which of those three particular books the person is reading: we use cu\u00e1l because there is a clear reference to a limited group of books. The answer is the same, but the intention of the question is different.<\/p>

The Case of the Verb “Ser”.<\/strong><\/p>

When we use qu\u00e9 plus the verb ser, we are specifically asking for the definition of something. Thus, in this case, if we want to know a particular element from an unlimited list of something but we must use the verb ser, we use cu\u00e1l instead of qu\u00e9 even if the list is not limited. Let’s look at examples.<\/p>

\u00bfCu\u00e1l es tu nombre? (What is your name?) – From all the names that exist. (\u00bfQu\u00e9 es tu nombre? Ungrammatical).<\/p>

\u00bfCu\u00e1l es tu comida favorita? (What is your favorite food?) – From all the foods that exist. (\u00bfQu\u00e9 es tu comida favorita? Ungrammatical).<\/p>

\u00bfCu\u00e1l es tu direcci\u00f3n? (What is your address?) – From all the addresses that exist. (\u00bfQu\u00e9 es tu direcci\u00f3n? Ungrammatical).<\/p>

Use of cu\u00e1l with prepositions: combinations, functions, and examples.<\/p>

\u00bfA cu\u00e1l\/cu\u00e1les?<\/strong> Select destination among options. \u00bfA cu\u00e1l de los conciertos asistir\u00e1s? (Which of the concerts will you attend?) \u00bfA cu\u00e1les de estas ciudades has viajado? (Which of these cities have you traveled to?)<\/p>

\u00bfCon cu\u00e1l\/cu\u00e1les?<\/strong> Select instrument\/company among options. \u00bfCon cu\u00e1l de estos bol\u00edgrafos escribo? (With which of these pens shall I write?) \u00bfCon cu\u00e1les de tus amigos saldr\u00e1s? (With which of your friends will you go out?)<\/p>

\u00bfDe cu\u00e1l\/cu\u00e1les?<\/strong> Select origin\/topic among options. \u00bfDe cu\u00e1l de estos vinos me hablas? (Which of these wines are you talking about?) \u00bfDe cu\u00e1les de estas materias tienes examen? (Which of these subjects do you have an exam in?)<\/p>

\u00bfEn cu\u00e1l\/cu\u00e1les?<\/strong> Select place\/moment among options. \u00bfEn cu\u00e1l de estas habitaciones dormir\u00e1s? (In which of these rooms will you sleep?) \u00bfCu\u00e1les son tus d\u00edas libres? (Which are your free days?)<\/p>

\u00bfPor cu\u00e1l\/cu\u00e1les?<\/strong> Select route\/reason among options. \u00bfPor cu\u00e1l de estos caminos es mejor ir? (Which of these paths is better to take?) \u00bfPor cu\u00e1les de estas razones decidiste estudiar aqu\u00ed? (For which of these reasons did you decide to study here?)<\/p>

\u00bfPara cu\u00e1l\/cu\u00e1les?<\/strong> Select purpose\/recipient among options. \u00bfPara cu\u00e1l de estos proyectos necesitas ayuda? (For which of these projects do you need help?) \u00bfPara cu\u00e1les de tus hijos compraste regalos? (For which of your children did you buy gifts?)<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Qui\u00e9n, qui\u00e9nes.<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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This interrogative is used exclusively to ask about people. It has a singular form, qui\u00e9n, and a plural form, qui\u00e9nes, and does not vary in grammatical gender. It can be the grammatical subject or function as a complement. It is used to ask about the identity of people and about the agent of actions.<\/p>

\u00bfQui\u00e9n es tu profesor? (Who is your teacher?)
\u00bfQui\u00e9nes fueron a la fiesta? (Who went to the party?)<\/p>

When used without a preposition, it is normally the grammatical subject, and when combined with prepositions, it functions as a complement. Let’s look at examples.<\/p>

\u00bfA qui\u00e9n\/qui\u00e9nes?<\/strong> Ask about the recipient of an action. \u00bfA qui\u00e9n le diste mi n\u00famero? (To whom did you give my number?) \u00bfA qui\u00e9nes invitaste a la fiesta? (Whom did you invite to the party?)<\/p>

\u00bfCon qui\u00e9n\/qui\u00e9nes?<\/strong> Ask about company. \u00bfCon qui\u00e9n fuiste al cine? (With whom did you go to the movies?) \u00bfCon qui\u00e9nes vas a estudiar? (With whom are you going to study?)<\/p>

\u00bfDe qui\u00e9n\/qui\u00e9nes?<\/strong> Ask about possession or origin. \u00bfDe qui\u00e9n es este libro? (Whose book is this?) \u00bfDe qui\u00e9nes son estas opiniones? (Whose opinions are these?)<\/p>

\u00bfPara qui\u00e9n\/qui\u00e9nes?<\/strong> Ask about beneficiary. \u00bfPara qui\u00e9n es el regalo? (Who is the gift for?) \u00bfPara qui\u00e9nes son estos documentos? (Who are these documents for?)<\/p>

\u00bfPor qui\u00e9n\/qui\u00e9nes?<\/strong> Ask about cause related to people. \u00bfPor qui\u00e9n preguntas? (Who are you asking about?) \u00bfPor qui\u00e9nes votaste en las elecciones? (Who did you vote for in the elections?)<\/p>

We have reached the end of this article. I hope these lines have been useful to you. Here<\/strong><\/a> are some exercises to practice this topic, and if you have any questions, leave me a comment or write to me.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>Prev<\/span><\/span>Anterior<\/span>\u00bfPara qu\u00e9 aprendes espa\u00f1ol? Interrogative sentences<\/span><\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\tSiguiente<\/span>\u00bfQu\u00e9, cu\u00e1l o qui\u00e9n? Order the sentences<\/span><\/span><\/path><\/svg>Next<\/span><\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00bfQu\u00e9 idiomas hablas? The interrogatives qu\u00e9, cu\u00e1l, and qui\u00e9n.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[144],"tags":[158],"class_list":["post-17102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grammar","tag-feed-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17102"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17180,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17102\/revisions\/17180"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}