Figuring out tips on how to say “what” is a vital a part of any Spanish learner’s arsenal.
In Spanish, there are a number of methods to say “what,” resembling: qué, cómo, lo que and cuál.
On this submit, you’ll be taught 5 methods to say “what” in Spanish and see how they’re utilized in context with the assistance of instance sentences.
For a enjoyable twist, the instance sentences all characteristic a well-loved subject: Meals!
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“What” might be translated as two completely different variations of the phrase qué: one as a pronoun and one as an adjective.
When qué is adopted by a verb, it features as a pronoun.
As an interrogative pronoun, qué will at all times have an accent mark no matter its place within the sentence is. Nonetheless, you’ll usually discover it at first:
¿Qué quiere comer tu novio?
(What does your boyfriend wish to eat?)
¿Qué necesitas para preparar la pizza?
(What do it’s good to put together the pizza?)
¿Qué has desayunado hoy?
(What have you ever eaten for breakfast at the moment?)
Regardless that the final three examples have been all direct questions, this won’t at all times be the case. Qué can even seem as an interrogative pronoun in oblique questions:
Necesito saber qué vas a comer.
(I have to know what you’re going to eat.)
Dime qué pediste en el restaurante.
(Inform me what you ordered on the restaurant.)
No sé qué puedo añadirle al batido.
(I don’t know what I can add to the milkshake.)
Lastly, you’ll additionally discover the interrogative pronoun qué in reported speech sentences. Though there are many reporting verbs, probably the most steadily utilized in entrance of qué are preguntar
(to ask), preguntarse
(to marvel), querer saber
(to wish to know) and necesitar saber
(to wish to know):
Me preguntó qué estaba comiendo.
(He requested me what I used to be consuming.)
Se preguntaba qué podía usar en lugar de azúcar.
(She questioned what she may use as an alternative of sugar.)
Mi madre quería saber qué había cenado.
(My mother wished to know what I had for dinner.)
Necesitaba saber qué iba a cocinar.
(She wanted to know what I used to be going to prepare dinner.)
The second that means of “what” in Spanish (qué) could seem to be it’s barely completely different from the primary one.
This time, qué features as an adjective within the sentence. For that purpose, it won’t be adopted by a verb, however by a noun.
When you’re probably not into studying grammar and simply have to be taught conversational Spanish, you may ignore this reality and simply keep in mind that “what” is translated as qué more often than not, however I do imagine it’s factor to know these little attention-grabbing information concerning the language you’re learning.
No matter your state of affairs could also be, simply know that qué will also be adopted by nouns:
¿Qué fruta es tu favorita?
(What’s your favourite fruit?)
¿Qué desayuno es ese?
(What sort of breakfast is that?)
¿Qué sopa es mejor para el dolor de estómago?
(What soup is the very best for a stomachache?)
As with the earlier qué, adjectival qué can even seem in oblique questions and oblique speech:
Necesitamos saber qué fruta es tu favorita.
(We have to know what your favourite fruit is.)
Me preguntó qué desayuno period ese.
(She requested me what sort of breakfast it was.)
No sabía qué sopa period la mejor para el dolor de estómago.
(He didn’t know what the very best soup for a stomachache was.)
Lastly, you may as well discover the adjectival qué as an exclamatory adjective. Keep in mind so as to add the opening exclamation mark (¡) each time you employ the closing one:
¡Qué alegría comer pizza!
(I’m so joyful to eat pizza! [Lit.: What happiness to eat pizza!])
¡Qué cosas tan deliciosas cocinas!
(You prepare dinner such scrumptious meals! [Lit.: What things so delicious you cook!])
¡Qué tomate más delicioso!
(What a scrumptious tomato! [Lit.: What tomato more/so delicious!])
Cómo means “what” solely in very particular conditions, so concentrate now.
Use cómo with the that means of “what” when you’re expressing your incredulity and/or annoyance for what has occurred or what somebody has stated.
¡Cómo! ¡Eso no puede ser verdad! ¡Él no sabe cocinar!
(What! That may’t be true! He doesn’t know tips on how to prepare dinner!)
¿Cómo? ¡No me lo puedo creer! ¿Ana ha hecho el pastel?
(What? I can’t imagine it! Ana has made the cake?)
In each different case, cómo will imply “how.” Listed below are some examples:
¿Cómo se usan los palillos?
(How are chopsticks used?)
¿Cómo cocinaste el pollo?
(How did you prepare dinner the hen?)
If we translate lo que actually, its that means could be “that which.”
Nonetheless, this makes the English translation sound just a little bit awkward:
Lo que más me gusta es comer pasta.
(That which I like probably the most is consuming pasta.)
No sé lo que vamos a almorzar.
(I don’t know that which we could have for lunch.)
Come lo que quieras.
(Eat that which you need.)
But when we substitute “that which” for “what” in these sentences, they sound way more pure. Take a look:
Lo que más me gusta es comer pasta.
(What I like probably the most is consuming pasta.)
No sé lo que vamos a almorzar.
(I don’t know what we’ll have for lunch.)
Come lo que quieras.
(Eat what you need.)
From this, we are able to conclude that lo que is healthier translated as “what.”
Take a look on the examples once more and also you’ll discover this que doesn’t have an accent mark. It’s crucial that you just bear in mind this. Lo qué is a vulgarism used as an alternative of the interrogative pronoun qué, and it’s best to undoubtedly keep away from it just like the plague.
The final that means of “what” in Spanish is cuál, which can also be an interrogative phrase that may be a pronoun or an adjective relying on whether or not it’s adopted by a verb or a noun.
You could be questioning then, what’s the distinction between utilizing qué and cuál? And the reply is straightforward.
Use cuál when you may have to choose between two or three issues. There might be greater than three, however the quantity will usually be small and restricted/outlined. More often than not, you may substitute “what” for “which” and the that means will likely be unchanged:
¿Cuál vino prefieres?
(What wine [of the ones I’m showing you] do you favor?)
¿Cuál pastel te gusta más?
(What cake [of the ones you’re eating] do you want probably the most?)
Then again, go for qué when the selection isn’t restricted to some particular gadgets, however to a complete class. You’ll perceive this higher with a few examples:
¿Qué vino prefieres?
(What wine [of all the wines in the wine category existing in the world] do you favor?)
¿Qué pastel te gusta más?
(What cake [of all the cakes in the cake category existing in the world] do you want probably the most?)
These guidelines of thumb ought to aid you bear in mind when to make use of qué and cuál.
Yet one more factor: You must also use cuál when utilizing “what” as a pronoun—that’s, when utilizing it in entrance of a verb as an alternative of a noun (often the verb ser
[to be]):
¿Cuál es tu comida favorita?
(What’s your favourite meals?)
No sé cuál es mi verdura favorita. ¡Me gustan todas las verduras!
(I don’t know what my favourite vegetable is. I like all greens!)
Tips on how to Apply Saying “What” in Spanish
Studying the that means of “what” in Spanish is a straightforward activity even newbie learners can do. I hope this submit has been helpful and also you’re able to rock your Spanish qué like there’s no tomorrow.
If you wish to see extra examples of those phrases in use and even learn to ask your personal questions in Spanish, there are many apps and assets on the market that may aid you.
For instance, you may follow utilizing qué and cuál on 123TeachMe with this qué vs. cuál quiz, in addition to this quiz.
You can additionally attempt utilizing an immersive language studying program like FluentU to identify all of the completely different ways in which native audio system use “what” in Spanish media clips.
Apply Quiz
Attempt to fill within the gaps with the suitable time period (or phrases) to say “what” within the following sentences:
1. ¿______ es tu plato favorito? (What’s your favourite dish?)
2. Mi novio no me quería decir ______ iba a cocinar para nuestro aniversario. (My boyfriend didn’t wish to inform me what he was going to prepare dinner for our anniversary.)
3. ¡______ paella más rica! ¿Me puedes dar la receta? (What a tasty paella! Are you able to give me the recipe?)
4. ¿______ plato quieres? ¡Toda la comida se ve deliciosa! (What dish would you like? The entire meals appears to be like scrumptious!)
5. ¿Ya sabes ______ vas a pedir en el restaurante esta noche? (Do you already know what you’re going to order on the restaurant tonight?)
6. Te hice un pastel por tu cumpleaños. / ¿______?, ¡¿en serio?! (I made you a cake to your birthday / What, actually?!)
Solutions:
1. Cuál
2. Qué/Lo que
3. Qué
4. Qué/Cuál
5. Qué/Lo que
6. Cómo
At this charge, you’ll know tips on how to say “what” in Spanish very quickly.
¡Qué orgulloso estoy de ti!
(I’m so pleased with you!)
Keep curious and, as at all times, joyful studying!
Obtain:
This weblog submit is offered as a handy and moveable PDF that you just
can take wherever.
Click on right here to get a replica. (Obtain)
And One Extra Factor…
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