VI – Forming Questions in French.

In French, there are several ways to form questions. We’ll cover the three main methods: intonation, est-ce que, and inversion.

Intonation

The simplest way to form a yes/no question in French is to use a statement and raise your voice at the end of the sentence.

Statement: Vous parlez français. (You speak French.)
Question: Vous parlez français? (Do you speak French?)

This method is common in informal spoken French.

Est-ce que

“Est-ce que” (pronounced “es-kuh”) is placed at the beginning of a statement to form a question. It’s versatile and can be used in both formal and informal situations.

Statement: Vous aimez le café.
Question: Est-ce que vous aimez le café? (Do you like coffee?)

For information questions, place the question word before “est-ce que”:

Où est-ce que vous habitez? (Where do you live?)
Quand est-ce que le film commence? (When does the movie start?)

Inversion

Inversion involves switching the subject pronoun and the verb. It’s considered more formal and is common in written French.

Statement: Vous êtes français.
Question: Êtes-vous français? (Are you French?)

For verbs ending in a vowel, add “t” between the verb and pronoun for euphony:
Parle-t-il français? (Does he speak French?)

With information questions, place the question word at the beginning:

Où habitez-vous? (Where do you live?)
Quand commence le film? (When does the movie start?)

Question Words

Here are some common French question words:

Responding to Questions

• For yes/no questions, respond with: Oui (Yes), Non (No), Si (Yes – used to contradict a negative question)
• For open-ended questions, begin your response with the relevant information.

Remember, the choice of question form often depends on the level of formality and whether it’s a spoken or written context. As you practice, you’ll develop a feel for which method to use in different situations.