Questions with "qué" in Spanish
Here are three ways to ask the question what? using ¿qué? in Spanish.
1. Qué [verbo] = what [verb]
2. Qué [ser] = what [to be]
Note that when you use qué + [ser] you are asking for a meaning or definition: what is it?
3. Qué [nombre] = what/which [noun]
Note that you use qué followed by a noun to say what/which when you do not limit the responses by offering a specific range of possible responses. When there is a specific range of answers to choose from and the question is asking which "of those" you may also use "cuál + singular noun" and "cuáles + plural noun". For example:
Aquí hay muchas flores bonitas... ¿qué flores/cuáles flores te gustan más?
There are lots of pretty flowers here... which flowers do you like the most [out of these flowers that we can see here]?
For more detail on this use of cuál/cuáles see Using cuál in Spanish followed by a noun in interrogative sentences
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