Level 1 — Foundation (CEFR: A1)
Unit 4 — Greetings, Courtesy, and Survival Ministry Conversations
Lesson 5 — Question Words and Basic Conversation Management
Lesson Overview
Level: 1 — Foundation Unit: 4 — Greetings, Courtesy, and Survival Ministry Conversations Lesson: 5 of 6 Estimated Time: 60–75 minutes
What this lesson covers:
- All eight Spanish question words with instant oral production
- The speed drill: 60-second question word quiz
- How each question word forms a clarifying question in ministry contexts
- Yes/no questions: intonation-only vs. ¿verdad? tag questions
- Conversation management phrases: how to hold the floor, cede the floor, redirect, and check comprehension
- Basic phrase combinations: question word + survival phrase + response structure
Why Question Words Are Critical for Interpreters
An interpreter who can only receive and transmit information is only half an interpreter. The other half of the job — the more demanding half — is asking the right question when something is unclear. That requires the ability to form a clarifying question instantly, in the moment, without stopping to compose it.
The question words are the grammar scaffolding of every clarifying question. They are also the architecture of every interrogative sentence the interpreter will encounter in incoming speech — the preacher asks a rhetorical question, the congregation member asks the pastor a direct question, the missionary pastor needs to ask the local leader something specific.
In every one of those cases, the interpreter must process the question word in the incoming language and produce the correct equivalent in the outgoing language — without hesitation.
The 60-second speed drill from the curriculum is not an optional exercise. It trains the reflexive recognition and production of question words under time pressure. That is exactly the pressure condition of live interpretation.
The Eight Question Words
| Spanish | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ¿Qué? | What? | Most versatile question word |
| ¿Quién? / ¿Quiénes? | Who? (singular/plural) | Singular and plural forms both required |
| ¿Dónde? | Where? | Location questions |
| ¿Cuándo? | When? | Time questions |
| ¿Por qué? | Why? | Reason questions — two words, written together only as porque (because) in answers |
| ¿Cómo? | How? | Manner questions; also “What?” in ¿Cómo? (a request to repeat) |
| ¿Cuánto/a? | How much? | Quantity — agrees in gender: cuánto (m), cuánta (f) |
| ¿Cuántos/as? | How many? | Plural of the above: cuántos (m), cuántas (f) |
| ¿Cuál? / ¿Cuáles? | Which? / What? | Singular/plural; used where English uses “what” with a list |
All question words carry a written accent mark. This distinguishes them from their non-question homographs: que (that/which, relative pronoun), quien (who, relative pronoun), donde (where, relative), cuando (when, conjunction), como (like/as, comparative), cual (which, relative). The accent marks signal that the word is doing question or exclamation work.
Each Question Word in Ministry Context
¿Qué? — What?
The most versatile question word in Spanish. Appears in virtually every type of question.
¿Qué dice la Biblia sobre esto? — What does the Bible say about this? ¿Qué quiso decir el pastor? — What did the pastor mean? ¿Qué significa esa palabra? — What does that word mean? ¿Qué necesitan? — What do you all need? ¿Qué está pasando? — What is happening?
¿Cómo? for “What?”: In colloquial speech, ¿cómo? is used more often than ¿qué? when asking someone to repeat — like “Come again?” or “Pardon?” in English. Do not use ¿qué? alone in this way — it can sound rude. Use ¿Cómo dice? (What did you say? — formal) or ¿Cómo? as the polite equivalent.
¿Quién? / ¿Quiénes? — Who?
¿Quién es el pastor de esta iglesia? — Who is the pastor of this church? ¿Con quién hablo? — Who am I speaking with? ¿Quiénes vinieron del equipo? — Who came from the team? ¿A quién le debo hablar sobre esto? — Who should I speak to about this?
Note on a quién: When quién is the object of the verb (someone to whom something is done), it is preceded by a: ¿A quién vio usted? (Whom did you see?). At this level, memorize the pattern; the a-personal is covered systematically in Level 2.
¿Dónde? — Where?
¿Dónde está el pastor? — Where is the pastor? ¿Dónde se reúne la iglesia? — Where does the church meet? ¿De dónde viene usted? — Where are you from? (de + dónde = from where) ¿A dónde va el equipo después? — Where is the team going after? ¿Dónde está el baño? — Where is the restroom? (One of the most immediately useful sentences in any language)
¿Cuándo? — When?
¿Cuándo comienza el servicio? — When does the service begin? ¿Cuándo llegaron los misioneros? — When did the missionaries arrive? ¿Hasta cuándo van a estar aquí? — Until when are they staying here? ¿Cuándo es la próxima reunión? — When is the next meeting?
¿Por qué? — Why?
¿Por qué es importante este pasaje? — Why is this passage important? ¿Por qué vino usted hasta aquí? — Why did you come all the way here? ¿Por qué llora? — Why is he/she crying?
Answer form: ¿Por qué? (two words, with accent) asks the question. Porque (one word, no accent) answers it: ¿Por qué vino? — Porque Dios lo llamó. — Why did he come? — Because God called him.
¿Cómo? — How?
¿Cómo está usted? — How are you? (already mastered from Lesson 1) ¿Cómo podemos orar por usted? — How can we pray for you? ¿Cómo se llama? — What is your name? (literally: How are you called?) ¿Cómo dice? — What did you say? / Pardon? ¿Cómo funciona este ministerio? — How does this ministry work?
¿Cuánto/a? / ¿Cuántos/as? — How much? / How many?
¿Cuánta gente hay en la iglesia? — How many people are in the church? (gente is feminine singular) ¿Cuántos miembros tiene la congregación? — How many members does the congregation have? ¿Cuánto tiempo tiene usted en el ministerio? — How long have you been in ministry? ¿Cuántas familias participan? — How many families participate?
¿Cuál? / ¿Cuáles? — Which? / What?
¿Cuál es su nombre? — What is your name? (preferred over ¿qué es su nombre? when there is a specific answer) ¿Cuál pasaje van a predicar? — Which passage are they going to preach? ¿Cuáles son las necesidades más urgentes? — What are the most urgent needs? ¿Cuál iglesia? — Which church?
¿Cuál? vs. ¿Qué? before nouns: This is a common point of confusion. Before nouns, use ¿qué?: ¿Qué libro? (What book?). As a standalone pronoun, use ¿cuál?: ¿Cuál es el libro? (Which is the book? / What is the book?). The distinction is consistent in Latin American usage.
The 60-Second Speed Drill
This is the core drill from the curriculum. Time yourself strictly.
Setup: A partner gives a ministry situation description. You produce the appropriate question word instantly. The situation should be varied and randomized.
Drill set (30 situations):
You want to know where the church building is. → ¿Dónde? You want to know when the service starts. → ¿Cuándo? You want to know who the pastor is. → ¿Quién? You want to know what the pastor said. → ¿Qué? You want to know why the congregation is weeping. → ¿Por qué? You want to know how the missionaries can pray for someone. → ¿Cómo? You want to know how many people are present. → ¿Cuántos? You want to know which passage is being preached. → ¿Cuál? You want to know who the team members are. → ¿Quiénes? You want to know what time the service ends. → ¿A qué hora? (or ¿Cuándo?) You want to know where the pastor is from. → ¿De dónde? You want to know what the name of the church is. → ¿Cuál? or ¿Qué? You want to know how long the team has been there. → ¿Cuánto tiempo? You want to know why the service was postponed. → ¿Por qué? You want to know what the missionary needs. → ¿Qué? You want to know who to contact about the visit. → ¿A quién? You want to know where the next community is. → ¿Dónde? You want to know how to pray for the sick woman. → ¿Cómo? You want to know how many churches are in the network. → ¿Cuántas? You want to know which elder is in charge today. → ¿Cuál?
Target: 20 correct responses in under 60 seconds. When you hit that target consistently, the question words are becoming automatic.
Yes/No Questions
Not all questions use question words. Simple yes/no questions in Spanish are formed primarily by intonation — the same word order as a statement, but with rising pitch at the end.
El pastor habla inglés. (statement — falling pitch) — The pastor speaks English. ¿El pastor habla inglés? (question — rising pitch) — Does the pastor speak English?
The tag question: To confirm something you believe to be true, add ¿verdad? (right? / isn’t that so?) or ¿no? at the end: El servicio es a las diez, ¿verdad? — The service is at ten, right? Usted es el pastor, ¿no? — You are the pastor, aren’t you?
These are used constantly in ministry conversation — to confirm arrangements, to verify information before interpreting it, to check understanding.
Conversation Management Phrases
These are the phrases an interpreter uses to navigate the flow of conversation — to hold the floor while processing, to cede the floor to someone, to redirect, or to check comprehension.
Holding the Floor (I need a moment)
Permítame un momento. — Allow me a moment. Un momento, por favor, estoy procesando. — One moment, please, I am processing. Déjenme terminar… — Let me finish… (when interrupted)
Ceding the Floor
Con eso, le cedo la palabra al pastor. — With that, I yield the floor to the pastor. Le doy la palabra. — I give you the floor. Adelante. — Go ahead. Por favor. — Please (go ahead). (when yielding the floor politely)
Checking Comprehension
¿Entienden? — Do you understand? ¿Quedó claro? — Was that clear? ¿Tienen alguna pregunta? — Do you have any questions? ¿Me expliqué bien? — Did I explain myself well?
Redirecting
Volviendo al tema… — Returning to the topic… El pastor quiso decir… — The pastor meant… Para aclarar lo que dijo… — To clarify what he said…
Practice Exercises
Exercise 1 — Speed Drill (Timed)
Complete the 60-second speed drill from this lesson. Time yourself. Record your result. Repeat daily until you reach 20/20 in under 60 seconds.
Exercise 2 — Question Formation
For each situation, form a complete question using the correct question word. Say it aloud.
- You want to know where the youth group meets.
- You want to know who is responsible for organizing the event.
- You want to know what time the morning prayer meeting starts.
- You want to know how many people attended the baptism.
- You want to know why the pastor is not at the service today.
- You want to know how the missionary can pray for the congregation.
- You want to know which Bible passage they are studying this week.
Exercise 3 — Tag Question Drill
Convert each statement to a tag question with ¿verdad? or ¿no?
- El servicio comienza a las nueve.
- El pastor Williams viene de Texas.
- Ustedes hablan algo de inglés.
- La próxima reunión es el jueves.
Exercise 4 — Conversation Management Role-Play
With a partner, simulate a ministry conversation where you practice:
- Holding the floor with permítame un momento when you need extra time
- Checking comprehension with ¿quedó claro? after interpreting a complex sentence
- Ceding the floor to the pastor with le doy la palabra at the right moment
Key Takeaways for This Lesson
Before moving to Lesson 6:
- Know all eight question words with instant production
- Know the accent mark rule: all question words carry written accent marks
- Know how yes/no questions are formed by intonation, and the tag question forms ¿verdad? and ¿no?
- Reach the 60-second speed drill target: 20 correct responses in under 60 seconds
- Know the conversation management phrases for holding, ceding, redirecting, and checking comprehension
Daily Practice
Question word awareness exercise:
For every question you ask in any language today, immediately think: what question word would begin this question in Spanish? If you are asking where something is — ¿dónde? If you are asking when — ¿cuándo? If you are asking why — ¿por qué? Build the habit of categorizing questions by their question word. This is the cognitive reflex the speed drill is training.