Asking questions
Qu'est-ce que, où, quand, comment, pourquoi and quel, and the three ways to ask a question.
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Asking questions, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Ask a question by raising your voice
The simplest question is a statement said with a rising voice: tu aimes le foot ? In writing, the question mark shows it. A question word can go at the end: tu habites où ?
Ask with est-ce que
Put est-ce que in front of a statement: est-ce que tu as un animal ? Before a vowel it becomes est-ce qu', as in est-ce qu'il vient ? A question word goes in front of it: où est-ce que tu habites ?
Ask by turning the verb and the pronoun round
In inversion, the verb comes before the pronoun, joined by a hyphen: aimes-tu le foot ?, où habitez-vous ? If the verb ends in a vowel before il, elle or on, add -t-: joue-t-il au tennis ?, a-t-elle un frère ?
Learn the question words
The key question words are qui (who), quand (when), où (where), comment (how), pourquoi (why) and combien (how much or how many). Before a noun, use combien de: combien de frères as-tu ?
Ask what with qu'est-ce que, que and quoi
What is qu'est-ce que at the start of a question (qu'est-ce que tu fais ?), que with inversion (que fais-tu ?) and quoi at the end of a spoken question (tu fais quoi ?). All three ask the same thing.
Use quel for which and what
Quel agrees with its noun as quel, quelle, quels or quelles: quel âge as-tu ?, quelle est ta matière préférée ?, quels sports fais-tu ? All four sound the same, so the noun decides the spelling.
Answer the question you are asked
Quand wants a time, où a place and pourquoi a reason, usually with parce que. Reuse the verb of the question in your answer: où habites-tu ? gets j'habite à Manchester.
Asking questions key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Intonation
- The rise and fall of the voice. Said with a rising voice at the end, tu viens becomes a question.
- est-ce que
- A phrase that turns a statement into a question without changing its word order: est-ce que tu viens means are you coming.
- Inversion
- Putting the verb before the pronoun to ask a question: parles-tu anglais means do you speak English.
- qu'est-ce que
- What, at the start of a question: qu'est-ce que tu regardes means what are you watching.
- quel, quelle, quels, quelles
- Which or what, agreeing with the noun: quelle heure est-il asks what time it is.
- combien de
- How much or how many, before a noun: combien de cousins as-tu asks how many cousins you have.
- pourquoi and parce que
- Why and because: a question with pourquoi is answered with parce que, or parce qu' before a vowel.
- -t-
- A letter added between a verb ending in a vowel and il, elle or on in inversion, to make it easier to say: va-t-il.
Common mistakes in Asking questions
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Putting the question word after est-ce que, as in est-ce que où tu habites ?
The question word comes first, then est-ce que, then the subject and verb: où est-ce que tu habites asks where you live.
Leaving out the hyphen in inversion, as in parles tu français ?
Inversion joins the verb and the pronoun with a hyphen, as in parles-tu français, and adds -t- after a vowel, as in parle-t-il français.
Writing quel with a feminine noun, as in quel est ta couleur préférée ?
Quel agrees with its noun. Couleur is feminine, so it is quelle est ta couleur préférée.
Using que at the end of a question, as in tu fais que ?
At the end of a spoken question, what is quoi: tu fais quoi. At the start, use qu'est-ce que.
Answering a question with pourquoi without giving a reason.
A question with pourquoi wants a reason, so answer with parce que: parce que c'est intéressant.
Practice
Try a Asking questions question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
Which word completes the question? ___ fais-tu le week-end ?
- Qu'est-ce que
- Que
- Quoi
- Quel
Show the answer and the working
Answer: Que
With inversion, what is que: que fais-tu le week-end ?, what do you do at the weekend?
- What + inversion: que.
- What + statement order: qu'est-ce que.
- So Que fais-tu le week-end ?