Pedir vs preguntar
Type the missing word in each sentence. You hear each sentence read by a native voice.
Mi padre (pedir) un café solo después de comer.
My father orders a black coffee after lunch.
The rule
In English you “ask” a question, and you also “ask” for a coffee. Spanish keeps those apart. “Pregunto qué hora es” means “I ask what time it is”, a question. “Pido un café” means “I ask for a coffee”, a request. If you say “Pregunto un café”, the waiter hears you asking what a coffee is. This lesson shows which verb goes with what.
A question: “preguntar”
Use “preguntar” when you want an answer in words. “Pregunto dónde vive” means “I ask where he lives”. To say who you ask, put a small word before the verb: “Le pregunto” is “I ask him” or “I ask her”, “Me pregunta” is “He asks me”, “Te pregunta” is “She asks you”.
To ask about someone or something, use “preguntar por”: “Pregunta por ti” means “He asks about you”.
“Preguntar” takes the usual “-ar” endings: “pregunto, preguntas, pregunta, preguntamos, preguntáis, preguntan”.
A request: “pedir”
Use “pedir” when you want a thing, or want someone to do something. “Pido la cuenta” means “I ask for the bill”. “Te pido un favor” means “I'm asking you for a favour”. In a restaurant, “pedir” is also “to order”: “¿Qué vas a pedir?” means “What are you going to order?”.
There is no “por” or “para” after “pedir”. English says “ask for the bill”; Spanish says “pedir la cuenta”.
“Pedir” changes a vowel. In the present, the “e” becomes “i” in every form except “we” and “you all”: “pido, pides, pide, pedimos, pedís, piden”.
The same sentence, two verbs
In a café you can do both. You want to know what time it closes, so you ask a question: “Pregunto a qué hora cierran”. You want a coffee, so you make a request: “Pido un café”. Both begin with “ask” in English. In Spanish the first wants words back, the second wants a cup.
A quick test: if what you want back is an answer, use “preguntar”. If what you want back is a thing, or someone doing something, use “pedir”.
Examples
- Le pregunto qué hora es.I ask him what time it is.
- ¿Te pregunta algo?Is she asking you something?
- Pregunta por ti.He asks about you.
- Pido la cuenta, por favor.I'd like the bill, please.
- Te pido un favor.I'm asking you for a favour.
- ¿Qué vas a pedir?What are you going to order?
- Le pide ayuda a su hermana.He asks his sister for help.
- Pide un taxi.She asks for a taxi.
Watch out
- Pregunto un café. Pido un café.For a thing you want, use “pedir”.
- Pido dónde está el baño. Pregunto dónde está el baño.For a question, use “preguntar”.
- Pido por la cuenta. Pido la cuenta.“Pedir” takes the thing directly, with no “por”.
- Yo pedo un café. Yo pido un café.In the “yo” form the “e” of “pedir” becomes “i”.
- Pregunta para ti. Pregunta por ti.To ask about someone, use “preguntar por”.
What to take into practice
A question, wanting words back: “preguntar”. A request, wanting a thing or an action: “pedir”, with no “por” after it. The “yo” forms are “pregunto” and “pido”.