Exclamation marks and question marks in Spanish

How to use Spanish exclamation and question marks

Exclamation and question marks in Spanish (los signos de exclamación y de interrogación) have the exact same use as in English, but they are doubled.

We have to use an opening sign (¡ or ¿) at the beginning of every exclamation and question as well as a closing sign at the end (! or ?).

Both are mandatory and cannot be left out!

Read on for a complete guide to using exclamation and question marks in Spanish.

Spanish exclamation marks

Exclamation marks (¡ !) are used sparingly in Spanish. Like in English, they show emphasis or enthusiasm. Unlike in English, every exclamation begins with an upside-down exclamation mark.

Example:
¡Hemos ganado la lotería! We’ve won the lottery!

For even more emphasis, we can use triple exclamation marks.

Example:
¡¡¡Hemos ganado la lotería!!! We’ve won the lottery!!!

Interjections and onomatopoeic noises are usually placed between exclamation marks.

Example:
¡Pst! Ven aquí. Pst! Come here.
¡Hala! Eso sí que es una sorpresa. Wow! Now that’s a surprise.

Spanish question marks

Spanish question marks indicate direct questions.

Example:
¿Cómo te llamas? What’s your name?

Direct questions have the same word order as standard sentences in Spanish, so the question marks are the only way to tell the difference.

Examples:
He llegado tarde. I was late. (affirmative sentence)
¿He llegado tarde? Was I late? (question)

Writing tips

Bear in mind the following rules when using exclamation and question marks in Spanish:

  • do not use a space
    Example:
    ¿Qué hora es? What time is it?
    not: ¿ Qué hora es ?
  • they can be combined with all other punctuation marks (e.g. comma, quotation marks) except for a full stop (.)
    Example:
    Laura acaba de preguntar: «¿Qué hora es?» Laura has just asked, “What time is it?”
  • if the exclamation or question does not come at the very beginning of the sentence, the first letter is lowercase
    Examples:
    Pero ¿qué hora es? But what time is it?
    Un momento, ¿qué hora es? Hold on, what time is it?
  • names of the person being addressed are written outside of exclamation/question marks when they come at the beginning, and inside when they come at the end; they are also separated by a comma
    Examples:
    Doctora, ¿qué puede recetarme? Doctor, what can you prescribe me?
    ¿Qué puede recetarme, doctora? What can you prescribe me, doctor?
  • when several independent exclamations or questions appear consecutively, they are all capitalised and not separated by commas
    Examples:
    ¡Qué sueño tengo! ¡Quiero irme a dormir ya mismo! ¡Ya no puedo más! I’m so tired! I want to go to sleep right now! I can’t take it anymore!
    ¿Quién ha llamado? ¿Qué quería? Who called? What did they want?
  • if these form part of a sentence, however, only the first one is capitalised and commas or semi colons are used to separate the others, like with a list
    Example:
    El entrevistador hizo las pregunta de rigor: ¿Qué experiencia tiene?, ¿por qué quiere trabajar en este empresa?, ¿qué cree que puede aportar al equipo? The interviewer asked the usual questions; what experience do you have, why do you want to work at this company, what do you think you can bring to the team?
  • exclamation and question marks can be combined
    Examples:
    ¡¿Aún no has salido de casa?! You haven’t left the house yet?!
    ¿¡Aún no has salido de casa!? You haven’t left the house yet?!