Él tenía mucho sentido del humor.
He had a good sense of humour.
Barcelona tiene un clima templado.
Barcelona has a temperate climate.
Este coche tiene mucha potencia.
This car has a lot of power.36.2 Enquiring about a subject’s nature or identity
To ask what someone is or was like or what a place or a thing are or were like we can use
the construction ¿cómo+ser+ noun?
¿Cómo es?
What is he/she/it like?
¿Cómo es tu novia? What is your girlfriend like?
¿Cómo eran tus padres? What were your parents like?
¿Cómo era el hotel? What was the hotel like?
¿Cómo son tus zapatos? What are your shoes like?¿Cómo? is often replaced by the more informal¿qué tal?:
¿Qué tal es tu jefe? What is your boss like?
¿Qué tal es tu piso? What is your flat like?
¿Qué tal son tus libros? What are your books like?
In more informal language, and when the context is clear, ser can be omitted:
¿Qué tal el viaje?
What was the journey like?
¿Qué tal tus vacaciones?
What were your holidays like? 12.1 (p. 48); 12.7 (p. 51);^22 (p. 103); 36.9 (p. 218); 36.3.2 (p. 215)
You can also ask what someone or something is like by using questions like the
following:
¿Qué aspecto tiene?
What does he/she/it look like?
¿Qué forma tiene? or¿De qué forma es?
What is it like? or What shape does it have?Questions regarding identity or nature normally carry ser
¿Quién es? Who is he/she?
¿Qué tipo de película es? What sort of film is it?DESCRIBING 36.2