Where and What Time in Spanish | Everyday Question Phrases

Spanish questions about place and time use dónde, adónde, de dónde, cuándo, and a qué hora in simple patterns you can copy right away.

Why These Spanish Questions Matter So Much

Any time you travel, chat online, or watch series in Spanish, questions about place and time appear again and again. If you can ask where something is and what time things happen, you already handle a large part of daily conversation.

These questions also work as building blocks. Once you learn the patterns for where and when, you recycle them in shops, with friends, at work, and with teachers. Spanish uses a small group of words for this, and they repeat constantly, so one effort pays off many times.

Core Question Words For Place And Time

Before you form full questions, you need the main Spanish words that carry the ideas of place and time. In written questions, these always carry an accent mark.

• dónde – where (location, no movement)
• adónde / a dónde – to where (destination, movement)
• de dónde – from where (origin)
• cuándo – when (point in time)
• a qué hora – at what time (clock time)
• desde cuándo – since when (starting point)
• hasta cuándo – until when (ending point)

As the Real Academia Española explains, dónde refers to place, while forms with a such as adónde link to movement or destination, and modern usage accepts both adónde and a dónde in questions with movement verbs.¹

For time, Spanish uses cuándo in many situations and reserves a qué hora for specific clock times, a contrast you see clearly in this Spanish question words guide and other teaching materials.²

Spanish Word Or Phrase	Basic Meaning	Typical Question Pattern
dónde	where (place)	¿Dónde + está / hay / queda + lugar?
adónde / a dónde	to where (destination)	¿Adónde / A dónde + vas / van / vamos?
de dónde	from where (origin)	¿De dónde + eres / es / son?
cuándo	when (moment)	¿Cuándo + es / es la / son las + evento?
a qué hora	at what time	¿A qué hora + empieza / termina + evento?
desde cuándo	since when	¿Desde cuándo + vives / trabajas + aquí?
hasta cuándo	until when	¿Hasta cuándo + dura + curso / viaje?

How To Ask Where Something Or Someone Is

The most common pattern is ¿Dónde está…? plus a place, person, or thing. You can swap in other verbs such as queda or hay, but estar works in most daily situations.

Here are some simple, useful questions:

• ¿Dónde está el baño? – Where is the bathroom?
• ¿Dónde está la estación de autobuses? – Where is the bus station?
• ¿Dónde está Marta ahora? – Where is Marta right now?
• ¿Dónde queda el hotel? – Where is the hotel located?

When you add prepositions, you give more detail:

• ¿Dónde está el supermercado más cercano? – Where is the nearest supermarket?
• ¿Dónde está la parada de metro cerca de aquí? – Where is the metro stop near here?
• ¿Dónde está el museo, al lado de la plaza? – Where is the museum, next to the square?

Many learner sites, such as the Lingolia grammar page on questions, list dónde together with other Spanish question words and show that it always appears with the written accent in direct and indirect questions.³

Where And What Time In Spanish In Real Conversations

Now bring place and time together in short lines you can borrow during real exchanges. When you talk, questions about where and what time often come in pairs.

Here are a few mini dialogues:

• — ¿Dónde nos vemos?
  — En el café de siempre. ¿A qué hora?
  — A las seis.
• — ¿Dónde es la clase?
  — En el aula 3. ¿A qué hora empieza?
  — Empieza a las nueve en punto.
• — ¿Dónde está el concierto?
  — En el teatro municipal. ¿Cuándo es?
  — Es el sábado por la noche.

Notice the rhythm: one person asks about place with dónde, the other confirms and often follows with cuándo or a qué hora. You can copy these patterns and swap in your own words.

Situation	Spanish Question	Natural English Meaning
Meeting a friend	¿Dónde quedamos y a qué hora?	Where shall we meet and what time?
Doctor appointment	¿Dónde es la consulta y a qué hora tengo que llegar?	Where is the appointment and what time do I need to arrive?
Language class	¿Dónde es el curso y cuándo empieza?	Where is the course and when does it start?
Concert or show	¿Dónde es el concierto y a qué hora empieza?	Where is the concert and what time does it start?
Job interview	¿Dónde es la entrevista y a qué hora llego?	Where is the interview and what time should I get there?
Sports event	¿Dónde es el partido y a qué hora juegan?	Where is the match and what time do they play?
Family visit	¿Dónde nos vemos el domingo y a qué hora comemos?	Where are we meeting on Sunday and what time do we eat?

Talking About Schedule And Opening Hours

When you ask what time something starts or finishes, you choose between cuándo and a qué hora. Many grammar guides explain that cuándo can cover days, dates, or parts of the day, while a qué hora goes with a clock time.

• ¿Cuándo es el examen? – When is the exam?
• ¿Cuándo llegan tus padres? – When do your parents arrive?
• ¿A qué hora abre el banco? – What time does the bank open?
• ¿A qué hora cierra la tienda? – What time does the shop close?

One detailed guide on Spanish question words points out this same contrast and shows many pairs such as ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? next to ¿A qué hora empieza el concierto?, so you can see the pattern clearly.²

To talk about time ranges, you add desde and hasta to your questions:

• ¿Desde cuándo trabajas aquí? – Since when have you worked here?
• ¿Hasta cuándo está abierto el museo? – Until what date is the museum open?
• ¿Desde cuándo está cerrada la carretera? – Since when has the road been closed?

Common Mistakes With Where And Time Questions

Even long-time learners repeat the same small mistakes with these questions. Learning them now saves you effort.

Forgetting The Accent Marks

Words such as donde and cuando without an accent can exist in Spanish, but they usually work as relative words, not question words. In questions, both written and spoken, the accented forms dónde and cuándo are standard in careful writing, as grammar sites and dictionaries explain.³

Confusing Dónde With Adónde

Another frequent error is mixing up place with destination. The Real Academia Española grammar notes that dónde refers to the place where something is, while adónde or a dónde combine with verbs of movement such as ir, venir, or moverse.¹

• ¿Dónde está el cine? – Where is the cinema?
• ¿Adónde vas después del trabajo? – Where are you going after work?

Once you separate “place where” from “place to which,” the choice between dónde and adónde feels more natural.

Using Cuándo For Exact Clock Times

In real life, you will hear some speakers use cuándo for nearly everything, yet careful written Spanish tends to keep a qué hora for exact times. Teaching sites and reference pages repeat this advice alongside many real sentences with both forms.²

Simple Practice Plan To Make These Questions Automatic

To keep where and time questions in your long term memory, add short daily habits instead of rare long study sessions. Ten steady minutes help more than a long session once a week.

Step 1: Build Your Personal Phrase List

Write two columns in a notebook or digital note. On the left, add English prompts such as “Where is the bathroom?” or “What time does the meeting start?” On the right, write the Spanish questions with dónde, cuándo, and a qué hora. Check them with a trusted grammar or dictionary site until you feel sure of each line.²³

Step 2: Read And Repeat Out Loud

Next, read each pair out loud a few times. Pay attention to the melody on ¿Dónde…? and ¿Cuándo…?, and try to keep the accent marks in mind as you read. Listening to short recordings that teach question words can also help your ear adjust to the sound of these questions.

Step 3: Use Them In Real Messages

Send short messages to friends, teachers, or language partners. Any time you would write in your first language, try one line in Spanish:

• ¿Dónde nos vemos mañana?
• ¿A qué hora empieza la reunión?
• ¿Desde cuándo vives en esta ciudad?

Every real use fixes the pattern a little more. Before long, questions about where and what time will come out of your mouth without effort, and you can pay attention to the answers instead of the grammar.