31
Asking questions and
responding
A basic function in any language is that of asking questions in order to seek
information, and Spanish, like English, has several ways of doing so. Spanish, however,
shows more flexibility than English in terms of word order for either questions or
statements. There are no structures in Spanish associated specifically with interrogative
sentences, although usage sometimes points in one direction instead of another, as you
will see from the examples below.28.2 (p. 146)
31.1 Questions requiring a yes or no answer
31.1.1 Verb-subject
Questions of this type, usually carry the verb in initial position, that is, before the
subject, with the action expressed by the verb becoming the focus point.
¿Ha llegado el tren?
Has the train arrived?
¿Va a ir Álvaro a la fiesta?
Is Álvaro going to the party?¿Ha llamado alguien?
Has anyone called?
¿No te ha escrito Amanda?
Hasn’t Amanda written to you?
In speech, this type of question calls for a rising intonation, and it is important to bear
this in mind, as a falling intonation may turn the same sentence into a statement, for
example:
Ha llegado el tren.
The train has arrived.
A falling intonation, accompanied by a shift of stress from the verb to another element
in the sentence, the subject for instance, may have the same effect:Va a venir Álvaro a la fiesta.
Álvaro is coming to the party.