the use of cuándo/cuando in these two statements

papi p.B2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

the use of cuándo/cuando in these two statements

1Llámame _cuando_______ tengas un momento libre.Call me when you have a free moment.Dime cuándo vas a viajar a Italia.Tell me when you are travelling to Italy.Can you help me to understand the difference between the use of cuándo/cuando in these two statements?  Thank you!
Asked 5 years ago
InmaNative Spanish expert teacher in Kwiziq

Hola Papi

cuándo with an accent can be translated as "at what moment in time" while cuando without an accent cannot. 

1. Llámame cuando tengas un momento libre. (Call me at what moment in time you have some time ??????)

2. Dime cuándo vas a viajar a Italia. (Tell me at what moment in time you are travelling to Italy) OK

Saludos

Inma

papi p.B2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Yeah, my peanut brain still sees no difference.  #1 sounds awkward with "at what moment in time" substituting  cuando, but still works for me. Kind of like, ... when you are available to have some time...

Would it help to think of cuándo as "at what moment in time", hmm, as almost a question instead of a statement? - "at what moment in time?".  

Marcos G.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

There's another lesson that explains this.  If "cuando" is followed by the subjunctive then it means "whenever".  So, "Llamame cuando tengas un momento libre" means "Call me whenever you have a free moment".

Also, I don't think cuándo can be followed by the subjunctive.

papi p. asked:

the use of cuándo/cuando in these two statements

1Llámame _cuando_______ tengas un momento libre.Call me when you have a free moment.Dime cuándo vas a viajar a Italia.Tell me when you are travelling to Italy.Can you help me to understand the difference between the use of cuándo/cuando in these two statements?  Thank you!

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your Spanish level for FREE

Test your Spanish to the CEFR standard

Find your Spanish level
Getting that for you now...