Pronouns Before the Verb in Wh- Questions

Level 2

A question word pulls the pronoun in front of the verb: Como te chamas?, Onde o viches? A yes/no question has no question word, so the pronoun stays after the verb: Chámaste Ana?

How It Works

Wh- questions. Every question word pulls the pronoun in front of the verb:

  • Como te chamas? (What is your name?)
  • Que che pasa? (What is wrong with you?)
  • Onde o viches? (Where did you see him?)
  • Cando nos vemos? (When shall we meet?)
  • Por que me miras así? (Why are you looking at me like that?)

The question words are covered in que, quen, onde, cando, como, cal, canto and por que.

Yes/no questions. Galician makes a yes/no question just by changing the intonation, without a question word, as in yes/no questions. Since nothing pulls the pronoun forward, it stays after the verb exactly as in the statement: Chámaste Ana. → Chámaste Ana? A question can never start with the pronoun, so Te chamas Ana? is not possible.

Exclamations work the same way. Que ben o pasamos! (What a good time we had!), Canto te quero! (How much I love you!).

Indirect questions too. A question word keeps its pull inside a longer sentence: Non sei onde o puxen (I do not know where I put it). See indirect questions.

Examples (6)

  1. Como te chamas?

    What is your name?

    Word by Word: How yourself you-call?

  2. Que che pasa? Estás triste?

    What is wrong? Are you sad?

    Word by Word: What to-you happens? Are sad?

  3. Onde o viches?

    Where did you see him?

    Word by Word: Where him you-saw?

  4. Cando nos vemos?

    When shall we meet?

    Word by Word: When ourselves we-see?

  5. Chámaste Ana?

    Is your name Ana?

    Word by Word: Call-yourself Ana?

    A yes/no question has no question word, so the pronoun stays after the verb.

  6. Que ben o pasamos onte!

    What a good time we had yesterday!

    Word by Word: What well it we-spent yesterday!

    Exclamation words pull the pronoun forward too.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the pronoun after the verb in a wh- question.

    Como chámaste?
    Como te chamas?

    Como is a question word, so the pronoun goes before the verb.

  • Leaving che after the verb after que.

    Que pásache?
    Que che pasa?

    Que pulls the pronoun forward: Que che pasa?

  • Starting a yes/no question with the pronoun.

    Te chamas Ana?
    Chámaste Ana?

    A yes/no question has no word to pull the pronoun, and no sentence may begin with an unstressed pronoun, so it follows the verb.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Pronouns Before the Verb in Wh- QuestionsLevel 2

Learn This First

Question words place an unstressed pronoun before the verb, unlike neutral yes-no questions.