Est-ce que - changes any given statement into a question - slightly informal construction - he word order of the original

sentence stays exactly the same, you just tack est-ce que on to the front Tu travailles. > Est-ce que tu travailles ? You work. > Do you work? Paulette l'a trouv. > Est-ce que Paulette l'a trouv ? Paulette found it. > Did Paulette find it? Vous n'avez pas faim. > Est-ce que vous n'avez pas faim ? You aren't hungry. > Aren't you hungry? Are you not hungry? Note that que must contract when followed by a word that begins with a vowel: Elle est arrive. > Est-ce qu'elle est arrive ? She has arrived. > Has she arrived? Il y a des problmes. > Est-ce qu'il y a des problmes ? There are problems. > Are there problems? Anny vient avec nous. > Est-ce qu'Anny vient avec nous ? Anny is coming with us. > Is Anny coming with us? All of the above are yes/no questions. To ask WH questions (questions that ask for information like "who" and "how"), use an interrogatory pronoun, adverb, or adjective before est-ce que: Qui est-ce que vous avez vu ? Whom did you see? Quand est-ce que tu vas partir ? When are you going to leave? Quel livre est-ce qu'il veut ? Which book does he want? Est-ce que is the inversion of c'est que, literally, "it is that." That's why a hyphen is required betweenest and ce: c'est = ce + est which are inverted to est-ce.

Qui means who or whom; it is used when asking about people When whom is the object of the question, qui can be followed by either est-ce que or inversion. Qui est-ce que vous aimez ? / Qui aimez-vous ? Whom do you love? Qui est-ce que tu vois ? / Qui vois-tu ? Whom do you see? When who is the subject of the question, you can use either qui or qui est-ce qui. The word order cannot be inverted and the verb is always third person singular. Qui veut le faire ? / Qui est-ce qui veut le faire ? Who wants to do it? Qui parle ? / Qui est-ce qui parle ? Who is speaking? Qui can also follow a preposition. qui est-ce que tu parles ? / qui parles-tu ? To whom are you speaking? De qui est-ce que tu cris ? / De qui cris-tu ? Whom are you writing about?

Que means what and is used to refer to ideas or things. When what is the object of the question, it can be followed by est-ce que or inversion. Qu'est-ce qu'il veut ? / Que veut-il ? What does he want? Qu'est-ce que tu penses de mon ide ? / Que penses-tu de mon ide ? What do you think of my idea? Qu'est-ce que c'est (que cela) ? What is that? When what is the subject of the question, you must use qu'est-ce qui followed by

a verb in the third person singular, with no inversion. Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? What's happening? Qu'est-ce qui est tomb sur la terre ? What fell on the ground? After a preposition, que changes to quoi. De quoi est-ce que vous parlez ? / De quoi parlez-vous ? What are you talking about? quoi est-ce qu'il travaille ? / quoi travaille-t-il ? What's he working on?

Interrogative pronouns quiz

Summary of French Interrogative Pronouns Subject of question Object of question After preposition

People

qui qui est-ce qui

qui qui est-ce que

qui

Things

qu'est-ce qui

que qu'est-ce que

quoi

1. Est-ce que Est-ce que, literally "is it that," can be placed at the beginning of any affirmative sentence to turn it into a question: Est-ce que vous dansez ? Do you dance? Est-ce que tu veux voir un film ?

Do you want to see a movie? Est-ce qu'il est arriv ? Has he arrived? Place any question words* in front of est-ce que: Quand est-ce que tu veux partir ? When do you want to leave? Pourquoi est-ce qu'il a menti ? Why did he lie? Quel livre est-ce que vous cherchez ? Which book are you looking for? 2. Inversion A more formal way to ask questions is with inversion: invert the conjugated verb and subject pronoun and join them with a hyphen: Dansez-vous ? Do you dance? Veux-tu voir un film ? Do you want to see a movie? Est-il arriv ? Has he arrived? Again, place any interrogative words at the beginning of the question: Quand veux-tu partir ? When do you want to leave? Pourquoi a-t-il menti ?** Why did he lie? Quel livre cherchez-vous ? Which book are you looking for? You can use inversion to ask negative questions*** Ne dansez-vous pas ? Don't you dance?

N'est-il pas encore arriv ? Hasn't he arrived yet?

3. Statement as question A very simple but informal way to ask yes/no questions is to raise the pitch of your voice while pronouncing any sentence: Vous dansez ? You dance? Tu veux voir un film ? You want to see a movie? Il est arriv ? He arrived? You can also use this structure to ask negative questions: Tu ne danses pas ? You don't dance? Il n'est pas encore arriv ? He hasn't arrived yet?

4. N'est-ce pas ? If you're pretty sure the answer to your question is yes, you can just make an affirmative statement and then add the tag n'est-ce pas ? to the end. This is also informal: Tu danses, n'est-ce pas ? You dance, right? Tu veux voir un film, n'est-ce pas ? You want to see a movie, right? Il est arriv, n'est-ce pas ? He arrived, right?

There are other informal ways to ask questions, which you can read about in my lesson on informal questions.

Notes

The French equivalent of the verb "to ask" is demander, but "to ask a question" is poser une question - learn more.

*There are two main types of questions: 1. Yes/no questions, also known as polar questions or closed questions (questions fermes), ask for a simple yes or no answer. 2. Information questions, also known as WH questions, constituent questions, or open questions (questions ouvertes), ask for information with question words, like who, what, when, where, why, which, how, how much/many. See links below for lessons on French question words. **When using inversion with the third person singular (il, elle, or on) and a verb that ends in a vowel, you must add t- between the verb and subject pronoun (why?): Aime-t-il les films ? - Does he like movies? coute-t-elle la radio ? - Does she listen to the radio? A-t-on dcid ? - Have we decided?

***There is a special French word, si, that is used only when responding in the affirmative to a negative question. (I wish English had a word like this!) Affirmative questions Negative questions - Vas-tu au cin ? - Oui ! - Ne vas-tu pas au cin ? - Si ! - Are you going to the movies? - Yes! - Aren't you going to the movies? - Yes (I am)! - Est-ce que tu veux venir ? - Oui ! - Tu ne veux pas venir ? - Si ! - Do you want to come? - Yes! - You don't want to come? - Yes (I do)!