A yes-no question uses intonation, est-ce que or inversion; question words ask for information. Est-ce que goes before the sentence, which keeps its word order: Est-ce que tu viens ? Où est-ce que tu habites ?
Summary
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| Point | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intonation | the word order stays, the voice rises | Tu viens ? | Are you coming? | |
| Question words | qui / que / où / quand / comment / combien / pourquoi / quel | Où est la gare ? | Where is the station? | |
| Est-ce que | before the sentence; est-ce qu’ before a vowel | Est-ce qu’il pleut ? | Is it raining? | |
| Place of the word | où est-ce que + sentence, or the word at the end in speech | Où est-ce que tu habites ? / Tu habites où ? | Where do you live? / Where do you live? | |
| Quel | agrees with the noun: quel / quelle / quels / quelles | Quelle couleur tu aimes ? | Which colour do you like? | |
| Inversion | verb-pronoun with a hyphen; ‑t- between two vowels | Habitez-vous ici ? / Parle-t-il anglais ? | Do you live here? / Does he speak English? | |
| Qu’est-ce qui | qu’est-ce qui + verb: the thing is the subject | Qu’est-ce qui se passe ? | What's happening? | |
| Trap | one question marker only: est-ce que or inversion | Où est-ce que tu vas ? | Where are you going? | |
| Trap | combien de + noun, with no article | Combien de frères tu as ? | How many brothers do you have? |
Overview
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- A yes-no question has three forms: intonation, est-ce que or inversion. Tu parles français ? / Est-ce que tu parles français ? / Parles-tu français ?Do you speak French? / Do you speak French? / Do you speak French?
- A yes-no question calls for the answer oui or non. Vous êtes français ? — Non, je suis belge.Are you French? — No, I'm Belgian.
- To answer si to a negative question, see Negation.
- In the passé composé, inversion keeps the auxiliary and the pronoun together: see Passé Composé: j’ai mangé.
Form: yes-no questions
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| Form | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| subject + verb + ↗ | Tu parles français ? / Vous êtes étudiante ? | Do you speak French? / Are you a student? | |
| est-ce que + subject + verb | Est-ce que vous habitez ici ? / Est-ce que tu veux un café ? | Do you live here? / Do you want a coffee? | |
| verb + hyphen + subject | Habitez-vous ici ? / Aimes-tu le café ? | Do you live here? / Do you like coffee? | |
| verb + ‑t- + il / elle / on | Parle-t-il anglais ? / Aime-t-elle la musique ? | Does he speak English? / Does she like music? |
- Before a vowel, est-ce que becomes est-ce qu’. Est-ce qu’il pleut ? / Est-ce qu’elles sont là ?Is it raining? / Are they here?
- With a noun as the subject, use est-ce que or keep the order of the statement. Est-ce que Marie parle anglais ? / Léa habite ici ?Does Marie speak English? / Does Léa live here?
- With je, use est-ce que: inverting je is rare. Est-ce que je peux entrer ? / Est-ce que j’ai le temps ?Can I come in? / Do I have time?
- Canada: In the speech of Québec, the particle ‑tu follows the verb and also makes a question. Tu viens‑tu ? / Elle est‑tu là ?Are you coming? / Is she there?
Form: question words
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| Word | Asks for | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| qui | a person | Qui est-ce ? / Qui parle ? | Who is it? / Who is speaking? | |
| qu’est-ce que | a thing | Qu’est-ce que c’est ? / Qu’est-ce que tu fais ? | What is it? / What are you doing? | |
| où | a place | Où est la gare ? / Où est ma clé ? | Where is the station? / Where is my key? | |
| comment | the way, the name, the state | Comment tu t’appelles ? / Comment allez-vous ? | What is your name? / How are you? | |
| combien | a price, a quantity | Combien ça coûte ? / Combien de frères tu as ? | How much is it? / How many brothers do you have? | |
| quand | a time | Quand est-ce que tu pars ? / C’est quand, ton anniversaire ? | When are you leaving? / When is your birthday? | |
| pourquoi | a reason; the answer starts with parce que | Pourquoi tu apprends le français ? / Pourquoi pas ? | Why are you learning French? / Why not? | |
| qu’est-ce qui | a thing that is the subject of the verb | Qu’est-ce qui se passe ? / Qu’est-ce qui est sur la table ? | What is happening? / What is on the table? | |
| à / avec / de / pour + qui / quoi | a person or a thing after à, avec, de, pour | Avec qui tu habites ? / De quoi tu parles ? | Who do you live with? / What are you talking about? |
| Form | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| subject + verb + wh-word | Tu habites où ? / Vous partez quand ? | Where do you live? / When are you leaving? | |
| wh-word + est-ce que + subject + verb | Où est-ce que tu habites ? / Quand est-ce que vous partez ? | Where do you live? / When are you leaving? | |
| wh-word + verb + hyphen + subject | Où habites-tu ? / Quand partez-vous ? | Where do you live? / When are you leaving? | |
| que + verb + hyphen + subject | Que fais-tu ? / Que veut-il ? | What are you doing? / What does he want? |
- At the end of a sentence, que becomes quoi. Tu fais quoi ? / Tu veux quoi ?What are you doing? / What do you want?
- Pourquoi always stays at the start of the question. Pourquoi tu pars ? / Pourquoi est-ce que tu pleures ?Why are you leaving? / Why are you crying?
- After combien, de comes before the noun, with no article. Combien de frères tu as ? / Combien de sucres tu veux ?How many brothers do you have? / How many sugars do you want?
Form: quel, quelle, quels, quelles
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| Gender | Singular | Plural | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | quel | quels | |
| feminine | quelle | quelles |
- Quel agrees with the noun; the four forms are all said /kɛl/. Quel âge as-tu ? / Quelle couleur tu aimes ? / Quels sports tu fais ? / Quelles langues tu parles ?How old are you? / Which colour do you like? / Which sports do you do? / Which languages do you speak?
- After être, quel agrees with the noun that follows. Quel est ton numéro ? / Quelle est ta ville ?What is your number? / What is your city?
- A preposition goes before quel. À quelle heure tu pars ? / De quel pays tu viens ?What time are you leaving? / Which country are you from?
Pronunciation: the intonation of a question
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| Form | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| yes-no question: the voice rises at the end | Tu viens ? ↗ / Est-ce que tu viens ? ↗ | Are you coming? / Are you coming? | |
| question with a question word: the voice falls | Où tu vas ? ↘ / Comment tu t’appelles ? ↘ | Where are you going? / What is your name? |
- Est-ce que is said in one breath: /ɛskə/, and est-ce qu’il /ɛskil/. Est-ce que tu viens ? / Est-ce qu’il vient ?Are you coming? / Is he coming?
Use: choosing the form
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| Form | When | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| intonation | everyday conversation | Tu as un frère ? | Do you have a brother? | |
| set questions | phrases learned by heart, with inversion | Comment allez-vous ? / Quelle heure est-il ? | How are you? / What time is it? | |
| est-ce que | in speech and in writing, with everyone | Est-ce que vous avez des enfants ? | Do you have children? | |
| inversion | careful style: letter, newspaper, formal address | Avez-vous des enfants ? | Do you have children? |
Typical errors
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| Wrong | Right | Rule | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Est-ce que parles-tu français ? | Est-ce que tu parles français ? | one question marker only: est-ce que or inversion, not both | |
| Est-ce que où tu habites ? | Où est-ce que tu habites ? | the question word comes before est-ce que | |
| Quoi tu fais ? | Tu fais quoi ? | quoi goes at the end; at the start, say qu’est-ce que | |
| Combien frères tu as ? | Combien de frères tu as ? | combien takes de before the noun | |
| Quel heure est-il ? | Quelle heure est-il ? | quel agrees with the noun: heure is feminine | |
| Comment vieux es-tu ? | Quel âge as-tu ? | age is asked with quel âge and avoir, not with comment and être | |
| A il faim ? | A-t-il faim ? | hyphen and ‑t- between two vowels | |
| Qu’est-ce que se passe ? | Qu’est-ce qui se passe ? | the thing that acts is the subject: qu’est-ce qui |