Spanish Phrase
¿Me van a devolver el dinero?
Meaning
The speaker is asking whether the other party will return the money that belongs to the speaker. It can refer to a refund, a loan repayment, or any situation where money is expected back.
When to use
Use this question when you are waiting for a refund, after you have paid for something and expect a reimbursement, or when you have lent money and want to know if it will be repaid soon.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Mevanadevolvereldinero
Indirect object pronoun (Me)
‘Me’ indicates that the action of the verb is directed toward the speaker; it replaces ‘a mí’.
Periphrastic future (van a + infinitive)
‘Van a’ + infinitive expresses a near‑future action, equivalent to ‘will’ in English.
Infinitive verb (devolver)
‘Devolver’ means ‘to give back/return’; it takes a direct object (el dinero).
Definite article + noun (el dinero)
‘El dinero’ is the specific amount of money being talked about; the article agrees in gender and number.
🗨In Conversation
¿Me van a devolver el dinero que pagué por el curso?
Are they going to give me back the money I paid for the course?
Sí, el reembolso se procesará mañana.
Yes, the refund will be processed tomorrow.
✕Common Mistakes
¿Me van a devolver a el dinero?
The preposition ‘a’ is not needed before ‘el dinero’; the direct object follows the verb directly.
Me van a devolver el dinero?
Missing opening question mark is a common typo; Spanish requires ‘¿’ at the start of every question.
¿Me van a ser el dinero?
‘Ser’ means ‘to be’; it cannot replace ‘devolver’ which means ‘to give back’.
↔Alternatives
¿Me devolverán el dinero?
Will they return the money to me?
¿Me vas a devolver el dinero?
Are you going to give me back the money?
¿Me van a reembolsar el dinero?
Are they going to reimburse me the money?
Cultural Tip
In most Spanish‑speaking countries ‘devolver’ is the neutral verb for returning something, while ‘reembolsar’ is more common in formal or commercial contexts (e.g., refunds from a store). Keep the pronoun ‘me’ before the verb phrase; placing it after (e.g., ‘van a devolverme el dinero’) is also correct but slightly more informal. Remember to use the question marks at both the beginning and the end of the sentence, a distinctive feature of written Spanish.