Question 1

Why does cuál have an accent mark here if it's not a direct question with question marks?

Accepted Answer

When you report a question (indirect speech), question words like qué, cuál, dónde, and cuándo keep their written accent marks just like they do in direct questions. So, the direct question "¿Cuál es tu defecto?" (What is your flaw?) becomes "Ella me preguntó cuál era mi defecto" (She asked me what my flaw was).

Question 2

Why does the Spanish sentence use cuál instead of qué for "what"?

Accepted Answer

When asking "What is..." or "What was..." followed by a noun, and there are many possible answers to choose from (like personal flaws or qualities), Spanish uses cuál (which) rather than qué (what). If you used qué era mi peor defecto, it would sound like you were asking for the dictionary definition of your flaw, rather than asking to identify it.

Question 3

Why is the verb era (was) in the imperfect tense rather than the preterite?

Accepted Answer

When reporting speech in the past, a present tense statement or question shifts to the imperfect tense. The original question she asked was in the present tense: "¿Cuál es tu peor defecto?" (What is your worst flaw?). When reporting that past conversation, es (is) shifts to the imperfect era (was) because it describes what your flaw was at that ongoing time in the past.

Question 4

Why do peor and mejor come before the nouns (defecto and cualidad) instead of after?

Accepted Answer

While most descriptive adjectives in Spanish go after the noun, adjectives that indicate ranking, rating, or order—like mejor (best/better), peor (worst/worse), primer (first), and último (last)—almost always go right before the noun.

Ella me preguntó cuál era mi peor defecto y mi mejor cualidad.

Breakdown of Ella me preguntó cuál era mi peor defecto y mi mejor cualidad.

Questions & Answers about Ella me preguntó cuál era mi peor defecto y mi mejor cualidad.

Learn Ella me preguntó cuál era mi peor defecto y mi mejor cualidad and more in Spanish