French grammar · Beginner (A1)
Asking questions
Three ways to ask a yes/no question in French, from casual to formal, and the question words où, quand, comment, combien and pourquoi.
Yes/no questions: three ways
In everyday speech, the easiest way is to keep the normal word order and make your voice go up at the end:
You can also put (literally “is it that”) at the start. It works in every situation. The most formal way is to swap the verb and the subject pronoun and join them with a hyphen: This is called inversion.
| Style | Example | Where you hear it |
|---|---|---|
| Voice goes up | everyday speech | |
| everywhere | ||
| Inversion | formal speech and writing |
- Tu es libre demain ?Are you free tomorrow?
- Est-ce qu'il y a un distributeur près d'ici ?Is there a cash machine near here?
- Avez-vous une table pour deux ?Do you have a table for two?
Question words
Question words ask for information. In relaxed speech they often go at the end: In neutral French they go at the start, followed by :
| French | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| where | ||
| when | ||
| how | ||
| how much, how many | ||
| why | ||
| who | ||
| what | ||
| , | which, what |
Quel: which or what
agrees with the noun it goes with, like an adjective: , , , . All four sound the same.
The answer to (why) begins with (because):
- Tu as quel âge ?How old are you?
- Quelle est votre adresse ?What is your address?
- Quels films est-ce que tu aimes ?Which films do you like?
Inversion with il and elle
When you swap the verb and , or , and the verb ends in a vowel, add -t- between them to make it easier to say: (Does he speak French?)
- Comment s'appelle-t-elle ?What's her name?
- Y a-t-il un hôtel près de la gare ?Is there a hotel near the station?