In this grammar lesson you will learn how to ask a question in French.
In this lesson you will learn about:
- how to ask closed questions in French
- how to ask open questions in French
- sentences that show how to ask a question in French
- how you can quiz yourself on how to ask a question in French
- how to practice with flashcards on how to ask a question in French
- how and why you should use the courses of Language Atlas to learn French
Please refer to the French A1 Curriculum to get a better overview of French grammar, if you are curious about this fits in French A1.
By the end of the lesson you will know all about how to ask a question in French!
Table of Contents
Introduction
In this lesson I will teach you how to ask a question in French.
Both closed and open questions will be handled.
With closed questions, the other person can only reply with a yes or no.
With open questions, the other person has a wide (open) range of replies.
You will also learn which ways of asking questions are informal, and which ones are formal.
This lesson serves as an overview of how to ask a question in French.
You can always come back to this if you are unsure as to how to ask a question in French!
Closed Questions
There are 4 ways to ask a closed question in French.
I am going to take three normal sentences and turn them into questions with each of the 4 ways.
At A1 level, you only need to know the first three methods, and be able to recognise the fourth one.
Without further ado, here are the 3 sentences.
Tu aimes les voitures.
You like cars.
Il parle espagnol.
He speaks Spanish.
Vous lisez des livres.
You read books.
Use intonation
The first method is simply to raise your tone at the end of a sentence.
It’s really that simple.
In informal situations, it is sufficient to inflect at the end of the sentence to turn a sentence into a question.
Tu aimes les voitures ?
You like cars?
Il parle espagnol ?
He speaks Spanish?
Vous lisez des livres ?
You read books?
End with “n’est-ce pas?”
If you think the answer is going to be yes, then you can add “n’est-ce pas?” at the end of an affirmative sentence.
In English, the closest figure of speech to “n’est-ce pas” is “is it not“.
However, this can differ depending on the context.
Sometimes it can also be: “don’t you” or “haven’t you” etc.
This is used in informal situations.
Tu aimes les voitures n’est-ce pas ?
You like cars, don’t you?
Il parle espagnol n’est-ce pas ?
He speaks Spanish, doesn’t he?
Vous lisez des livres, n’est-ce pas ?
You read books, don’t you?
Begin with est-ce que
You can add “est-ce que” to the beginning of any sentence to make it a question.
The literally translates to “is it that“.
However, it’s best just to remember it as something that you can attach to the beginning of a sentence to make it a question.
This can be used in both informal and formal situations.
Est-ce que tu aimes les voitures ?
Do you like cars?
Est-ce qu’il parle espagnol ?
Does he speak Spanish?
Est-ce que vous lisez des livres ?
Do you read books?
Please note that que changes to qu’ if the following letter is a vowel or a mute h.
Use the inverted form
You can invert the verb and the pronoun to create an inverted question.
Generally this form is only used in writing and formal environments.
Aimes-tu les voitures ?
Do you like cars?
Parle-t-il espagnol ?
Does he speak Spanish?
Lisez-vous des livres ?
Do you read books?
Open Questions
If you want to ask an open question, then you have to use a question word in your sentence.
In the table below you can find the most-used question words in French.
| combien | how much/many |
| comment | how |
| où | where |
| pourquoi | why |
| quand | when |
| que/quoi | what |
| qui | who |
There are three sentences that will be shown for every method.
This way, you can see the differences between the methods.
Use intonation
You can use your intonation to form a question.
All you have to do is inflect at the end of the sentence.
This is used in informal situations.
Generally the question word will be found at the end of the sentence.
Tu as combien ?
How much do you have?
How many do you have?
Vous voulez quoi ?
What do you want?
Ils sont où ?
Where are they?
Begin with est-ce que
You will begin with the question word, and then place “est-ce que” after it to create a question.
This is used in both informal and formal situations.
Combien est-ce que tu as ?
How much do you have?
How many do you have?
Qu’est-ce que vous voulez ?
What do you want?
Où est-ce qu’ils sont ?
Where are they?
Please note that “Quoi est-ce…” isn’t correct in French.
At the start of a sentence, you have to change quoi to que, or to qu’ if the following letter is a vowel or a mute h.
Use the inverted form
You can invert the verb and the pronoun to create an inverted question.
Generally this form is only used in writing and formal environments.
Combien as-tu ?
How much do you have?
How many do you have?
Que voulez-vous?
What do you want?
Où sont-ils ?
Where are they?
Sentences Overview on How to Ask a Question in French
The final section of this lesson on how to ask a question in French is about seeing the questions in action.
This is valuable because you can improve your understanding on how to ask a question in French through examples.
Closed Questions
Tu aimes les voitures.
You like cars.
Tu aimes les voitures ?
You like cars?
Tu aimes les voitures n’est-ce pas ?
You like cars, don’t you?
Est-ce que tu aimes les voitures ?
Do you like cars?
Aimes-tu les voitures ?
Do you you like cars?
Il parle espagnol.
He speaks Spanish.
Il parle espagnol ?
He speaks Spanish?
Il parle espagnol n’est-ce pas ?
He speaks Spanish, doesn’t he?
Est-ce qu’il parle espagnol ?
Does he speak Spanish?
Parle-t-il espagnol ?
Does he speak Spanish?
Vous lisez des livres.
You read books.
Vous lisez des livres ?
You read books?
Vous lisez des livres, n’est-ce pas ?
You read books, don’t you?
Est-ce que vous lisez des livres ?
Do you read books?
Lisez-vous des livres ?
Do you read books?
Open Questions
Tu as combien ?
How much do you have?
How many do you have?
Combien est-ce que tu as ?
How much do you have?
How many do you have?
Combien as-tu ?
How much do you have?
How many do you have?
Vous voulez quoi ?
What do you want?
Qu’est-ce que vous voulez ?
What do you want?
Que voulez-vous?
What do you want?
Ils sont où ?
Where are they?
Où est-ce qu’ils sont ?
Where are they?
Où sont-ils ?
Where are they?
Quiz Yourself on How to Ask a Question in French
At the end of every lesson you can do a small quiz.
You will see the sentences of the previous chapter.
You will either need to fill in the blanks, choose the correct multiple choice option, or both.
Once you are done the correct answer will be shown.
You can redo the quiz as many times as you want.
How to Practice With Flashcards for This Lesson
Using flashcards is an absolute necessity when it comes to learning a language!
It is the best way to memorize what you learn, you can personalize your progression because it adapts to your actions, and all flashcards have audio to improve your hearing and pronunciation.
Please read our article on how to learn a new language for more information on flashcards and the best way to learn a new language.
There are two ways to practice with Flashcards for this lesson.
- Anki
- The Flashcards in our Courses
Anki is a free software with which you can create and practice flashcards.
After you have downloaded Anki for free, you can get our French A1 Anki Deck.
This Anki Deck contains 3,764 flashcards with which you can practice absolutely everything for French A1.
All the flashcards have text, images, explanations, and audio.
You can also use our courses that have flashcards integrated alongside lessons with audio, quizzes and much more!
However, I am sure you are wondering, what are your courses, and why should I take them?
The Courses of Language Atlas
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I have been learning languages for over 20+ years and I was always frustrated with books, courses, and classes that I had tried.
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I created free lessons and quizzes so that there would always be a easy and accessible way for people to learn or brush up on their language skills.
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The courses of Language Atlas have:
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- 10,000 Flashcards with explanations, images, and audio
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You can register for free and try the French A0/A1 and Spanish A0/A1 Courses for free!
This includes over 60 lessons and quizzes, 500 flashcards that adapt to how you learn, and access to the community (including support from me).
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