Qu’est-ce que c’est ? What is this? Questions in French
In this post we’ll look at how to ask questions in French. First we’ll look at some general vocabulary that you can use when you want to ask a question. Then we’ll move on to question words in French. We’ll cover all of the important question words in French for what, who, where, when, how, how much/many, and why. Along the way we’ll point out any important grammar that you need to know when you ask questions in French.
General Vocabulary for Questions
Let’s start with some general vocabulary and expressions related to questions: une question a question; oui yes; non no; peut-être maybe; ou or.
- J’ai une question.
I have a question. - Puis-je vous poser une question ?
Can I ask you a question? - Je ne sais pas.
I don’t know. - Je ne suis pas sûr(e)/certain(e).
I’m not sure.
- Je suis sûr(e)/certain(e).
I am sure. - Est-ce du thé ou du café ?
Is this tea or coffee? - Voulez-vous de l’eau ou du jus de fruit ?
Do you want water or juice? - Est-ce votre hôtel ?
Is this your hotel? - Oui, c’est mon hôtel.
Yes, it’s my hotel. - Non, ce n’est pas mon hôtel.
No, it’s not my hotel.
GRAMMAR TIP!
French has three different ways of forming questions. They are intonation, est-ce que, and inversion. Let’s look at each one.
Intonation
The first is the simplest, because you don’t have to change word order at all. Just use question intonation. But keep in mind that this sounds the most casual, so it’s best for friendly, informal situations.
- Ton hôtel est loin d’ici ?
Is your hotel far from here? - Tu parles anglais ?
Do you speak English?
Est-ce que…
The second one simply puts Est-ce que… (literally, “Is it [the case] that…”) in front of the statement, so it’s also pretty easy to form. And it sounds fairly neutral, so you can use it both in casual and more polite/formal situations.
- Est-ce que ton/votre hôtel est loin d’ici ?
Is your hotel far from here? - Est-ce que tu parles/vous parlez anglais ?
Do you speak English?
Inversion
The third is called inversion. You switch the order of subject and verb and link them with a hyphen in writing, for instance il est becomes est-il ? It sounds the most polite:
- Votre hôtel est-il loin d’ici ?
Is your hotel far from here? - Parlez-vous anglais ?
Do you speak English?
But there are two minor complications that you have to keep in mind with inversion. First, if the subject is a noun, you use both that noun and an added pronoun in the inverted question.
- Votre mari est-il français ?
(not: *est-votre mari français?)
Is your husband French? - Les vols sont-ils en retard ?
(not: *sont-les vols en retard?)
Are the flights late?
The second little complication is that you need to add -t- between the inverted verb and a third person pronouns il or elle if the verb ends in a vowel.
- Votre femme parle-t-elle français ?
Does your wife speak French? - Arrive-t-il demain ?
Is he arriving tomorrow? - Ce train va-t-il à Tours ?
Does this train go to Tours?
If inversion seems complicated to you, just stick with est-ce que… It’s simple and versatile, not too casual, and not too formal.
French Question Words
Now let’s move on to questions with question words. We’ll cover all of the most important French question words in this section.
Que/Quoi ? What?
To ask what, use que or quoi. Just keep in mind that quoi sounds more familiar, so it’s better to stick to que unless you’re speaking to a friend. Keep in mind that you need to use quoi after a preposition, though.
- Qu’est-ce que c’est ?
C’est quoi ?
What is this? - Que faites-vous ?
Tu fais quoi ?
What are you doing? - De quoi parles-tu ?
What are you talking about?
Qui ? Who?
To ask who, use qui.
- Qui est-ce ?
Who is that? - Avec qui voyagez-vous ?
Who are you traveling with?
Où ? Where?
To ask where, use où.
- Où sont les toilettes ?
Where’s the bathroom? - Où habitez-vous/habites-tu ?
Where do you live? - Où allez-vous ?
Where are you going? - D’où êtes-vous ?
Where are you from?
Quand ? When?
To ask when, use quand. A related question is à quelle heure ? at what time?
- Quand arrives-tu/pars-tu ?
Quand arrivez-vous/partez-vous ?
When do you arrive/leave? - À quelle heure le train part-il/arrive-t-il ?
Le train part/arrive à quelle heure ?
When does the train leave/arrive? - À quelle heure ouvre/ferme le magasin ?
When does the store open/close? - À quelle heure est-ce que le film commence ?
At what time does the film start?
Comment ? How?
To ask how, use comment.
- Comment dites-vous <hello> en français ?
How do you say <hello> in French? - Comment allez-vous au travail ?
How do you go to work? - Comment fais-tu ça ?
How do you do that? - Comment t’appelles-tu ?
What’s your name? (“How do you call yourself?”)
Combien ? How much?
To ask how much or how many, use combien (de).
- Combien coûte ceci ?
How much does this cost? - Combien de personnes ?
How many people? - Il nous reste combien de temps ?
How much time do we have left? - Combien de sucre veux-tu ?
How much sugar do you want?
Pourquoi ? Why?
To ask why, use pourquoi.
- Pourquoi êtes-vous/es-tu ici ?
Why are you here? - Pourquoi est-il/est-elle triste ?
Why is he/she sad? - Il/Elle est triste parce qu’il pleut.
He/She is sad because it’s raining.
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