主题
BeginnerQuestions
How yes/no and wh-questions are formed in Spanish, English and Chinese.
对比语言
Questions invert word order, add particles, or use auxiliary verbs. Spanish inverts subject and verb, English requires 'do' support, and Chinese simply adds 吗 or changes intonation.
Overview
Questions are how we request information or confirmation. Every language has its own strategy for turning a statement into a question.
- Spanish: Inverts subject and verb for yes/no questions, keeps wh- words at the front, and wraps the whole sentence in inverted question marks
¿...?. - English: Requires the auxiliary verb do/does/did for most questions, except with be and modal verbs.
- Chinese: Keeps normal word order entirely. Adds a particle (吗) or a question word (什么, 谁, 哪里) at the end.
Spanish
Yes/no questions
Spanish inverts the subject and verb, or simply changes intonation:
- Tú vienes. (You come.) → ¿Vienes (tú)? (Are you coming?)
- Ella habla español. (She speaks Spanish.) → ¿Habla ella español? (Does she speak Spanish?)
The opening ¿ is mandatory in written Spanish. The closing ? is also required.
Wh-questions
Question words stay at the front, and the verb usually follows immediately:
| Question word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| qué | what | ¿Qué quieres? |
| quién | who | ¿Quién es? |
| dónde | where | ¿Dónde vives? |
| cuándo | when | ¿Cuándo llegas? |
| por qué | why | ¿Por qué estudias? |
| cuánto | how much | ¿Cuánto cuesta? |
Important: Prepositions go before the question word in Spanish: ¿Con quién hablas? (Who are you talking to?), not ¿Quién hablas con?.
Tag questions
Spanish uses short phrases at the end of a statement:
- Vienes, ¿verdad? (You’re coming, right?)
- No llueve, ¿no? (It’s not raining, is it?)
English
Yes/no questions with “do”
For most verbs, English requires the auxiliary do/does/did:
- You want coffee. → Do you want coffee?
- She speaks Spanish. → Does she speak Spanish?
- They arrived early. → Did they arrive early?
Exceptions — no “do” needed with be or modals:
- She is happy. → Is she happy?
- They can swim. → Can they swim?
Wh-questions
The question word comes first, then the auxiliary, then the subject:
| Question word | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| What | What + do/does + subject + verb | What do you want? |
| Who | Who + verb (3rd person) | Who knows? |
| Where | Where + do/does + subject + verb | Where does she live? |
| When | When + did + subject + verb | When did they arrive? |
| Why | Why + do/does + subject + verb | Why do you study? |
| How | How + do/does + subject + verb | How does it work? |
Tag questions
English tag questions match the auxiliary and reverse the polarity:
- You’re coming, aren’t you? (positive statement → negative tag)
- She doesn’t like it, does she? (negative statement → positive tag)
Chinese
Chinese questions are the simplest of the three languages. Word order stays the same.
Yes/no questions with 吗
Add the particle 吗 to the end of a statement:
- 你来。(You come.) → 你来吗？(Are you coming?)
- 她喜欢咖啡。(She likes coffee.) → 她喜欢咖啡吗？(Does she like coffee?)
Wh-questions with question words
Replace the unknown part with a question word. Word order stays the same.
| Question word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 什么 | what | 你想要什么？ |
| 谁 | who | 谁是老师？ |
| 哪里 | where | 你住在哪里？ |
| 什么时候 | when | 你什么时候到？ |
| 为什么 | why | 你为什么学习？ |
| 怎么 | how | 怎么去？ |
Choice questions with 还是
Use 还是 (or) between the options:
- 你要茶还是咖啡？(Do you want tea or coffee?)
Follow-up with 呢
呢 turns a statement into a soft follow-up question:
- 我很好，你呢？(I’m fine, and you?)
Comparison at a glance
| Feature | Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Word order for yes/no | Invert subject-verb | Auxiliary + subject + verb | Same as statement |
| Question marks | ¿ … ? (both ends) | … ? (end only) | ？ (end only, optional) |
| Auxiliary verb | No auxiliary | do/does/did required | No auxiliary |
| Question particle | None | None | 吗 for yes/no |
| Wh- word position | Front (before verb) | Front (before auxiliary) | Replaces the unknown element |
| Preposition with wh- | Before question word | At the end | Before question word |
| Rising intonation | Possible | Very common | Often sufficient |
| Tag question | ¿verdad? / ¿no? | auxiliary + pronoun | 对不对 / 是吗 |
Examples in context
Yes/no question
- ES: ¿Vienes a la fiesta?
- EN: Are you coming to the party?
- ZH: 你来派对吗？
Wh-question
- ES: ¿Dónde vives?
- EN: Where do you live?
- ZH: 你住在哪里？
Tag question
- ES: No llueve, ¿verdad?
- EN: It’s not raining, is it?
- ZH: 没下雨，对不对？
Common mistakes
-
Spanish/Chinese speakers learning English: Forgetting do/does/did: What you want? → What do you want?
-
English/Spanish speakers learning Chinese: Changing word order: 来你吗？ → 你来吗？ (Keep normal order!)
-
English/Chinese speakers learning Spanish: Omitting the opening ¿: Qué pasa? → ¿Qué pasa?
-
English/Spanish speakers learning Chinese: Using 吗 with wh- words: 什么吗？ → 什么？ (吗 is only for yes/no)
Related topics
- Articles: How definiteness interacts with question formation
- Pronouns: Who/what/which as question words
- Word Order: How Chinese topic-comment structure affects questions
- Verb Tenses: How tense marking appears in questions
例句
Yes/no question
¿Vienes? / ¿Vienes tú?
Wh-question (what)
¿Qué quieres?
Question word order
Invert or keep SVO + ¿?
Rising intonation
Possible but less common
Tag question
¿verdad? / ¿no?
Choice question (A or B)
¿A o B?
例句
Yes/no question
Are you coming? / Do you come?
Wh-question (what)
What do you want?
Question word order
Auxiliary + subject + verb
Rising intonation
Very common informally
Tag question
isn't it? / don't you?
Choice question (A or B)
A or B?
例句
Yes/no question
你来吗？
Wh-question (what)
你想要什么？
Question word order
Keep SVO, add particle
Rising intonation
Often enough on its own
Tag question
对不对？ / 是吗？
Choice question (A or B)
还是 B？
快速对比
| 语法概念 | 西班牙语 | 英语 | 中文 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes/no question | ¿Vienes? / ¿Vienes tú? | Are you coming? / Do you come? | 你来吗？ |
| Wh-question (what) | ¿Qué quieres? | What do you want? | 你想要什么？ |
| Question word order | Invert or keep SVO + ¿? | Auxiliary + subject + verb | Keep SVO, add particle |
| Rising intonation | Possible but less common | Very common informally | Often enough on its own |
| Tag question | ¿verdad? / ¿no? | isn't it? / don't you? | 对不对？ / 是吗？ |
| Choice question (A or B) | ¿A o B? | A or B? | 还是 B？ |
请至少选择一种语言以查看对比内容
并列对比
| 语法概念 | 西班牙语 | 英语 | 中文 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes/no question | ¿Vienes? / ¿Vienes tú? | Are you coming? / Do you come? | 你来吗？ |
| Wh-question (what) | ¿Qué quieres? | What do you want? | 你想要什么？ |
| Question word order | Invert or keep SVO + ¿? | Auxiliary + subject + verb | Keep SVO, add particle |
| Rising intonation | Possible but less common | Very common informally | Often enough on its own |
| Tag question | ¿verdad? / ¿no? | isn't it? / don't you? | 对不对？ / 是吗？ |
| Choice question (A or B) | ¿A o B? | A or B? | 还是 B？ |
请至少选择一种语言以查看对比内容
语境例句
Yes/no question
西班牙语
¿Vienes? / ¿Vienes tú?
英语
Are you coming? / Do you come?
中文
你来吗？
Wh-question (what)
西班牙语
¿Qué quieres?
英语
What do you want?
中文
你想要什么？
Question word order
西班牙语
Invert or keep SVO + ¿?
英语
Auxiliary + subject + verb
中文
Keep SVO, add particle
Rising intonation
西班牙语
Possible but less common
英语
Very common informally
中文
Often enough on its own
Tag question
西班牙语
¿verdad? / ¿no?
英语
isn't it? / don't you?
中文
对不对？ / 是吗？
Choice question (A or B)
西班牙语
¿A o B?
英语
A or B?
中文
还是 B？
请至少选择一种语言以查看对比内容
要点总结
Spanish: Inverts subject and verb for yes/no questions, keeps wh- words at the front, and wraps the whole sentence in inverted question marks `¿...?`...
English: Requires the auxiliary verb do/does/did for most questions, except with be and modal verbs.
Chinese: Keeps normal word order entirely. Adds a particle (吗ma) or a question word (什shí么mó, 谁shuí, 哪nǎ里lǐ) at the end.
Key concepts compared: Yes/no question, Wh-question (what), Question word order.
最后更新: 2026年6月4日