Questions & Answers about ¿Ella canta y toca la guitarra?
Where is the word for 'does' in this question?
Spanish doesn't use helper words like 'do' or 'does' to ask questions. To turn a statement into a question, you can just keep the exact same word order as the statement (Ella canta y toca la guitarra), add question marks, and make your voice go up at the end. Could I put the verb first and ask ¿Canta ella...? instead?
Yes! While this sentence keeps the normal subject-first order and just uses a questioning tone, you can also swap the subject (ella) and the verb (canta) to make a question. Both ¿Ella canta...? and ¿Canta ella...? are perfectly correct and very common in Spanish. Do I have to include the word ella (she)?
Not necessarily. If the person you are talking to already knows who you are talking about, you can drop ella and simply ask ¿Canta y toca la guitarra? because the verbs tell us you are talking about 'he', 'she', or 'you (formal)'. Why is it la guitarra (the guitar) instead of just guitarra?
In Spanish, when you talk about playing a musical instrument, you almost always include the definite article (el or la). So you play 'the' guitar (tocar la guitarra) rather than just playing guitar. I learned that tocar means 'to touch'. Why does it mean 'play' here?
The verb tocar means both 'to touch' and 'to play a musical instrument'. Just keep in mind that if you want to talk about playing a sport or a game, you will need to use a completely different verb: jugar. Learn ¿Ella canta y toca la guitarra and more in Spanish
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