Opening question and exclamation marks
Spanish questions and exclamations have two marks: an upside-down one at the start and the usual one at the end: ¿…? and ¡…!. The opening mark tells you from the first word how to read the sentence.
The marks go exactly around the question or exclamation, so they can open in the middle of a sentence: Y tú, ¿de dónde eres? No period follows the closing mark.
Examples
- ¿Cómo te llamas?What's your name?
- ¡Qué bonito!How beautiful!
- ¡Buenos días! ¿Cómo está usted?Good morning! How are you?
- Y tú, ¿de dónde eres?And you, where are you from?The question starts after the comma, with a lowercase letter.
- Si tienes tiempo, ¿me llamas?If you have time, will you call me?
- Hoy es lunes, 3 de marzo.Today is Monday, March 3.Days and months are lowercase.
- Mi amiga es ucraniana y habla español.My friend is Ukrainian and speaks Spanish.
Lowercase in Spanish
| What | Examples |
|---|---|
| days of the week | lunes, sábado |
| months | enero, agosto |
| languages | español, inglés |
| nationalities | ucraniano, mexicana |
| usted, señor, señora written in full | usted, el señor García |
Capital letters and abbreviations
Capital letters are used, as in English, at the start of a sentence and for names of people, cities and countries: Ana, Madrid, México.
Polite forms are often abbreviated, with a capital letter and a period:
- usted → Ud. (also Vd.), ustedes → Uds. (also Vds.)
- señor → Sr., señora → Sra., doctor → Dr.
Quotation marks
Spanish uses angle quotes « » (recommended by the Royal Spanish Academy and common in print in Spain) and English-style quotes “ ” (common in Latin America and online). For a quote inside a quote, switch to the other kind: « … “ … ” … ».
A period or comma goes after the closing quote: Me dijo «hola».
Common mistakes
- Wrong:
Cómo estás?Right: ✓ ¿Cómo estás?A question needs the opening mark too. - Wrong:
Hoy es Lunes.Right: ✓ Hoy es lunes.Days of the week are lowercase. - Wrong:
Hablo Español.Right: ✓ Hablo español.Languages and nationalities are lowercase. - Wrong:
¿Qué hora es?.Right: ✓ ¿Qué hora es?No period after a question or exclamation mark.