Review: Question Formation
16.5.1. The Main Idea
French has several common ways to form questions. Some are casual, some are neutral, and some are more formal.
Tu aimes l’art ? | Do you like art? casual |
Est-ce que tu aimes l’art ? | Do you like art? neutral |
Aimes-tu l’art ? | Do you like art? formal / written |
At this level, the most useful forms are intonation, est-ce que, and question words such as où, quand, pourquoi, comment, and combien.
16.5.2. Intonation Questions
In casual spoken French, you can keep normal sentence order and raise your voice.
Tu aimes l’art ? | Do you like art? |
Tu comprends ? | Do you understand? |
Tu veux dire quelque chose ? | Do you want to say something? |
Tu t’intéresses à ce sujet ? | Are you interested in this topic? |
Vous connaissez cet artiste ? | Do you know this artist? formal or plural |
This is simple, common, and very useful in everyday conversation.
16.5.3. Est-ce Que Questions
Use est-ce que before a statement to make it a clear question.
Est-ce que tu aimes l’art ? | Do you like art? |
Est-ce que vous comprenez ? | Do you understand? formal or plural |
Est-ce que tu veux ajouter quelque chose ? | Do you want to add something? |
Est-ce que ce sujet t’intéresse ? | Does this topic interest you? |
Est-ce qu’il va venir ? | Is he going to come? |
Before a vowel sound, que becomes qu’:
est-ce que + il | est-ce qu’il |
est-ce que + elle | est-ce qu’elle |
est-ce que + on | est-ce qu’on |
16.5.4. Inversion Questions
Inversion switches the subject pronoun and verb. It is more formal or written.
Aimes-tu l’art ? | Do you like art? |
Comprenez-vous ? | Do you understand? |
Voulez-vous ajouter quelque chose ? | Do you want to add something? |
Connaissez-vous cet artiste ? | Do you know this artist? |
Pensez-vous que c’est important ? | Do you think it is important? |
With il / elle / on, French may add -t- between a verb ending in a vowel and the pronoun.
A-t-il raison ? | Is he right? |
Pense-t-elle que c’est important ? | Does she think it is important? |
Va-t-on au musée ? | Are we going to the museum? |
16.5.5. Question Words
French | English |
qui | who / whom |
que / qu’est-ce que | what |
quoi | what, usually after a preposition or in casual speech |
où | where |
quand | when |
pourquoi | why |
comment | how |
combien | how much / how many |
quel / quelle / quels / quelles | which / what |
à qui | to whom / whose, depending on context |
avec qui | with whom |
pour qui | for whom |
16.5.6. Questions with Où, Quand, Pourquoi, Comment
Tu vas où ? | Where are you going? casual |
Où est la gare ? | Where is the train station? |
Tu pars quand ? | When are you leaving? |
Pourquoi tu penses ça ? | Why do you think that? |
Comment tu te sens ? | How do you feel? |
Comment aller au musée ? | How do I get to the museum? |
More neutral with est-ce que:
Où est-ce que tu vas ? | Where are you going? |
Quand est-ce que tu pars ? | When are you leaving? |
Pourquoi est-ce que tu penses ça ? | Why do you think that? |
Comment est-ce que tu te sens ? | How do you feel? |
16.5.7. Questions with Qu’est-ce Que and Qu’est-ce Qui
Use qu’est-ce que when what is the object.
Qu’est-ce que tu penses de cette œuvre ? | What do you think of this work? |
Qu’est-ce que tu veux dire ? | What do you mean? |
Qu’est-ce que tu fais ? | What are you doing? |
Qu’est-ce que vous voulez ajouter ? | What do you want to add? formal or plural |
Use qu’est-ce qui when what is the subject.
Qu’est-ce qui t’intéresse ? | What interests you? |
Qu’est-ce qui est important ? | What is important? |
Qu’est-ce qui te touche ? | What moves you? |
Qu’est-ce qui se passe ? | What is happening? |
Tiny compass:
Qu’est-ce que + subject + verb | What does someone do / think / want? |
Qu’est-ce qui + verb | What does the action? |
16.5.8. Questions with Quel
Quel means which or what, and it agrees with the noun.
Form | Use | Example |
quel | masculine singular | Quel sujet ? |
quelle | feminine singular | Quelle langue ? |
quels | masculine or mixed plural | Quels artistes ? |
quelles | feminine plural | Quelles œuvres ? |
Examples:
Quel sujet t’intéresse ? | Which topic interests you? |
Quelle langue parles-tu ? | What language do you speak? |
Quels artistes connais-tu ? | Which artists do you know? |
Quelles œuvres aimes-tu ? | Which works do you like? |
Quelle est ton opinion ? | What is your opinion? |
16.5.9. Questions with Combien
Use combien for quantity.
Ça coûte combien ? | How much does it cost? |
Combien de langues tu parles ? | How many languages do you speak? |
Combien de temps tu restes ? | How long are you staying? |
Combien de personnes sont concernées ? | How many people are affected? |
Il y a combien de billets ? | How many tickets are there? |
Use combien de + noun for how many / how much + noun.
16.5.10. Questions with Prepositions
When the question uses a preposition, the preposition usually stays before the question word.
Tu parles à qui ? | Who are you speaking to? |
Tu voyages avec qui ? | Who are you traveling with? |
Tu fais ça pour qui ? | Who are you doing that for? |
Tu t’intéresses à quoi ? | What are you interested in? |
Tu as besoin de quoi ? | What do you need? |
Tu veux en parler avec qui ? | Who do you want to talk about it with? |
More formal versions:
À qui parlez-vous ? | To whom are you speaking? |
Avec qui voyagez-vous ? | With whom are you traveling? |
De quoi avez-vous besoin ? | What do you need? |
16.5.11. Negative Questions
Negative questions use ne… pas around the verb.
Tu ne comprends pas ? | You do not understand? |
Tu n’aimes pas ce sujet ? | You do not like this topic? |
Pourquoi tu ne viens pas ? | Why are you not coming? |
Est-ce que tu ne veux pas répondre ? | Do you not want to answer? |
Vous ne connaissez pas cet artiste ? | You do not know this artist? formal or plural |
16.5.12. Questions with Object Pronouns
Object pronouns stay before the verb in normal questions.
Tu le connais ? | Do you know him / it? |
Tu la comprends ? | Do you understand her / it? |
Tu les as vus ? | Did you see them? masculine or mixed |
Tu lui as parlé ? | Did you speak to him / her? |
Tu y vas ? | Are you going there? |
Tu en veux ? | Do you want some? |
With est-ce que:
Est-ce que tu le connais ? | Do you know him / it? |
Est-ce que tu lui as parlé ? | Did you speak to him / her? |
Est-ce que tu y vas ? | Are you going there? |
16.5.13. Seeking Input with Questions
This connects directly with the earlier lesson on seeking someone’s input.
Qu’est-ce que tu en penses ? | What do you think about it? |
À ton avis ? | In your opinion? |
Tu veux dire quelque chose ? | Do you want to say something? |
Tu veux ajouter quelque chose ? | Do you want to add something? |
Qu’est-ce que tu veux dire ? | What do you mean? |
Tu peux préciser ? | Can you clarify? |
Tu peux expliquer pourquoi ? | Can you explain why? |
16.5.14. Core Patterns
statement + rising intonation | Tu comprends ? |
est-ce que + statement | Est-ce que tu comprends ? |
inversion | Comprends-tu ? |
question word + est-ce que | Où est-ce que tu vas ? |
question word at end | Tu vas où ? |
qu’est-ce que + subject + verb | Qu’est-ce que tu fais ? |
qu’est-ce qui + verb | Qu’est-ce qui t’intéresse ? |
combien de + noun | Combien de langues ? |
preposition + qui / quoi | Avec qui ? / À quoi ? |
16.5.15. Practice
Do you like art? casual | |
Do you like art? neutral | |
Do you understand? formal inversion | |
Where are you going? casual | |
Why do you think that? neutral | |
What do you think of this work? | |
What interests you? | |
Which language do you speak? | |
How many languages do you speak? | |
Who are you traveling with? |
16.5.16. Answers
Do you like art? casual | Tu aimes l’art ? |
Do you like art? neutral | Est-ce que tu aimes l’art ? |
Do you understand? formal inversion | Comprenez-vous ? |
Where are you going? casual | Tu vas où ? |
Why do you think that? neutral | Pourquoi est-ce que tu penses ça ? |
What do you think of this work? | Qu’est-ce que tu penses de cette œuvre ? |
What interests you? | Qu’est-ce qui t’intéresse ? |
Which language do you speak? | Quelle langue parles-tu ? |
How many languages do you speak? | Combien de langues tu parles ? |
Who are you traveling with? | Tu voyages avec qui ? |
16.5.17. Short Dialogue
A : Tu aimes cette œuvre ? | A: Do you like this work? |
B : Oui, elle m’intéresse beaucoup. | |
A : Qu’est-ce qui t’intéresse ? | A: What interests you? |
B : Les couleurs et le style. Et toi, qu’est-ce que tu en penses ? | |
A : Je trouve ça original. Tu connais l’artiste ? | |
B : Non. Tu peux m’expliquer qui c’est ? |
16.5.18. Checkpoint
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to form questions with intonation, est-ce que, inversion, question words, qu’est-ce que, qu’est-ce qui, quel, combien, and prepositions such as à, de, avec, and pour.
16.5.19. Try It Out
Try saying this in French:
Do you understand?
What do you think about it?
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Possible answer:
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