Forming questions with qué in Spanish = what (LatAm)

Questions with "qué" in Spanish

Here are three ways to ask the question what? using ¿qué? in Spanish.

1.     Qué [verbo] = what [verb]

¿Qué desean de postre?What would you like for dessert? [you = ustedes]

¿Qué haces esta tarde?What are you doing this afternoon? [you = tú]

 

2.     Qué [ser] = what [to be]

¿Qué es el dulce de leche?What is "dulce de leche"?

¿Qué son las corridas de toros?What are the "corridas de toros"?

Note that when you use qué + [ser] you are asking for a meaning or definitionwhat is it?

3.     Qué [nombre] what/which [noun]

¿Qué música te gusta más?What/which music do you like the most? [you = tú]

¿Qué fruta comes?What fruit do you eat? [you = tú]

Note that you use qué followed by a noun to say what/which when you do not limit the responses by offering a specific range of possible responses. When there is a specific range of answers to choose from and the question is asking which "of those" you may also use "cuál + singular noun" and "cuáles + plural noun". For example:

Aquí hay muchas flores bonitas... ¿qué flores/cuáles flores te gustan más?
There are lots of pretty flowers here... which flowers do you like the most [out of these flowers that we can see here]?

For more detail on this use of cuál/cuáles see Using cuál in Spanish followed by a noun in interrogative sentences

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Examples and resources

¿Qué desean de postre?What would you like for dessert? [you = ustedes]
¿Qué haces esta tarde?What are you doing this afternoon? [you = tú]
¿Qué música te gusta más?What/which music do you like the most? [you = tú]
¿Qué es el dulce de leche?What is "dulce de leche"?
¿Qué son las corridas de toros?What are the "corridas de toros"?
¿Qué fruta comes?What fruit do you eat? [you = tú]
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