Understanding French Questions
French has three main ways to form questions, each with different levels of formality:
1. Intonation (informal) - rising tone
2. Est-ce que (standard) - question phrase
3. Inversion (formal) - verb-subject reversal
French also uses specific interrogative words (qui, que, où, quand, comment, pourquoi) and has particular rules for yes/no questions vs information questions.
Mastering French question formation is essential for conversations, interviews, and formal communication.
Examples
Tu viens? (You're coming?) - intonation
Rising tone makes it a question
Est-ce que tu viens? (Are you coming?) - est-ce que
Standard question formation
Viens-tu? (Are you coming?) - inversion
Formal question formation
Intonation Questions (Informal)
The simplest way to form questions is by raising your voice at the end of a statement:
Examples
Tu parles français? (You speak French?)
Simple rising intonation
Il vient demain? (He's coming tomorrow?)
Confirming information
Vous habitez ici? (You live here?)
Casual inquiry
When to Use Intonation
Appropriate contexts for intonation questions:
Informal conversations with friends
Confirming information you think you know
Quick yes/no questions
Casual everyday interactions
Intonation Patterns
How to use rising intonation:
Statement: Tu viens. [falling tone]
Question: Tu viens? [rising tone]
EST-CE QUE Questions (Standard)
Est-ce que is the most common formal way to ask questions:
Examples
Est-ce que tu viens? (Are you coming?)
Standard yes/no question
Est-ce qu'il parle français? (Does he speak French?)
With elision before vowel
Est-ce que vous comprenez? (Do you understand?)
Polite inquiry
EST-CE QUE Formation
How to form est-ce que questions:
EST-CE QUE Pattern
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Basic pattern | Est-ce que + subject + verb | Est-ce que tu viens? |
| With elision | Est-ce qu' + vowel | Est-ce qu'il vient? |
| All tenses | Same pattern | Est-ce que tu es venu? |
| All persons | Same pattern | Est-ce qu'elle viendra? |
EST-CE QUE Advantages
Why est-ce que is popular:
No word order changes needed
Works with all verbs and tenses
Clear question marker
Appropriate for most situations
Inversion Questions (Formal)
Inversion reverses the subject and verb, connected by a hyphen:
Examples
Viens-tu? (Are you coming?)
Simple inversion
Parlez-vous français? (Do you speak French?)
Formal inquiry
Avez-vous compris? (Did you understand?)
Compound tense inversion
Simple Inversion Rules
Basic inversion patterns:
Tu viens → Viens-tu? (Are you coming?)
Vous parlez → Parlez-vous? (Do you speak?)
Euphonic T
Adding -t- between vowels:
Il arrive → Arrive-t-il? (Is he arriving?)
Elle aime → Aime-t-elle? (Does she like?)
Noun Subject Inversion
With noun subjects, add pronoun:
Marie vient-elle? (Is Marie coming?)
Les étudiants comprennent-ils? (Do the students understand?)
Compound Tense Inversion
Invert auxiliary verb only:
Compound Inversion
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Passé composé | auxiliary + subject + participle | As-tu mangé? |
| Plus-que-parfait | auxiliary + subject + participle | Avais-tu fini? |
| Future perfect | auxiliary + subject + participle | Auras-tu terminé? |
WH-Questions (Information Questions)
Questions asking for specific information use interrogative words:
Examples
Où vas-tu? (Where are you going?)
Asking for location
Quand viens-tu? (When are you coming?)
Asking for time
Comment allez-vous? (How are you?)
Asking for manner/state
Interrogative Words
Main question words:
Question Words
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Qui | who | Qui vient? (Who is coming?) |
| Que/Qu'est-ce que | what | Que fais-tu? / Qu'est-ce que tu fais? |
| Où | where | Où habites-tu? |
| Quand | when | Quand pars-tu? |
| Comment | how | Comment vas-tu? |
| Pourquoi | why | Pourquoi pleures-tu? |
QUE vs QU'EST-CE QUE
Two ways to ask "what":
Que fais-tu? (What are you doing?) - formal inversion
Qu'est-ce que tu fais? (What are you doing?) - standard
QUI Questions
Asking about people:
Qui est-ce? (Who is it?)
Qui vient avec nous? (Who is coming with us?)
QUEL Questions (Which/What)
Quel agrees with the noun it modifies:
Examples
Quel livre lis-tu? (Which book are you reading?)
Masculine singular
Quelle heure est-il? (What time is it?)
Feminine singular
Quels films aimes-tu? (Which movies do you like?)
Masculine plural
QUEL Agreement
All forms of quel:
QUEL Forms
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | quel | Quel jour? (Which day?) |
| Feminine singular | quelle | Quelle couleur? (Which color?) |
| Masculine plural | quels | Quels livres? (Which books?) |
| Feminine plural | quelles | Quelles voitures? (Which cars?) |
QUEL with ÊTRE
Quel as predicate adjective:
Quel est ton nom? (What is your name?)
Quelle est ta nationalité? (What is your nationality?)
Question Responses
How to respond to different types of questions:
Yes/No Responses
Responding to yes/no questions:
Tu viens? - Oui. / Non. (Are you coming? - Yes. / No.)
Basic yes/no responses
Tu ne viens pas? - Si. (Aren't you coming? - Yes, I am.)
Si contradicts negative questions
Information Responses
Responding to wh-questions:
Où vas-tu? - À Paris. (Where are you going? - To Paris.)
Quand pars-tu? - Demain. (When are you leaving? - Tomorrow.)
Indirect Questions
Questions embedded in statements:
Examples
Je ne sais pas où il va. (I don't know where he's going.)
Embedded question
Dis-moi ce que tu veux. (Tell me what you want.)
Indirect question with ce que
Indirect Question Formation
No inversion in indirect questions:
Direct: Où vas-tu? (Where are you going?)
Indirect: Je demande où tu vas. (I ask where you're going.)
Question Tags and Confirmation
Ways to seek confirmation:
Examples
Tu viens, n'est-ce pas? (You're coming, aren't you?)
Confirmation tag
Il fait beau, non? (It's nice weather, isn't it?)
Informal confirmation
Confirmation Expressions
Common confirmation tags:
Question Tags
| Pronoun | Conjugation | English |
|---|---|---|
| n'est-ce pas? | isn't it?/aren't you? | formal confirmation |
| non? | no?/right? | informal confirmation |
| hein? | eh?/right? | very informal |
| d'accord? | okay?/agreed? | seeking agreement |
Common Question Formation Mistakes
Here are frequent errors students make:
1. Missing inversion hyphen: Forgetting hyphen in formal questions
2. Wrong euphonic t: Incorrect use of -t- in inversion
3. Double inversion: Inverting both auxiliary and main verb
4. Que vs qu'est-ce que: Using wrong form for "what"
Examples
❌ Viens tu? → ✅ Viens-tu?
Wrong: must use hyphen in inversion
❌ Parle-t-tu? → ✅ Parles-tu?
Wrong: no -t- needed when verb ends in consonant
❌ As-tu-mangé? → ✅ As-tu mangé?
Wrong: only invert auxiliary in compound tenses
❌ Que est-ce que tu fais? → ✅ Qu'est-ce que tu fais?
Wrong: must use qu'est-ce que, not que est-ce que