This deep dive covers Tres errores comunes — Three Common Traps within Question words: qué/quién/dónde/cuándo/cómo/por qué/cuánto for GCSE Spanish. Revise Question words: qué/quién/dónde/cuándo/cómo/por qué/cuánto in Questions & Roleplay for GCSE Spanish with 13 exam-style questions and 12 flashcards. Use this page as part of a wider topic revision path rather than treating it as an isolated fact. It is section 2 of 4 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
🔍 Tres errores comunes — Three Common Traps
These three distinctions appear in AQA Paper 2 (Speaking) and Paper 4 (Writing) every year. Knowing them is the difference between Band 3 and Band 4 on AO3 (accuracy).
⭐ Trap 1 — ¿por qué? vs porque
¿Por qué...? (why? — two words + accent on qué) introduces the question.
Porque... (because — one word, no accent) introduces the answer.
Example: ¿Por qué estudias español? — Porque es interesante.
They are a matching pair: the question always splits into two words; the answer always fuses into one. Mixing them up is among the most common written errors in AQA transcripts.
⭐ Trap 2 — ¿cuánto? agreement
¿Cuánto? agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies. There are four forms:
- ¿Cuánto dinero? (masculine singular — money)
- ¿Cuánta agua? (feminine singular — water)
- ¿Cuántos años? (masculine plural — years)
- ¿Cuántas personas? (feminine plural — people)
Exam tip: ¿Cuántos años tienes? (How old are you?) is the most common exam phrase — the -os agrees with años (masculine plural).
⭐ Trap 3 — ¿qué? vs ¿cuál? before ser
¿Qué es esto? — defining: "What is this?" (asking for a definition or category)
¿Cuál es tu número? — selecting: "Which is your number?" (choosing from a set of options)
Before ser, use ¿qué? for definitions and ¿cuál? for selections. This is the opposite of the rule English speakers expect — in English we say "What is your number?" but Spanish selects with cuál.