Breakdown of Mamá, ¿dónde está papá?
dónde
where
estar
to be (location/state)
la mamá
the mom
el papá
the dad
Questions & Answers about Mamá, ¿dónde está papá?
Why do we use está instead of es to ask where Dad is?
Why are there accent marks on the last letters of mamá and papá?
Why does dónde have an accent mark?
In Spanish, all question words (like qué, cuándo, and quién) carry an accent mark. Dónde has an accent because it is asking a question, whereas donde without an accent just means where in a normal statement (like the house where I live).
Why is the upside-down question mark placed in the middle of the sentence?
In Spanish, the inverted question mark always goes at the exact point where the actual question begins. Saying Mamá is just getting her attention, so the question part starts right before dónde.