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Questions & Answers about ¿Alguien quiere café?
Why is it quiere and not quieren if alguien could refer to more than one person?
In Spanish, alguien (someone / anyone) is grammatically singular, even though in real life there might be several possible people.
Because it’s singular, the verb must also be singular: quiere (3rd person singular), not quieren.
- Correct: ¿Alguien quiere café?
- Incorrect: ¿Alguien quieren café?
The idea is: Is there someone who wants coffee? Grammatically you’re talking about “one person” in an abstract way, so the singular is required.
Can I change the word order and say ¿Quiere alguien café??
Yes, you can say ¿Quiere alguien café?, and it’s grammatically correct, but:
- ¿Alguien quiere café? is more natural and common in everyday speech.
- ¿Quiere alguien café? can sound a bit more formal or stylized, and in normal conversation it may sound slightly unusual.
For everyday Latin American Spanish, stick with ¿Alguien quiere café? when offering coffee to a group.
Why is there no article before café? Why not un café or el café?