# Questions

https://langs123.com/en/french/phrase/questions/
CEFR A0–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> 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

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 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

- 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

| Form | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| Word | Asks for | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **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 |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| Gender | Singular | Plural |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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?)
- Before a vowel, **quels** and **quelles** link: **quels amis** /kɛl zami/. See Liaison and Elision.

## Pronunciation: the intonation of a question

| Form | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| Form | When | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 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

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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** |