Quick answer
¿Dónde está el baño? ¿Por qué no vamos?
Where is the toilet? Why don't we go? Spanish question words all carry an accent, and the sentence opens with ¿.
The words of this lesson
Two question marks, one accent
A Spanish question opens with ¿ and closes with ?. That is not decoration: Spanish word order often looks the same as a statement, so the opening mark tells the reader early that a question is coming. Every question word also carries a written accent — qué, quién, dónde, cuándo, cómo, cuánto — which is how you tell ¿por qué? ("why?") apart from porque ("because").
No "do" in Spanish
English builds questions with a helper verb: "do you live here?". Spanish has nothing like it. You take the statement vives aquí and either raise your voice or move the subject: ¿vives aquí?, ¿dónde vives?. Translating "do" is the mistake to avoid — there is no word for it.
With a question word the verb usually comes straight after: ¿qué quieres?, ¿cuándo llega el tren?, ¿dónde está María?.
Words that change shape
Quién becomes quiénes for several people: ¿quiénes son? Cuánto agrees with what it counts: ¿cuánto dinero?, ¿cuánta agua?, ¿cuántos años?, ¿cuántas personas? And qué before a noun means "which": ¿qué libro prefieres?
Where you are matters
For "what?" when you did not hear something, Spain says <span class="es-inline">¿cómo?</span> or <span class="es-inline">¿perdón?</span>, while Mexico commonly says <span class="es-inline">¿mande?</span>.
Memory trick
Accent means question, no accent means answer: ¿por qué? asks, porque answers.
A short dialogue
Typical mistakes
¿Haces tú vives aquí?
¿Vives aquí?
Spanish has no helper verb for questions. Never translate the English "do".
Porque no vienes?
¿Por qué no vienes?
Two words with an accent ask the question; one word without an accent gives the reason.
¿Cuánto personas hay?
¿Cuántas personas hay?
Cuánto agrees with the noun, so a feminine plural noun takes cuántas.
Practice
Practise these asking questions
0/8 matched — tap a Spanish word, then its translation
Check yourself
Which sentence asks "Why are you not coming?"