How French works
We have seen that French can form questions using intonation , est-ce que and inversion . These question forms can be used on their own to form questions that can be answered yes or no:
Est-ce que tu viens à la fête? – Oui
Are you coming to the party? - Yes
These forms can also be used with a number of different question words to ask for a more specific piece of information. These question words are as follows:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| qui? | who? |
| où? | where? |
| que? | what? |
| quand? | when? |
| pourquoi? | why? |
| comment? | how? |
| combien? | how many? |
Examples include:
Qui est-ce qui veut du thé? / Qui veut du thé?
Who wants some tea?
Où est-ce qu'on va? / On va où?
Where are we going?
Qu'est-ce que c'est? / Que c'est?
What is it?
Quand est-ce qu'on mange? / On mange quand?
When are we eating?
Pourquoi est-ce qu'tu ris? / Tu ris pourquoi?
Why are you laughing?
Comment est-ce qu'on s'y rend? / On s'y rend comment?
How are we going to get there?
Combien de tickets est-ce qu'on a vendu? / On a vendu combien de tickets?
How many tickets did we sell?
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