movie news
The Difference Between Que And Cual/Cuales In Spanish
Check our Latest products!
The difference between Qué and Cuál in Spanish is usually an issue of concern to students of Spanish whose native language is English and who can’t do a literal translation into their own language. In this lesson we will take a look at the differences between the two words.
Firstly, let´s see what happens with the verb SER.
Qué es: this form implies the question for a definition.
¿Qué es un gato?/ What is a cat?
Un gato es un animal felino y pequeño, que suele tenerse como mascota. / A cat is a feline and small animal, usually taken as a pet.
Cuál es: This is a question for an election. From a homogeneous group, you have a choice. You want to know a name.
¿Cuál es tu película favorita? (from all the possible films)/ What is your favorite movie?
Mi película favorita es Terminator./ My favorite movie is Terminator.
¿Cuál es la capital de Argentina? (from all the possible capitals)/ What is the capital of Argentina?
La capital de Argentina es Buenos Aires./ The capital of Argentina is Buenos Aires
¿Cuál es tu nombre? (from a long list of possible names)/ Which is your name?
Mi nombre es Anna./ My name is Anna.
When the question is “cuál es” you should only respond with an option, but this question has a version in plural, where you can respond with more than one option.
¿Cuáles son tus libros favoritos?/ What are your favorite books?
Mis libros favoritos son “Cien años de Soledad” y “13,99 euros”. My favorites books are “Cien años de Soledad” and “13,99 euros”.
¿Cuáles son los colores que más te gustan?/ What are the colors you like the most?
Los colores que más me gustan son el rojo y el azul./ The colors I like the most are the red and blue.
Qué + Verb
When I ask: ¿Qué quieres tomar?/ What do you want to drink?, I am not giving you options, you can answer anything from an heterogeneous group: café (coffe), leche (milk), agua (water), cerveza (beer), licuado de frutilla (strawberry smoothie), etc.
Or: ¿Qué cocinamos, pizza o empanadas?/ What should we cook, pizza or empanadas?
Cuál + Verb
When I ask you: ¿Cuál prefieres?/ Which do you prefer?, I have some options for you, and I´m showing these from a table or I have them in my hands: ¿Cuál prefieres, ésta o ésta?/ Which do you prefer, this or this?
We can ask the same using Qué + the noun + Verb.
¿Qué bebida prefieres?/ What drink do you prefer?
¿Qué color te gusta más?/ What color do you like more?