# 3 ways to form questions in French

Are you ready to ask questions in French? With this guide, the answer is *oui*!

Asking questions in a new language can be a challenge! In French, there are three ways to form questions. They all technically mean the same thing, but you’ll find that they have slightly different uses and levels of formality. Let’s take a look!

## Question words in French

Just like in English, French has **closed questions**, also known as [“yes/no” questions](https://blog.duolingo.com/english-yes-or-no-questions/), and **open questions** that [include a question word](https://blog.duolingo.com/what-are-wh-questions/) and can’t be answered with just “yes” or “no.” Here are the main question words you’ll need to know in French:

| French | Translation |
| --- | --- |
| qui | who |
| que / quoi | what ( _que_ at the beginning of a phrase and _quoi_ after a preposition or verb) |
| où | where |
| pourquoi | why |
| comment | how |
| quand / à quelle heure | when / what time |
| quel / quelle / quels / quelles | which |
| combien | how many / how much |

## Change in intonation

**Formality level: least formal (used in casual conversation)**

You’ll be happy to know that the simplest way to form questions is also the one you’ll hear most often in spoken French. There’s (almost) nothing you need to change!

💡  
For yes/no questions, there are no extra words or rules for word order to worry about—just raise your voice at the end of your phrase to turn it into a question!

Listen to the difference between the following examples:

- Ils sont à Berlin.  
  _They’re in Berlin._  
- Ils sont à Berlin ?  
  _Are they in Berlin?_

In these informal questions, you’ll often hear the question word **after** the verb, unlike in English.

| French | Translation |
| --- | --- |
| Tu connais qui ici ? | **Who** do you know here? |
| Il a dit quoi ? | **What** did he say? |
| Vous allez où ? | **Where** are you (all) going? |
| Vous vous connaissez comment ? | **How** do y’all know each other? |
| On la voit quand ? | **When** are we seeing her? |
| Tu utilises quelles assiettes ? | **Which** plates do you use? |
| Les chaussures coûtent combien ? | **How much** do the shoes cost? |

_\* Note that_ que _becomes_ quoi _when it comes after the verb!_

When the question word has a [preposition](https://blog.duolingo.com/prepositions-across-languages/) (like _with_, _at_, _about_, _from_, _to_, _around_, _on_, etc.), the preposition stays in front of the question word, no matter where in the question they appear. This is unlike English, where putting the preposition before the question word **or** at the end of the sentence [are both totally fine](https://blog.duolingo.com/language-discrimination/)!

| French | Translation |
| --- | --- |
| Tu pars en Espagne avec qui ? | **Who** are you going to Spain **with**? |
| Ils arrivent à quelle heure ? | **(At) what time** do they get here? |
| Vous parliez de quoi ? | **What** were you all talking **about**? |

_\* Note that_ que _becomes_ quoi _after the preposition!_

There are two main exceptions where you probably **won’t** hear the question word after the verb: _qui_ (who) when it acts as the subject of the question, and _pourquoi_ (why).

- Qui veut de la glace ?  
  _Who wants ice cream?_  
- Pourquoi tu prends ma voiture ?  
  _Why are you taking my car?_

## Questions with _est-ce que_

**Formality level: neutral (safe with just about anyone!)**

Using est-ce que to form a question is slightly more formal than a [change in intonation](https://blog.duolingo.com/questions-in-french/#change-in-intonation), but is still very common in spoken French.

To turn a statement into a yes/no question with _est-ce que_, you’ll just add _est-ce que_ to the beginning. It works kind of like _do_ in English!

- J’ai un rendez-vous.  
  _I have an appointment._  
- Est-ce que j’ai un rendez-vous ?  
  _Do I have an appointment?_

💡  
_Est-ce que_ literally means _is it that_, so asking a question like _Est-ce que tu es triste ?_ is a little like asking _Is it that you’re sad?_

If you’re asking an open question, put the question word at the beginning, followed by _est-ce que_, followed by the rest of the question:

| French | Translation |
| --- | --- |
| Quand est-ce que je peux rencontrer ton copain ? | **When** can I meet your boyfriend? |
| Où est-ce que tu as trouvé ces clés ? | **Where** did you find these keys? |
| Pourquoi est-ce que le restaurant est fermé ? | **Why** is the restaurant closed? |

Because of French spelling and [pronunciation rules](https://blog.duolingo.com/how-to-pronounce-french/), the word _que_ becomes _qu’_ if the next word starts with a vowel sound. This is true if _que_ is being used as a question word, like Qu’est-ce que tu as dit ? (What did you say?) or as part of _est-ce que_, like Est-ce qu’il est sept heures ? (Is it seven o’clock?).

_Est-ce que_ occasionally becomes est-ce qui instead! This happens when it’s preceded by the question words _que_ or _qui_ **if** these question words stand in as the subject of the phrase. This table explains it in more detail:

| Statement | Possible Question |
| --- | --- |
| Tu veux un stylo.<br>_You want a pen._<br>_Tu_ is the subject of the sentence, and _un stylo_ is the object. | Qu’est-ce que tu veux ?<br>_What do you want?_<br>Use _qu’est-ce **que**_ because the question is asking about the object (in this case, _un stylo_). |
| Le frigo fait un bruit bizarre.<br>_The fridge is making a weird noise._<br>_Le frigo_ is the subject of the sentence. | Qu’est-ce qui fait un bruit bizarre ?<br>_What’s making a weird noise?_<br>Use _qu’est-ce **qui**_ because the question is asking about the subject (in this case, _le frigo_). |
| Julie a vu Simon.<br>_Julie saw Simon._<br>_Julie_ is the subject of the sentence, and _Simon_ is the object. | Qui est-ce que Julie a vu ?<br>_Who did Julie see?_<br>Use _qu’est-ce **que**_ because the question is asking about the object (in this case, Simon). |
| Paul va nous aider.<br>_Paul is going to help us._<br>_Paul_ is the subject of the sentence. | Qui est-ce qui va nous aider ?<br>_Who is going to help us?_<br>Use _qu’est-ce **qui**_ because the question is asking about the subject (in this case, Paul). |

_\* Questions with_ qu’est-ce qui _can’t easily be turned into informal questions using the “_ [_change in intonation_](https://blog.duolingo.com/questions-in-french/#change-in-intonation) _” rules above! They also aren’t usually used with the more formal_ [_inversion_](https://blog.duolingo.com/questions-in-french/#inversion) _rules below. For these, just stick with_ qu’est-ce qui 😉

## Inversion

**Formality level: most formal (limited mostly to writing and formal speech)**

To form a question using inversion, you’ll swap the position of the verb and the pronoun, adding a hyphen to connect the two.

| Statement | Question |
| --- | --- |
| Vous saviez que Marc serait là.<br>You (all) knew that Marc would be there. | Saviez-vous que Marc serait là ?<br>**Did you (all) know** that Marc would be there? |
| Tu veux une part de gâteau.<br>You want a piece of cake. | Veux-tu une part de gâteau ?<br>**Do you want** a piece of cake? |
| Je suis ton meilleur ami.<br>I am your best friend. | Suis-je ton meilleur ami ?<br>**Am I** your best friend? |
| Ils travaillent en Belgique.<br>They work in Belgium. | Travaillent-ils en Belgique ?<br>**Do they work** in Belgium? |

💡  
This is the form you’re least likely to hear in spoken French, but it’s no more complex than the others! Just switch the order of the subject pronoun and the verb.

When you have multiple verbs in a row—like the _passé composé_ or the future with _aller_ (to go), you’ll only invert the first verb. The rest of the phrase will follow the way they would in any other sentence or question:

| Statement | Question |
| --- | --- |
| Elle est partie avec Camille.<br>She left with Camille. | Est-elle partie avec Camille ?<br>Did she leave with Camille? |
| J’ai reçu une bonne note.<br>I got a good grade. | Ai-je reçu une bonne note ?<br>Did I get a good grade? |
| Nous allons les voir.<br>We’re going to see them. | Allons-nous les voir ?<br>Are we going to see them? |
| Tu dois recommencer.<br>You must start again. | Dois-tu recommencer ?<br>Must you start again? |
| Vous venez de m’appeler.<br>You (all) just called me. | Venez-vous de m’appeler ?<br>Did you (all) just call me? |

Just like for [questions with _est-ce que_](https://blog.duolingo.com/questions-in-french/#questions-with-est-ce-que), open questions with inversion put the question word at the beginning.

| French | Translation |
| --- | --- |
| Que fais-tu aujourd’hui ? | What are you doing today? |
| Comment connaissez-vous sa sœur ? | How do you (all) know his sister? |
| À qui parlaient-ils ? | Who were they talking to? |
| Pourquoi écrit-elle autant de lettres ? | Why is she writing so many letters? |

And that’s it! There are a few extra rules and exceptions that [we’ll tackle separately](https://blog.duolingo.com/your-guide-to-inversion-in-french-questions/)—until then, you’re ready to start asking and answering questions in French 💪

## Examples of French question structures

| Informal (change in intonation) | Neutral (est-ce que) | Formal (inversion) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ils sont à Berlin ? | Est-ce qu’ils sont à Berlin ? | Sont-ils à Berlin ? |
| Tu connais qui ici ? | Qui est-ce que tu connais ici ? | Qui connais-tu ici ? |
| Il a dit quoi ? | Qu’est-ce qu’il a dit ? | Qu’a-t-il dit ?
| Vous allez où ? | Où est-ce que vous allez ? | Où allez-vous ? |
| Vous vous connaissez comment ? | Comment est-ce que vous vous connaissez ? | Comment vous connaissez-vous ? |
| On la voit quand ? | Quand est-ce qu’on la voit ? | Quand la voit-on ? |
| Tu utilises quelles assiettes ? | Quelles assiettes est-ce que tu utilises ? | Quelles assiettes utilises-tu ? |
| Les chaussures coûtent combien ? | Combien est-ce que les chaussures coûtent ? | Combien les chaussures coûtent-elles ?
| Tu pars en Espagne avec qui ? | Avec qui est-ce que tu pars en Espagne ? | Avec qui pars-tu en Espagne ? |
| Ils arrivent à quelle heure ? | À quelle heure est-ce qu’ils arrivent ? | À quelle heure arrivent-ils ? |
| Vous parliez de quoi ? | De quoi est-ce que vous parliez ? | De quoi parliez-vous ? |

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