In the question "Where are the spoons?", what is "where"?

adverb? preposition?

please explain why

2 answers

In that sentence, "Where" is an interrogative and an adverb.
http://www.answers.com/topic/where
It is a relative adverb. .Whether a "wh-word" functions as a relative pronoun or a relative adverb is determined by its function in the subordinated relative clause.