Cuáles

Cuáles is the plural form of the Spanish interrogative and demonstrative pronoun cuál, used to indicate a selection among a defined set of options. It functions as a pronoun when it stands in for a noun (which ones) and as a determiner when it accompanies a noun (which colors, which books, etc.). It appears in questions, both direct and indirect, and can also introduce subordinate clauses that express the options being considered.

In direct questions, cuales asks for a specific choice among given options: ¿Cuáles son tus libros favoritos? ¿Cuáles colores te gustan más? In constructions with a noun, it acts as a determiner: ¿Cuáles ciudades visitarás? It can also appear in indirect questions: Quiero saber cuáles son las fechas de la reunión; No sabemos cuáles de las opciones es la más económica. The form agrees with the noun it accompanies in number and gender (cuál/cuáles, with undefined feminine or masculine form since the plural iguales results in cuáles).

Orthography and usage notes: cual and cuáles carry an accent when used as interrogatives or exclamatives in standard Spanish. When used in non-question contexts, the accent helps distinguish from forms of otro tipo of palabras, though in practice muchas variaciones pueden aparecer in informal writing. A common distinction is that cuál refers to a defined set of possibilities, while qué asks for a definition or identification outside of a pre-established group.

Etymology: Cuál comes from the Latin cualis, meaning “of what kind,” evolving through the Romance languages into modern Spanish. It shares its core with other interrogatives like qué and cuál, but its use centers on selecting among known options rather than defining them from scratch.