Est-Ce Que How to Ask Questions in French

Whether youre working, traveling, learning, or just trying to learn more about someone, questions are an important part of the conversation. There are, essentially, four ways to ask questions in French. Remember that when you ask a question in French, the verb is not  demander but poser; the expression is poser  une question.   There are two main types of questions: Polar questions or closed questions (questions fermà ©es) that result in a simple yes or no answer.WH- questions (who, what, where, when, and why, along with how many and how much), constituent questions or open questions (questions ouvertes) ask for information with question (interrogative)  words.   Ways to Structure Questions:   1.  Est-Ce Que Est-ce que  means  literally is it that, and can be placed at the beginning of any affirmative sentence to turn it into a question. Est-ce que vous dansez? Do you dance?Est-ce que tu veux voir un film? Do you want to see a movie?Est-ce quil est arrivà ©?: Has he arrived? Place any interrogative word  in front of est-ce  .que Quest-ce que cest?  What is it / that?  Whats going on?Quand est-ce que tu veux partir?  When do you want to leave?Pourquoi est-ce quil a menti? Why did he lie?Quel livre est-ce que vous cherchez? Which book are you looking for?   2.  Inversion Inversion  is a  more formal way to ask questions.  Just invert the conjugated verb and subject pronoun and join them with a hyphen. Again, place any interrogative words at the beginning of the question. Quand veux-tu partir?  When do you want to leave?Quel livre cherchez-vous?  Which book are you looking for? Use inversion to ask negative questions. Ne dansez-vous pas?  Dont you dance?Nest-il pas encore arrivà ©? Hasnt he arrived yet? With the third person singular (il,  elle, or  on) and a verb that ends in a vowel, add  t-  between the verb and the  subject pronoun  for  euphony, or a more harmonious sound. Aime-t-il les films  ?   Does he like movies?Écoute-t-elle la radio  ?   Does she listen to the radio?A-t-on dà ©cidà ©Ã‚  ?   Have we decided?Veux-tu voir un film?  Do you want to see a movie?Est-il arrivà ©?  Has he arrived?Pourquoi a-t-il menti?  Why did he lie? 3. A Statement as a Question A very simple but informal way to ask yes/no questions is to raise the pitch of your voice while pronouncing any sentence.  This is a popular option of the  many informal ways to ask questions  in French.   Vous dansez? You dance?Tu veux voir un film? You want to see a movie?Il est arrivà ©?  He arrived? You can also use this structure to ask negative questions:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Tu ne danses pas? You dont dance?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il nest pas encore arrivà ©? He hasnt arrived yet? 4. Nest-ce pas? If youre pretty sure the answer to your question is yes, you can just make an affirmative statement and then add the tag nest-ce pas  ? to the end. Tu danses, nest-ce pas? You dance, right?  Tu veux voir un film, nest-ce pas?  You want to see a movie, right?  Ã‚     Il est arrivà ©, nest-ce pas?  Ã‚  He arrived, right? Si as a Response This is a special French word thats used only when responding in the affirmative to a negative question.   Affirmative questions Negative questions Vas-tu au cin ? Oui Are you going to the movies? Yes Ne vas-tu pas au cin ? Si !Arent you going to the movies? Yes (I am)! Est-ce que tu veux venir ? Oui Do you want to come? Yes Tu ne veux pas venir ? Si !You dont want to come? Yes (I do)!