Spanish makes yes/no questions the easy way: no auxiliary verb is needed. You do not translate English do, does, or did. Instead, you rely on rising intonation in speech and a pair of inverted question marks in writing.
This is one of the very first things you learn in Spanish, and it pays off immediately: the moment you can frame a yes/no question, you can ask for almost anything in a conversation.
The basic pattern
A statement and a question can share the exact same words. What changes is the intonation and the punctuation.
Hablas español.
You speak Spanish.
¿Hablas español?
Do you speak Spanish?
Notice that the Spanish question has no extra helper word. The verb hablas already contains everything you need: the subject (tú, implied) and the tense (present).
No do-support is needed
English uses do / does / did as a dummy auxiliary in questions. Spanish has nothing equivalent. Just use the main verb.
¿Vives en México?
Do you live in Mexico?
¿Comen carne?
Do they eat meat?
Trying to translate do word-for-word is one of the most common beginner mistakes. Skip it entirely.
Inverting the subject and the verb
When the subject is expressed as a pronoun or a noun, Spanish often places it after the verb in questions. This is optional but very natural, especially with usted, ustedes, and named subjects, and it gives the question a slightly more formal feel.
¿Habla usted español?
Do you speak Spanish? (formal)
¿Trabaja María en el banco?
Does María work at the bank?
You can also leave the subject out entirely, since Spanish is a pro-drop language — verb endings already mark person and number.
¿Tienen hambre?
Are you (pl.) / they hungry?
Answering yes/no questions
The short answer is simply sí or no. You can add the verb back for a fuller reply.
- ¿Hablas inglés? — Sí, hablo inglés. / No, no hablo inglés.
- ¿Vive aquí? — Sí, vive aquí. / No, no vive aquí.
Note the double no in the negative answer: the first no means no and the second is the negation particle attached to the verb. See Negation with no for details.
Statements turned into questions
Because Spanish relies on intonation, any statement can become a question simply by raising the pitch at the end (and adding the question marks in writing).
Marcos llega mañana.
Marcos arrives tomorrow.
¿Marcos llega mañana?
Marcos arrives tomorrow?
This flexibility is very useful in conversation — you rarely need to restructure the sentence.
Side-by-Side with English
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Do you live here? | ¿Vives aquí? |
| Does she speak English? | ¿Habla inglés? |
| Did they call? | ¿Llamaron? |
| Are you tired? | ¿Estás cansado? |
| Have you eaten? | ¿Has comido? |
Notice how every English question requires an extra word (do, does, did, are, have), while Spanish just keeps the verb and changes the punctuation and intonation.
Yes/No Questions in Conversation
These are some of the most common yes/no questions in everyday Latin American Spanish:
¿Tienes tiempo?
Do you have time?
¿Está abierto el museo hoy?
Is the museum open today?
¿Te gusta la comida picante?
Do you like spicy food?
Quick checklist
- Wrap the question in ¿ … ?
- Do not add do / does / did
- Optionally move the subject after the verb
- Optionally drop the subject pronoun entirely
- Raise your intonation at the end when speaking
Once you are comfortable with yes/no questions, move on to information questions that start with qué, quién, and dónde.
Related Topics
- Qué (What, Which)A1 — Use ¿qué? to ask for definitions, identifications, and to modify nouns with the meaning what or which.
- Tag Questions (¿Verdad?, ¿No?)A2 — Turn statements into questions by adding short tags like ¿verdad?, ¿no?, and ¿cierto? at the end.