Interrogation in French

Interrogation in French involves asking questions. Here are the basic rules and examples for forming interrogative sentences in French:

1- Intonation

Interrogative intonation refers to the rising pitch or tone at the end of a sentence that indicates it is a question. In French, this rising intonation is a key feature of forming yes/no questions. Instead of relying solely on question words, French often uses intonation to signal a question. Here are examples:

1. Yes/No Questions:
   • Statement: Tu parles français. (You speak French.)
   • Question: Tu parles français ? (Do you speak French?)
2. Tag Questions:
   • Statement: Il fait beau aujourd'hui. (The weather is nice today.)
   • Question: Il fait beau aujourd'hui, n'est-ce pas ? (The weather is nice today, isn't it?)
3. Clarification Questions:
   • Statement: Tu viens demain. (You are coming tomorrow.)
   • Question: Tu viens demain ? (Are you coming tomorrow?)

In each case, the rising intonation at the end signals that the statement is being posed as a question, even if there is no change in word order or addition of specific question words.

2- Est-ce-que/qu' Yes/No Questions:
Inversion with Subject Pronouns:

"Est-ce que" is a phrase commonly used in French to form yes/no questions. It is placed at the beginning of a declarative sentence to transform it into an interrogative sentence.

Definition: "Est-ce que" literally translates to "is it that" or "is it true that." It acts as an indicator that a question is being asked.

Examples:

1. Statement: Tu parles français. (You speak French.) Question: Est-ce que tu parles français? (Do you speak French?)
2. Statement: Il va partir demain. (He is going to leave tomorrow.) Question: **Est-ce qu'**il va partir demain? (Is he going to leave tomorrow?)

Note:

• When the statement begins with a vowel sound, "qu'" is used instead of "que" for smoother pronunciation.
• "Est-ce que" is versatile and can be applied to various tenses and sentence structures in forming questions in French.

3- Inversion

Interrogative inversion is a grammatical structure used to form questions in French by reversing the order of the subject and the verb. This inversion occurs in sentences without an interrogative word like "est-ce que." The subject and verb switch places, and a hyphen is added between them.

Definition: Interrogative inversion is a form of asking questions in French by inverting the typical subject-verb order.

Examples:

1. Statement: Tu parles français. (You speak French.) Question (with inversion): Parles-tu français ? (Do you speak French?)
2. Statement: Il va partir demain. (He is going to leave tomorrow.) Question (with inversion): Va-t-il partir demain ? (Is he going to leave tomorrow?)
3. Statement: Vous avez fini le travail. (You have finished the work.) Question (with inversion): Avez-vous fini le travail ? (Have you finished the work?)

Interrogative inversion is a formal and often used structure in written and formal spoken French to construct questions without the use of "est-ce que."

A-Z French Grammar