Asking and Answering Yes-No Questions in Informal Speech
2.9.1. The Main Idea
In informal spoken French, you can often make a yes-no question by keeping the normal sentence order and raising your voice at the end.
Tu as faim. | You are hungry. |
Tu as faim ? | Are you hungry? |
This is one of the most common ways to ask simple questions in everyday French.
2.9.2. Questions with Être
Tu es étudiant ? | Are you a student? |
Tu es canadien ? | Are you Canadian? masculine |
Tu es canadienne ? | Are you Canadian? feminine |
Il est français ? | Is he French? |
Elle est chinoise ? | Is she Chinese? |
C’est intéressant ? | Is it interesting? |
2.9.3. Questions with Avoir
Tu as faim ? | Are you hungry? |
Tu as soif ? | Are you thirsty? |
Tu as froid ? | Are you cold? |
Tu as chaud ? | Are you hot? |
Tu as un stylo ? | Do you have a pen? |
Tu as une question ? | Do you have a question? |
Tu as quel âge ? | How old are you? |
2.9.4. Answering Yes
Oui, je suis étudiant. | Yes, I am a student. |
Oui, je suis canadien. | Yes, I am Canadian. masculine |
Oui, je suis canadienne. | Yes, I am Canadian. feminine |
Oui, j’ai faim. | Yes, I am hungry. |
Oui, j’ai froid. | Yes, I am cold. |
Oui, j’ai un stylo. | Yes, I have a pen. |
2.9.5. Answering No
Non, je ne suis pas étudiant. | No, I am not a student. |
Non, je ne suis pas canadien. | No, I am not Canadian. masculine |
Non, je ne suis pas canadienne. | No, I am not Canadian. feminine |
Non, je n’ai pas faim. | No, I am not hungry. |
Non, je n’ai pas froid. | No, I am not cold. |
Non, je n’ai pas de stylo. | No, I do not have a pen. |
2.9.6. Informal Spoken Answers
In careful French, use ne… pas.
Non, je ne suis pas étudiant. | No, I am not a student. |
Non, je n’ai pas faim. | No, I am not hungry. |
In casual spoken French, people often drop ne.
Non, je suis pas étudiant. | No, I am not a student. casual spoken French |
Non, j’ai pas faim. | No, I am not hungry. casual spoken French |
For this course, learn the full form first, but recognize the casual form when you hear it.
2.9.7. Using Si
Use si instead of oui when answering “yes” to a negative question.
Tu n’es pas canadien ? | Aren’t you Canadian? masculine |
Si, je suis canadien. | Yes, I am Canadian. |
Tu n’as pas froid ? | Aren’t you cold? |
Si, j’ai froid. | Yes, I am cold. |
2.9.8. Core Patterns
Statement + rising voice | informal yes-no question |
Tu es étudiant. | You are a student. |
Tu es étudiant ? | Are you a student? |
Tu as faim. | You are hungry. |
Tu as faim ? | Are you hungry? |
Oui, je suis ___ . | Yes, I am ___ . |
Non, je ne suis pas ___ . | No, I am not ___ . |
Oui, j’ai ___ . | Yes, I have ___ . / Yes, I am ___ . |
Non, je n’ai pas ___ . | No, I do not have ___ . / No, I am not ___ . |
2.9.9. Practice
Are you a student? informal |
Are you Canadian? masculine |
Are you Chinese? feminine |
Are you hungry? |
Are you cold? |
Do you have a pen? |
Yes, I am a student. |
No, I am not Canadian. masculine |
Yes, I am hungry. |
No, I do not have a pen. |
2.9.10. Answers
Are you a student? informal | Tu es étudiant ? |
Are you Canadian? masculine | Tu es canadien ? |
Are you Chinese? feminine | Tu es chinoise ? |
Are you hungry? | Tu as faim ? |
Are you cold? | Tu as froid ? |
Do you have a pen? | Tu as un stylo ? |
Yes, I am a student. | Oui, je suis étudiant. |
No, I am not Canadian. masculine | Non, je ne suis pas canadien. |
Yes, I am hungry. | Oui, j’ai faim. |
No, I do not have a pen. | Non, je n’ai pas de stylo. |
2.9.11. Short Dialogue
A : Tu es étudiant ? | A: Are you a student? |
B : Oui, je suis étudiant. Et toi ? | B: Yes, I am a student. And you? |
A : Oui, moi aussi. Tu as faim ? | A: Yes, me too. Are you hungry? |
B : Non, je n’ai pas faim. | B: No, I am not hungry. |
2.9.12. Checkpoint
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to ask informal yes-no questions by using normal sentence order with rising intonation, answer with oui or non, use ne… pas in negative answers, and recognize si when answering yes to a negative question.
2.9.13. Try It Out
Try saying this in French:
Are you hungry?
No, I’m not hungry.
Possible answer:
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