Lección 2.3

Asking Questions in Spanish

Forming questions in Spanish is important for effective communication and information gathering. In Spanish, in order to write questions, an inverted question mark ‘¿’ at the beginning of the question.

In order to ask questions that will have a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer, intonation is very important. The tone must rise at the end of the question. It is important to understand that, unlike English, the words ‘do’ and ‘does’ do not exist in Spanish.

Yes/No questions formed by intonation (no auxiliary needed).

Spanish	English
¿Tú hablas español?	Do you speak Spanish?
¿Ustedes estudian los fines de semana?	Do you all study on the weekends?

Another way to ask ‘yes/no’ questions is to use the tag words: ¿Verdad?-truth and ¿No? at the end of a statement. It is important to use intonation with these tag words.

For example:

Yes/No questions with tag endings.

Spanish	English
Tú hablas español, ¿verdad?	You speak Spanish, right?
Ustedes estudian los fines de semana, ¿no?	You study on the weekends, right?

In order to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions, you can say ‘Sí’- yes or ‘No’-no. When answering in the negative, you must use a double negative.

Model negative answers with double negative.

Prompt (Spanish)	Negative Answer (Spanish)	English
Tú hablas español, ¿verdad?	No, yo no hablo español.	No, I do not speak Spanish.
Ustedes estudian los fines de semana, ¿no?	No, nosotros no estudiamos los fines de semana.	No, we do not study on the weekends.

In order to ask an open-ended question, there are question words similar to the questions words in English. Some question words in Spanish are:

Common Spanish question words.

Spanish	English
¿Qué?	What?
¿Quién? / ¿Quiénes?	Who? / Who (plural)?
¿Dónde?	Where?
¿Adónde?	To where?
¿De dónde?	From where?
¿Cuándo?	When?
¿Por qué?	Why?
¿Cómo?	How?
¿Cuánto? / ¿Cuánta?	How much?
¿Cuántos? / ¿Cuántas?	How many?

In the case of the question: How many? The reason why there are four forms is because when using them, they must agree with what there are of. For example: ¿Cuántos libros? (How many books?), ¿Cuántas sillas? (How many chairs?).

Actividades

In order to ask someone what they are doing, using verb ‘Hacer’ (to do) is necessary. It is an irregular verb, but it is widely used in daily conversations. Let’s conjugate the verb ‘hacer’.

Hacer-to do/to make

Present tense of hacer.

Subject	Form	Subject	Form
Yo	hago	Nosotros	hacemos
Tú	haces	Vosotros	hacéis
Usted	hace	Ustedes	hacen
Él	hace	Ellos	hacen
Ella	hace	Ellas	hacen

The Verb Gustar

The Spanish verb ‘gustar’ is commonly used to express likes or preferrences of dislikes, but its structure differs greatly from the English verb ‘to like’. In English, it is typical to say ‘I like books’. In Spanish, it is typical to say, ‘Books are pleasing to me’. The differences in the structure make it so that ‘who is liking’ and ‘what is being liked’ are inverted in a Spanish sentence compared to the typical sentence structure in English.

When using the verb gustar, if what is pleasing or not pleasing to you is singular, you use ‘gusta’. If what is pleasing or not pleasing to you is plural, you use ‘gustan’. If what is pleasing or not pleasing to you is a verb, ‘gusta is used and then the infinitive form of the verb is used.

When expressing that something is displeasing, a ‘no’ is added before the pronouns ‘me’, ‘te’, ‘le’, ‘nos’ and ‘les’.  For example, ‘A él no le gustan la pizza’.  Let’s take a look at the verb ‘gustar’.

Model sentences with gustar (singular, plural, and infinitive).

Singular thing	Plural things	Infinitive
A mí me gusta la comida de Puerto Rico. I like Puerto Rican food.	A mí me gustan las comidas de Puerto Rico. I like Puerto Rican dishes.	A mí me gusta comer. I like to eat.
A ti te gusta la comida de Cuba. You like Cuban food.	A ti te gustan las comidas de Cuba. You like Cuban dishes.	A ti te gusta comer. You like to eat.
A usted no le gusta el libro. You do not like the book.	A usted no le gustan los libros. You do not like the books.	A usted no le gusta leer. You do not like to read.
A él le gusta la ciudad. He likes the city.	A él le gustan las ciudades de Puerto Rico. He likes the cities of Puerto Rico.	A él le gusta viajar. He likes to travel.
A nosotros nos gusta la playa. We like the beach.	A nosotros nos gustan las playas del Caribe. We like the beaches of the Caribbean.	A nosotros nos gusta tomar el sol. We like to sunbathe.
A ustedes les gusta el poema de José Martí.	A ustedes les gustan los poemas de José Martí.	A ustedes les gusta leer poesía.
A ellos les gusta la comida de Cuba.	A ellos les gustan las comidas de Cuba.	A ellos les gusta comer.
A ellas les gusta el tambor.	A ellas les gustan los tambores.	A ellas les gusta tocar el tambor.

Note: Please note that ‘A mí’, ‘A ti’, ‘A usted’, ‘A él’, ‘A ella’, ‘A nosotros’, ‘A ustedes’, ‘A ellos’, and ‘A ellas’ can be omitted. It is correct to say, ‘Nos gusta la playa’, ‘Nos gustan las playas del caribe’, ‘Nos gusta tomar el sol’. In order to make it a dislike, the ‘no’ is still added in the same place. For example, ‘No nos gusta la playa’, ‘no nos gustan las playas del caribe’, and ‘No nos gusta tomar el sol’..

Cultura: Cuba, República Dominicana y Puerto Rico

The Caribbean is a tropical region of many islands and countries. Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico share rich histories with Indigenous, African, Spanish, and U.S. influences.

Cuba

Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean. Its capital is La Habana. Spanish is the official language. Cuba gained independence from Spain in 1898 and later underwent the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. Music—son, mambo, salsa—plays a central role; artists like Celia Cruz and Buena Vista Social Club are internationally known. Typical dishes include arroz con pollo, lechón, and tostones.

República Dominicana

On the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with Haiti, its capital is Santo Domingo. Spanish is the official language. The first permanent European colony in the Americas was founded here in 1492. Merengue and bachata are emblematic genres; artists include Juan Luis Guerra and Aventura. Dominican cuisine often features rice, beans, and meats; mangú (mashed plantains) is a classic. Baseball is a national passion, and the country boasts many top professional players. Famous beaches include Punta Cana.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico lies east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands. The capital is San Juan. Spanish and English are official (Spanish predominates). Formerly a Spanish colony for 400+ years, it became a U.S. territory in 1898 after the Spanish-American War. Landmarks include the colonial fort El Morro. Puerto Rican culture blends Spanish, African, and Taíno influences. Salsa became especially popular; later, reggaetón (since the 1990s) made the island a Latin music hub (e.g., Daddy Yankee, Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony). Foods include mofongo, arroz con gandules, and lechón.

The Caribbean is diverse and vibrant. Understanding similarities and differences among these three places deepens appreciation for Spanish and Caribbean cultures through music, food, and history.

Vocabulario