Breakdown of ¿De dónde es ella? Es colombiana.
ser
to be
de
from / of
ella
she
dónde
where
colombiano
Colombian
Questions & Answers about ¿De dónde es ella? Es colombiana.
Why does the question start with "De" instead of putting "from" at the end?
In Spanish, you can never end a sentence with a preposition like de (from). Instead, it must go right before the question word. So, rather than asking "Where is she from?", you literally ask "From where is she?" (¿De dónde es ella?).
Why do we use "es" instead of "está" here?
Why isn't "colombiana" capitalized?
Why doesn't the second sentence say "Ella es colombiana"?
In Spanish, you often drop the subject pronoun (like ella, yo, or tú) if it is already clear who you are talking about. Since the first sentence specifically asks about ella, the listener already knows who es colombiana refers to.
How would this change if we were talking about a man?
Adjectives, including nationalities, must match the gender of the person you are describing. If you were asking about a man (él), the word for Colombian changes to end in an o. You would say: ¿De dónde es él? Es colombiano.
Learn ¿De dónde es ella? Es colombiana 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