Introduction to French Grammar How to Ask a Question

Introduction to French Grammar How to Ask a Question Sign up successful Qui a  mangé  mes  bonbons?  (Who ate my candy?) Quest-ce  quil  a  dit?  (What did he say?) [Remember:  Quest-ce  que  gets elided, the last letter replaced with an apostrophe, when its followed by a vowel.] 2. Yes/no questions (Est-ce  que  form). Where English would start a question in a form like Is there or Do you, which require a yes or no answer, French uses the Est-ce  que question form. To create a sentence in this form, simply put the phrase  Est-ce  que  in front of your sentence, which turns it into a question about whether that sentence is true. If it helps, think of this form as saying, Is it true that? Examples: Est-ce  que  vous  avez  un  stylo?  (Do you have a pen?) Est-ce  quelle  aime  les chats?  (Does she like cats?) Est-ce  que  je  peux  aller  au cinema?  (Can I go to the movies?) 3. Subject-verb inversion. This is the tricky one, but while in many cases you can work your way around it. Using the inverted question form when appropriate will make your French sound much more natural and fluid. French grammar considers this the most formal of the three, so watch out for it in polite settings. Just like it sounds, to create an inverted question you switch the places of the subject and the verb: the verb comes up to the head of the sentence, with the subject pronoun immediately following. If youre asking a yes or no question, thats all you have to do; if your question is open-ended, use the relevant question word to start the sentence. Just like before, if the verb ends with a vowel and the subject starts with one, insert a t-  between the two. Examples: Avez-vous  un  stylo?  (Do you have a pen?) Aime-t-elle  les chats?  (Does she like cats?) Qua-t-il  dit?  (What did he say?) Peux-je  aller  au cinema?  (Can I go to the movies?) Now, heres where it gets complicated. Depending on what youre asking, you may have to follow some extra rules: If the subject of your sentence is a noun, not a pronoun, you move the noun up to the start of the sentence on its own, and put a pronoun representing it where the subject should go.  Example:  Marie  a-t-elle  un  stylo?  (Does Marie have a pen?) If the verb has a direct or indirect object pronoun, that pronoun needs to move with the verb.  Example:  Que  ma-t-il  dit?  (What did he say to me?) That above rule also applies to negatives, since theyre also attached to the verb and need to stay with it if you want them to make sense.  Example:  Naime-t-elle  pas les chats?  (Does she not like cats?) It can seem complicated to start with, but keep practicing your French grammar and youll soon be asking questions like a native Parisian! Looking for more help with French grammar? Studying with a French tutor is a great way to see fast results, whether you need to boost your grades or get ready for a trip abroad. Search for a tutor maintenant! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by Felissy