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Spanish (Latin America)

You already know **qué** (what) and **quién** (who). Spanish has one more essential question word: **cuál** (which). Like *quién*, it changes with number:

| Asking about | Form |
| --- | --- |
| one thing | cuál |
| more than one | cuáles |

### Choosing one from a group

Use **cuál** and **cuáles** when the answer is a *choice* from a set of things: which one? which ones?

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### "What is your name?" — use *cuál*

English asks for names, addresses, and numbers with "what", but Spanish treats these as choices from many possible answers, so it uses **cuál es**. Saying *¿Qué es tu nombre?* is a classic English-speaker mistake — Spanish never asks it that way.

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### *Qué es* asks for a definition

Use **qué es** only when you want an explanation of what something *is*:

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### Before a noun, use *qué*

Directly before a noun, Spanish prefers **qué**. (In Latin America you will also hear *¿cuál libro?*, but *qué* + noun is always correct.)

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Which one (cuál, cuáles)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

expression

interjection

noun

numeral

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (yo soy)

Noun gender and definite articles (el, la)

Basic sentences and negation (no)

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Formal and informal you (tú vs. usted)

Plural pronouns and the verb to be (somos, son)

Making nouns plural (-s, -es)

Plural articles (los, las, unos, unas)

Noun gender exceptions

Adjective agreement

Invariable adjectives

State and location (estar)

Ser vs. estar

There is / there are (hay)

Hay vs. estar

To have (tener)

Possession (de)

Possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su)

Regular -ar verbs

Yes/No questions

What and who (qué, quién)

Regular -er verbs

Regular -ir verbs

Asking where (dónde, adónde)

How, when, and why (cómo, cuándo, por qué)

How much and how many (cuánto)

Days of the week

Going to a place (ir a)

Preposition contractions (al, del)

In and by (en)

With me and with you (conmigo, contigo)

Prepositional pronouns (mí, ti)

Conjunctions (y, o, pero)

Giving reasons (porque)

Stem-changing verbs (e to ie)

Stem-changing verbs (o to ue)

Stem-changing verbs (e to i)

Irregular yo forms (hago, salgo)

To know (saber vs. conocer)

Weather expressions (hace, está)

Desires and plans (querer)

Ability and requests (poder)

Obligations (tener que)

Expressing likes (me gusta)

Plural likes (me gustan)

Verbs like gustar (encantar, doler)

Very vs. a lot (muy, mucho)

Numbers 0 to 15 (cero, uno, dos…)

Numbers 16 to 31 (dieciséis, veinte…)

Numbers 30 to 1000 (treinta, cien, mil)

Months of the year (enero, febrero, marzo)

Seasons and dates (el dos de mayo)

Telling time (es la..., son las...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero, segundo, tercero)

Reflexive pronouns and verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

The present continuous (estar + -ando, -iendo)

Near demonstrative adjectives (este, esta, estos, estas)

Medium demonstrative adjectives (ese, esa, esos, esas)

Comparatives of inequality (más / menos ... que)

Comparatives of equality (tan ... como)

Indefinite and negative pronouns (algo, nada, alguien, nadie)

Affirmative commands

Far demonstratives (aquel, aquella)

Possessive pronouns (el mío, el tuyo)

Shortened indefinite adjectives (algún, ningún)

Adverbs of quantity (demasiado, bastante)

Adverbs of frequency (a menudo, a veces)

Adverb formation (-mente)

Exclamations (¡Qué...!)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Relative superlatives (el más... de)

Adjective intensification (-ísimo)

Indirect object pronouns

Pronoun placement with infinitives

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

The 'se lo' rule (se lo, se la)

Impersonal statements (se)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Personal obligation (deber)

Starting actions (empezar a)

Finishing and quitting actions (terminar de, dejar de)

Repeating actions (volver a)

Continuing actions (seguir + gerundio)

Question	Answer
which (ones)	cuáles
Which ones are your books?	¿Cuáles son tus libros?
Which ones are the house keys?	¿Cuáles son las llaves de la casa?
Which is the new word?	¿Cuál es la palabra nueva?
What is your doctor's name?	¿Cuál es el nombre de tu doctor?
Which one is your family's house?	¿Cuál es la casa de tu familia?
What is a hospital?	¿Qué es un hospital?
What book do you need?	¿Qué libro necesitas?
What music do you listen to?	¿Qué música escuchas?