What asks about the identity, the definition, or the explanation of a thing, an idea, or a situation. It is used when you are not looking to choose among concrete options, but to know what something is about: What is this?, What does that word mean?, What happened yesterday?.

If you remove what, the sentence stops asking for information and becomes a normal statement. In What do you want?, want alone is not enough to express doubt; what opens the question and indicates that the content of the answer is missing.

It also appears in indirect questions: I don’t know what you mean or Explain to me what happened. In those cases, what introduces the unknown information within another clause. This use appears together with other interrogative pronouns like Pronombres Personales when the question requires a subject or complement: What did they tell you?, I don’t understand what’s wrong with her.

Uses of what for things and ideas

Usage	Explanation
Definition of objects	Use what when you want to know the definition of a thing.
Explanation of ideas	Use what when you request a general explanation of an idea.
Identity of something unknown	Use what when you don’t know exactly what thing it is.

Who asks about a person. Whom asks about several people. The singular form is used with a single referent: Who is calling?, Who is your teacher? The plural form is used when the answer contains more than one person: Who is coming to the party?, Who are those children?.

It does not change for gender, but it does for number. Who and whom do not depend on whether the person is a man or a woman; it only depends on whether you are asking about one or several.

In indirect questions they keep that form as well: I don’t know who lives here and I don’t know who those people who work that shift are. When the answer needs precision about the people, it is usually combined with Pronombres Personales: Who told you?, Who helped you all?

Uses of who for people

Usage	Explanation
Unknown person	Use who when you ask about a single person.
Several unknown people	Use who when you ask about more than one person.
Identification of people	Use who or whom to ask for the name or identity of people.

Which and which ones are used to identify or choose within a group. The question does not seek a general definition, but a concrete selection: Which do you prefer?, Which of these books have you read?.

Which goes with a single option; which ones goes with several. It often appears near a noun with de + group: Which of the two trains leaves first?, Which of your friends are coming?.

When the answer must indicate a concrete option, which functions as a selector. That’s why it isn’t used to ask for an open explanation like what is recycling. Here what corresponds. On the other hand, if the question requires choosing between alternatives, which fits better.

This contrast also helps when comparing nearby objects, together with Pronombres Demostrativos: Which of these do you like most?, Which are those?

Uses of which for choosing or identifying

Usage	Explanation
Choice among options	Use which when you want to choose an option within a group.
Selection of a concrete object	Use which when you are looking to identify something precise among several possibilities.
Several elements chosen	Use which when the question refers to more than one option or element.

How much asks about quantity or number. Its form changes to agree with the noun it accompanies: how much with masculine singular, how much with feminine singular, how many with masculine plural and how many with feminine plural.

It is used before the noun or in questions where the noun appears afterward: How much money do you need?, How much milk is left?, How many students are missing?, How many hours do you sleep?.

If there is no visible noun, the agreed form still answers to the referent understood in the situation: How many are coming?, How much do you want?.

It also appears in indirect questions: I don’t know how many guests will arrive or He asked how much salt was needed. When the quantity belongs to something possessive, the structure can combine with Pronombres Posesivos: How much of your food is left?

Rules of agreement with cuánto

Idea
How much is used with masculine singular nouns.
How much is used with feminine singular nouns.
How many is used with masculine plural nouns.
How many is used with feminine plural nouns.

Interrogatives carry an accent mark when introducing a direct or indirect question: qué, quién, cuál, cuánto. In the direct question, the accent appears inside the question marks: ¿Qué quieres?, ¿Quiénes vienen?.

In the indirect question, they also keep the accent because they still question, even if the marks do not appear: No sé qué quieres, Explícame quién llamó, Dime cuál prefieres.

The accent remains even when the phrase is exclamatory and questions at the same time: ¡Qué sorpresa!, ¡Cuántas personas había!, ¡Quién lo diría!.

Without the accent, these words perform other functions. Que can join sentences: Espero que vengas. Quien can introduce a relative clause: La persona quien llamó is not the normal form; Pronombres Relativos like que or quien are preferred depending on the case.

Rules of accent marks in interrogatives

Idea
Interrogatives carry accent marks in direct questions.
Interrogatives carry accent marks in indirect questions.
Interrogatives also carry accent marks in exclamations.

In the normal question, the interrogative usually comes at the beginning of the sentence: What do you want?, Who’s coming?, Which do you choose?. Then follows the verb or the structure that completes the question.

When the question is indirect, the interrogative appears inside the subordinate clause: I don’t know what you want, Tell me who arrived, Explain to me which you prefer. There it does not open the main sentence, but it preserves its interrogative function.

If the speaker wants to add emphasis or separate information, other elements can be moved, but the interrogative still marks the gap for the answer. That’s why the new part of the question remains linked to that word and not to the exact order of the other elements.

In questions with a preposition, the preposition usually goes before the interrogative: With whom are you going out?, About what are you talking?, For which is this?. The preposition does not disappear; it is placed before the interrogative pronoun.

Typical position of interrogatives

Usage	Explanation
Start of a direct question	Place the interrogative at the start when you formulate a direct question.
Start of an indirect question	Place the interrogative at the start of the interrogative idea even if question marks do not appear.
Natural order of the sentence	After the interrogative, the verb or the subject usually follows depending on the question.

What and which are not interchangeable in all contexts. What asks for a definition, an explanation, or an open identification: What is that?, What happened?. Which asks for a selection within a known group or an identification among options: Which is your house?, Which of these do you prefer?.

With a singular noun, you normally use what to ask about the type or nature of something: What movie did you watch?, What book are you looking for?. Which appears when the question assumes already delimited alternatives: Which movie did you watch from the three?.

In real use, some speakers employ which to request a more concrete identification, especially in questions like What is your name? or What is the address?. That form is common and natural in several varieties of Spanish.

When the question concerns people or quantities, other series work better: who and whom for people, how much and its forms for number. In contexts of choice, Pronombres Indefinidos and Pronombres Demostrativos also help to specify the reference: Which of those do you want?, What is missing?

quéquécuál

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Puede sonar más natural en preguntas informales incluso cuando se habla de una elecciónSe usa para elegir entre opciones o para identificar algo concreto con frecuenciaSe usa para muchas preguntas cotidianas donde en otros lugares se prefiere cuál

Real uses of what and which by region

Region	Variant	Definition	Example
Spain	cuál	Used to choose between options or to identify something concrete frequently.	Cuál de estas sillas es tuyaWhich of these chairs is yours
Mexico	qué	Used for many everyday questions where elsewhere which is preferred.	Qué prefieres de postreWhat do you prefer for dessert
Argentina	qué	Can sound more natural in informal questions even when talking about a choice.	Qué querés tomarWhat do you want to drink

Scramble