ELONIO
Log inSign up

¿Alguien está escondiendo la llave?

¿Alguien está escondiendo la llave?
Is someone hiding the key?
From Lesson 66:Indefinite and negative pronouns (algo, nada, alguien, nadie)·Spanish (Latin America)

Breakdown of ¿Alguien está escondiendo la llave?

estar
to be (location/state)
la llave
key
esconder
to hide
alguien
someone

Questions & Answers about ¿Alguien está escondiendo la llave?

Does alguien mean "someone" or "anyone"?
It can mean both! In English, we often switch to "anyone" for questions, like "Is anyone hiding the key?" In Spanish, alguien covers both "someone" and "anyone" without needing to change the word.
Does alguien change if we know we are asking about a female?
No, alguien is an invariable word. It never changes to be feminine or plural. Even if you are in a room full of women, you still use alguien and pair it with a singular verb like está.
Why use está escondiendo instead of just esconde?
Está escondiendo means "is hiding" and emphasizes that the action is happening right at this very moment. You could also ask ¿Alguien esconde la llave?, but the está plus the -iendo ending (the present progressive) puts more focus on the action happening right now.
Can I change the word order and put alguien after the verb?
Yes! You can absolutely say ¿Está escondiendo alguien la llave? In Spanish questions, it is very common to put the subject after the verb, though starting with alguien is also perfectly natural.

Learn ¿Alguien está escondiendo la llave and more in Spanish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Spanish →