You are probably beginning to feel familiar with asking questions in French, since our previous lessons have often featured questions. Today, we are going to focus on and learn about the rules that go with asking questions in French.
• In French, there are three ways of asking questions, and the one you use will depend on the situation you are in: the familiar/informal way (langage familier); the standard way (langage standard); and the highly formal way (langage soutenu).
• You will usually ask questions in a familiar/informal way when you are talking to close friends and family members. When asking a question in this situation, you will: keep the subject (S) and verb (V) in the same order as you would a normal phrase; often add an interrogative word (IW) if you are asking an open question; and raise your voice at the end of the sentence to make it clear that you are asking a question, just like you would if you were asking it in English.
Listen to Week 3 Day 2 Track 1
Closed question: Tu veux du chocolat ?
S + V + Complement
Open question: Vous partez où en vacances ?
S + V + IW + Comp.
Speaking Practice 1
Listen to Week 3 Day 2 Track 2
When asking a question in the standard way, you will use the word “est-ce-que” (ECQ), usually at the beginning of the sentence. It does not translate exactly into English, but it tends to mean “Are you?” or “Do you?” If you are asking an open question, you normally put the interrogative word before the “est-ce-que.” It is also important to note that if the subject that comes after “est-ce-que” begins with a vowel, then the word will change to “est-ce-qu” (Example: “est-ce-qu’il”).
This type of question is the most commonly used and is generally suitable for most situations.
Closed question: Est-ce que tu veux du chocolat ?
ECQ + S+ V + Comp.
Open question: Où est-ce que vous partez en vacances ?
IW + ECQ + S + V + Comp.
Speaking Practice 2
Listen to Week 3 Day 2 Track 3
If you are speaking to a VIP/an important person and want to sound elegant, you usually ask a question in the highly formal To do this, you will switch the order of the subject and verb, as shown below:
Closed question: Voulez-vous du chocolat ?
V + S + Comp.
Open question: Où partez-vous en vacances ?
IW + V + S + Comp.
Note: In highly formal language (langage soutenu), we usually use the pronoun “vous” instead of “tu” for the second person in singular.
Speaking Practice 3
Read and listen to the dialogue:
Asking Questions Vocabulary
A Quick Recap of this Lesson
Ways to ask questions in French:
There are three ways to ask questions in French: first is using the familiar or informal way, the second is using the standard way, and the third is using the highly formal manner.
Familiar/Informal
For familiar/informal, which is being used with friends or family, the subject and verb appear as they would in a regular sentence, but interrogative words are often added and the speaker’s voice is raised at the end of the sentence to signify a question.
Standard
For the standard way of asking questions, "est-ce-que" is added at the start of the sentence.
Highly Formal
For the highly formal way of asking questions (used when talking to VIPs or informal situations), the sentence is inverted, you switch the order of the subject and verb, and use the pronoun "vous" instead of "tu" for second person singular.
Sharpen Your Knowledge with Exercises
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Listen to the dialogue and answer the following questions.
Responses