Breakdown of ¿Dónde está la llave? Ni idea.
estar
to be (location/state)
dónde
where
la llave
the key
ni idea
no idea
Questions & Answers about ¿Dónde está la llave? Ni idea.
Why do we say Ni idea instead of No tengo idea?
The current lesson is about indirect questions with infinitives. Why can't I say No tengo idea dónde estar la llave?
You only use the 'question word + infinitive' structure when the person who doesn't know is the same as the subject of the action (for example: No sé dónde poner la llave - I don't know where to put the key). Because the key is the subject of its own location, you must conjugate the verb. The correct indirect question is No tengo ni idea de dónde está la llave.
Why does Dónde have an accent mark?
Question words in Spanish always carry an accent mark when they are used to ask a direct question (as in this sentence) or an indirect question (like No sé dónde está). This accent tells you it's a question word, distinguishing it from the relative pronoun donde used to describe a place (like el lugar donde vivo).
Why do we use está instead of es for the key?
The verb estar is always used for the physical location of objects, people, and places. Even though the location might seem permanent or the key is an object, you are asking where it is physically located right now, so está is required.
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