About This Lesson
Use Basic place and time questions to practice Spanish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
¿Dónde está?
DOHN-deh ehs-TAH Where is it?
B
¿Dónde estás?
DOHN-deh ehs-TAHS Where are you?
A
¿Qué pasó aquí?
keh pah-SOH ah-KEE What happened here?
B
¿Qué hora es?
keh OH-rah ehs What time is it?
A
¿Cuándo vienes?
KWAHN-doh BYEH-nehs When will you come?
B
¿Por qué llegas tarde?
pohr KEH YEH-gahs TAR-deh Why are you late?Word by Word
Dónde
In “¿Dónde está?”, “Dónde” means “where” and asks about a location. It comes at the beginning of a question asking where something or someone is. Use it in the same way in “¿Dónde estás?” when asking where a person is.
está
In “¿Dónde está?”, “está” means “is” or “is located” and asks about the location of the thing being discussed. The citation form is “estar”; “está” is used here for that singular subject. A common reuse pattern is “¿Dónde está?” when asking where something is.
estás
In “¿Dónde estás?”, “estás” asks where the person addressed is located. The citation form is “estar”; “estás” is the form used here for the person being addressed. Use “¿Dónde estás?” when asking one person where they are.
Qué
In “¿Qué pasó aquí?”, “Qué” means “what” and asks for information about the event. It appears at the beginning of the question, before “pasó”. The same word appears as lowercase “qué” inside “Por qué”, where it helps form the full question meaning “why”.
pasó
In “¿Qué pasó aquí?”, “pasó” means “happened” and asks about an event that occurred. The citation form is “pasar”; “pasó” is the form used here for that event. It follows “Qué” in the question pattern “¿Qué pasó aquí?” when asking what occurred in a place.
aquí
In “¿Qué pasó aquí?”, “aquí” means “here” and identifies the place connected with the event. It comes after “pasó” in this question. Use it to refer to the place currently being discussed.
hora
In “¿Qué hora es?”, “hora” refers to the time or hour being requested. It appears in the fixed question pattern “¿Qué hora es?”. Use this question when asking someone for the current time.
es
In “¿Qué hora es?”, “es” means “is” and is used with “hora” to ask what the time is. The citation form is “ser”; “es” is the form used in this question. Reuse the complete pattern “¿Qué hora es?” when asking for the time.
Cuándo
In “¿Cuándo vienes?”, “Cuándo” means “when” and asks about the time of someone’s coming. It comes at the beginning of the question. Use it when asking when an action or event will happen.
vienes
In “¿Cuándo vienes?”, “vienes” means “come” or “are coming” and asks about the coming of the person addressed. The citation form is “venir”; “vienes” is the form used here for that person. It follows “Cuándo” in the reusable question “¿Cuándo vienes?”.
Por qué
In “¿Por qué llegas tarde?”, “Por qué” as a whole means “why” and asks for a reason. “Por” links the question to the reason being sought, while “qué” is the question word; together they form the expression “Por qué”. Use it at the beginning of a question when asking for a reason.
llegas
In “¿Por qué llegas tarde?”, “llegas” refers to the person addressed arriving. The citation form is “llegar”; “llegas” is the form used here for that person. It appears before “tarde” in the reusable pattern “llegas tarde”.
tarde
In “¿Por qué llegas tarde?”, “tarde” means “late” and describes the arrival as late. It follows “llegas” in “llegas tarde”. Use it after a verb when describing an action as late.
Grammar Points
¿Dónde + verbo?
¿Dónde está?
DOHN-deh ehs-TAHWhere is it?
Spanish questions can place the question word before the conjugated verb; the subject is often omitted.
¿Por qué + verbo + adverbio?
¿Por qué llegas tarde?
pohr KEH YEH-gahs TAR-dehWhy are you arriving late?
por qué asks for a reason and is followed by a conjugated verb; tarde describes when you arrive.
Spanish Vocabulary
aquí
adv
ah-KEE
here
¿Qué pasó aquí?
cuándo
adv
KWAHN-doh
when
¿Cuándo vienes?
dónde
adv
DOHN-deh
where
¿Dónde está?
es
verb
ehs
is
¿Qué hora es?
está
verb
ehs-TAH
is; is located
¿Dónde está?
estás
verb
ehs-TAHS
are
¿Dónde estás?
hora
noun
OH-rah
time; hour
¿Qué hora es?
llegas
verb
YEH-gahs
arrive; are you arriving
¿Por qué llegas tarde?
pasó
verb
pah-SOH
happened
¿Qué pasó aquí?
por qué
adv
pohr KEH
why
¿Por qué llegas tarde?
qué
pron
keh
what
¿Qué pasó aquí?
vienes
verb
BYEH-nehs
are you coming; will you come
¿Cuándo vienes?
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
Where is it?
Show Answer
¿Dónde está?Where are you?
Show Answer
¿Dónde estás?What happened here?
Show Answer
¿Qué pasó aquí?Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
time; hour
Show Answer
horaare
Show Answer
estáswhere
Show Answer
dóndeis; is located