Spanish Question Words Practice

Q: Why do Spanish question words have accents?

The accent distinguishes the question word from an identical-looking word with a different job: qué (what) vs que (that/which), dónde (where?) vs donde (where, relative), cómo (how?) vs como (as/like). The accent doesn't change the pronunciation stress here — it marks the interrogative meaning.

Q: Do question words keep the accent in indirect questions?

Yes, always. Whenever a question is embedded inside another sentence — No sé dónde vive, Dime cuándo llegas, Me preguntó cómo me llamaba — the question word keeps its written accent even though there are no question marks. Dropping it there is one of the most common learner mistakes.

Q: What's the difference between qué and cuál?

Use qué directly before a noun (¿Qué libro prefieres?) and to ask for definitions (¿Qué es la paella?). Use cuál before ser to identify or choose (¿Cuál es tu nombre?) and with de (¿Cuál de los dos?). The classic trap is ¿Qué es tu nombre? — that asks you to define the concept of a name, not to say yours.

Q: What's the difference between por qué, porque and el porqué?

Por qué (two words, accent) asks why, in direct and indirect questions alike. Porque (one word, no accent) means "because" and gives the reason. El porqué (one word, accent, with an article) is a noun meaning "the reason": No entiendo el porqué de su decisión.

Q: When do I use adónde instead of dónde?

Use adónde ("to where") with verbs of movement like ir, viajar or mudarse: ¿Adónde vas? Use dónde for location (¿Dónde vives?) and de dónde for origin (¿De dónde eres?). All three keep their written accent in questions.

Q: Are these exercises free?

Yes. All 30 exercises run right in your browser, need no signup, and give you a clear explanation after every answer.

Question 1

¿___ te llamas?

Accepted Answer

Cómo. Spanish asks "How do you call yourself?" — ¿Cómo te llamas? Using qué here is a direct-translation trap from English "what."

Question 2

¿___ vives?

Accepted Answer

Dónde. "Where" as a question word is dónde with an accent. Donde without the accent is a relative pronoun, and adónde needs a movement verb.

Question 3

¿___ es tu cumpleaños?

Accepted Answer

Cuándo. "When" is cuándo — and in a question it must carry the accent. Watch the lookalike cuánto, which asks "how much."

Question 4

¿___ es eso? — Es un regalo.

Accepted Answer

Qué. When you're asking what something IS — a definition or identification of a thing — use qué. Cuál would imply choosing between known options.

Question 5

¿___ es ese chico? — Es mi hermano.

Accepted Answer

Quién. For one person, use the singular quién. Quiénes is only for asking about several people at once.

Question 6

¿___ cuesta este libro?

Accepted Answer

Cuánto. Asking about a price with no noun after it takes the default masculine singular: ¿Cuánto cuesta? There's nothing for it to agree with.

Question 7

¿___ hermanos tienes?

Accepted Answer

Cuántos. Cuánto works like an adjective and must agree with its noun: hermanos is masculine plural, so cuántos. Forgetting the agreement is the classic trap.

Question 8

¿___ agua bebes al día?

Accepted Answer

Cuánta. Agua takes feminine agreement, and it's uncountable here, so singular: cuánta agua. Don't let the el agua article trick fool you — agua is feminine.

Question 9

¿___ es tu nombre?

Accepted Answer

Cuál. The classic trap: ¿Qué es tu nombre? asks for a definition of the concept "name." To identify which name is yours, Spanish uses cuál: ¿Cuál es tu nombre?

Question 10

¿___ libro prefieres, este o ese?

Accepted Answer

Qué. Directly before a noun, Spain uses qué: ¿Qué libro prefieres? Cuál before a noun sounds Latin American; in Spain-neutral Spanish keep cuál for cuál + es / de.

Question 11

¿___ de los dos prefieres?

Accepted Answer

Cuál. Choosing one item out of a stated group takes cuál + de: ¿Cuál de los dos? Qué never combines with de in this selecting sense.

Question 12

¿___ son tus platos favoritos?

Accepted Answer

Cuáles. Cuál has a plural: with son and a plural noun you need cuáles. Quiénes is only for people, and platos are things.

Question 13

¿De ___ eres?

Accepted Answer

dónde. Origin is de + dónde, and the accent stays: ¿De dónde eres? Unaccented donde is the relative pronoun, not a question word.

Question 14

¿___ vais este fin de semana?

Accepted Answer

Adónde. Ir is a movement verb, so the destination question is adónde ("to where") — with the accent. De dónde would ask about origin, the opposite direction.

Question 15

¿___ no viniste a la fiesta?

Accepted Answer

Por qué. The question "why" is por qué — two words, with an accent. Porque (one word, no accent) means "because" and answers the question instead of asking it.

Question 16

No fui a la fiesta ___ estaba enfermo.

Accepted Answer

porque. "Because" is porque: one word, no accent. Por qué (two words, accent) only asks why; el porqué (with article) is a noun meaning "the reason."

Question 17

¿___ son esas chicas? — Son mis primas.

Accepted Answer

Quiénes. Asking about several people takes the plural quiénes. Quién is singular, and cuáles would treat the girls as things to choose between.

Question 18

Which is the correct way to ask someone's name?

Accepted Answer

¿Cuál es tu nombre?. Before ser, choosing or identifying takes cuál: ¿Cuál es tu nombre? ¿Qué es tu nombre? would ask you to define the concept of a name.

Question 19

No sé ___ vive Marta.

Accepted Answer

dónde. This is an indirect question, and question words keep their accent inside them: No sé dónde vive. Unaccented donde would turn it into a relative clause.

Question 20

Me preguntó ___ me llamaba.

Accepted Answer

cómo. Reported questions keep the accented form: me preguntó cómo me llamaba. Unaccented como means "as/like" (or "I eat") — a different word entirely.

Question 21

No entiendo ___ dices eso.

Accepted Answer

por qué. Even without question marks, this is an indirect question, so it keeps por qué. With porque the sentence would mean "I don't understand because you say that."

Question 22

¿___ es la capital de Australia?

Accepted Answer

Cuál. You're selecting one city out of all possible answers, so it's cuál + es. Qué es would ask what a capital is; dónde would need está, not es.

Question 23

¿___ significa esta palabra?

Accepted Answer

Qué. Asking for a meaning or definition is qué territory: ¿Qué significa...? Cuál would imply picking one meaning from a visible list.

Question 24

Which sentence has an accent error?

Accepted Answer

No sé donde vive.. Question words keep their written accent in indirect questions: No sé dónde vive. Dropping the accent is the single most common mistake learners make here.

Question 25

¿___ tiempo llevas estudiando español?

Accepted Answer

Cuánto. Tiempo is masculine singular, so cuánto tiempo. The plural cuántos would need a plural noun like años or meses.

Question 26

¿___ personas vienen a la cena?

Accepted Answer

Cuántas. Personas is feminine plural, so cuántas — even when you're counting men. The word personas controls the agreement, not the people themselves.

Question 27

¿A ___ le diste las llaves?

Accepted Answer

quién. Question words keep their accent even after a preposition: ¿A quién...? Unaccented quien is the relative pronoun, not the question word.

Question 28

Choose the correct question.

Accepted Answer

¿Cuál es la diferencia entre ser y estar?. Before es, identifying something specific takes cuál: ¿Cuál es la diferencia? Note that cuál has no feminine form — cuála is a common invented error.

Question 29

Which sentence uses "porque" correctly?

Accepted Answer

Llegué tarde porque perdí el autobús.. Porque (one word, no accent) introduces a reason: porque perdí el autobús. Any direct or indirect "why?" — even after dime or no entiendo — needs por qué.

Question 30

Choose the correct word: "¿___ fuisteis de vacaciones el año pasado?"

Accepted Answer

Adónde. With a movement verb like ir, the destination question is adónde — and as a question word it must carry the accent: ¿Adónde fuisteis?

Spanish Question Words Practice

The rule, in plain English.

Practice.

Other topics.

Sentence Structure Practice

Present Tense Practice

Accent Rules Practice

Common questions.