French interrogative sentences are a fundamental topic, because we are constantly asking about something, asking questions to each other.
In this article, we will learn how to ask questions in French. There are several ways to do this, each of which we will discuss below.
How do I structure a question in French?
There are several types of interrogative sentences in French: direct word order, simple inversion, complex inversion, and questions to specific members of a sentence.
Direct word order in French interrogative sentences occurs only if:
- the question is expressed in intonation: Vous venez? - You go?Tu veux? - You want?
- an interrogative sentence begins with the words: qui (who) / qui est-ce qui (who) / qu'est-ce qui (what) in the function of the subject; or quel (which) in the subject definition function: Qui a dit cela? - Who said that?
- with the turnover est-ce que (as a rule, it is not translated into Russian): Comment est-ce que vous lisez? - How do you read?Est-ce que tu es content de tout cela? - Yousatisfiedto allby this? Est-cequ ’elleestvenue? - She came?
- the question word is placed at the end of the sentence: Tu t'appelles comment? - What is your name?Tuvasoù? - Where are you going?
In all other cases, an interrogative sentence is formed using inversion, that is, using the reverse word order. Inversion can be simple and complicated.
Simple inversion is possible when the subject is expressed by a pronoun. In this case, the pronoun is placed after the verb with a hyphen. The permutation of the pronoun je is allowed only in some monosyllabic forms of verbs:
- ai-je? (avoir)
- suis-je? (être)
- dis-je? (dire)
- dois-je? (devoir)
- vais-je? (aller)
- puis-je? (pouvoir)
Note that between the verb (if it does not end in t or d) and the third person singular pronoun is the letter t... Compare:
- Lit-il la revue? - Heis readingmagazine?
- Pense-t-il ànotreconference? - Does he think about our conference?
Complex inversion is possible if the subject is expressed by a noun or pronoun (other than a personal or indefinite pronoun on). In this case, the subject remains in its place and is repeated after the predicate in the form of a personal unstressed pronoun of the third person of the corresponding gender and number. For example:
- Cristineest-elle étudiante? - Kristinastudent?
- Les vôtressont-ils déjà venus? - Youralreadycame?
Here you should pay attention to what the direct word order is: first, the subject comes in the sentence, then the predicate. Inversion is the reverse of the word order: first comes the predicate, then the subject.
Types of questions in French
What is the interrogative form of verbs - we have already figured out. Now let's look at what questions are in French and how they are formed.
A general question, that is, a question for the entire proposal, can be asked in three ways:
By changing the intonation to interrogative. In this case, the order of words in the sentence does not change:
- Tu vas au théâ tre? - Yougoinvcinema?
- Tu veux du thé? - Wanttea?
With the help of an interrogative turnover est-ce que and preserving the direct word order after it:
- Est-ce que tu vas au théâtre? - Yougoinvcinema?
- Est-ce que tu veux du café? - Youwantcoffee?
Using inversion:
- Vas-tu au cinéma? -Are you going to the cinema?
- Travaille-t-il aujourd'hui? - Heworkstoday?
Question in French A special question involves the use of certain, that is, special question words:
- Où? - Where? Where to?
- D'où? - Where?
- Quand? - When?
- A quelle heure? - At what time?
- Comment? - How?
- Pourquoi? - Why?
- Combien? - How many?
With these interrogative words, there are three options for constructing interrogative phrases in French:
Option 1: question word + inversion: Comment fais-tu cela? - How do you do that?
Option 2: question word + est-ce que + direct word order: Comment est-ce que tu fais cela? - How do you do that?
Option 3: direct word order + interrogative word: Tu fais cela comment? - How do you do it?
How to ask a question to a subject?
- Qui habite rue Quartier? Qui est-ce qui habite rue Quartier? - Wholivesonthe streetCartier?
- Qu'est-ce qui se passe? - Whatgoing on?
How do I ask a question about direct addition?
- Qui Nicolas rencontre-t-il? Qui est-ce que Nicolas rencontre? -WhommeetsNicolas?
- Que prépare Susanne? Qu'est-ce que Susanne prépare? -WhattrainsSuzanne?
How to ask a question about indirect addition?
- Avec qui est-ce qu'il part? Avec qui part-il? - WITHby whomheleaves?
- De quoi est-ce que vos cousins parlent? De quoi vos cousins parlent-ils? - Ohowthey sayyourcousins?
How to ask a question to the definition?
- Quel journal est-ce que tu lis? Quel journal lis-tu? –What newspaperyouread?
- Combien d'ouvriers travaillent ici? -How manyworkersherework?
- Combien de livres est-ce que tu lis? Combien de livres lis-tu? - How manybooksyouread?
Please note, friends, that the direct word order in the question is more suitable for the colloquial form of speech. Official and literary style welcomes inversion or turnover est-ceque.
Negative sentence
A negative sentence in French differs from an affirmative only by the presence of negative particles that surround the verb, trying not to admit other words to him. The most common form of denial is ne ... pas, the first element of which usually comes before the verb, and the second after the verb:
Je ne parle pas.
I do not speak.
but: Je préfère ne pas parler.
I prefer not to talk (talk).
Pas can be replaced with other negative words such as personne, rien, plus, point, guère, jamais, aucun, nulle part, ni ... ni... These words can appear before or after the verb:
Je ne vois personne.
I don't see anyone.
Je ne parle a personne.
I don't talk to anyone.
Personne ne parle.
Nobody talks.
Je ne vois rien.
I can not see anything.
Je ne pense a rien.
I don't think about anything.
Rien n "est arrive.
Nothing happened.
An interrogative sentence in French is built using intonation, inversion or interrogative turns (est-ce que and others).
1.Using intonation(this form of the question is very common in colloquial speech):
Tu vas à l’institut?
Il est étudiant?
2.Using inversion(reverse word order, when the subject comes after the predicate):
Inversion can be simple or complex.
- Simple inversion is done in a sentence in which the subject is expressed by a pronoun.
In an interrogative sentence formed using a simple inversion, the subject-pronoun is placed after the verb:
Lis-tu ce livre?
Est-elle Russe?
If the verb in the 3rd person singular ends in the vowel "a" or "e", the letter "t" is inserted between the verb and the pronoun
Va-t-il à la gare?
Parle-t-elle à sa mère?
Habite-t-il Paris?
- By complex inversion an interrogative sentence is formed in which
subject is expressed by a noun. In this case, the subject remains in its usual place before the verb, but is then repeated after the verb in the form of a personal pronoun of a third person, consistent in gender and number with the subject:
Michel travaille-t-il à la fabrique?
Les soeurs habitent-elles Paris?
In the presence of 2 or more subjects of different kinds, the pronoun is used
masculine plural:
Pierre et Marie revisent-ils ces textes?
3.Using an interrogative phraseest-ce que
In interrogative sentences with a turnover est-ce que preserves the direct word order:
Est-ce qu'il regarde la télé?
Est-ce que Claire va a la pharmacie?
Question to the subject is constructed using the following interrogative words and constructions:
Direct complement question (for animate objects) is built with: qui, qui est-ce que:
Qui attendez-vous? (inversion)
Qui est-ce que vous attendez?
Who are you expecting?
Question for direct addition (inanimate) is constructed using an interrogative pronoun Que? and turnover qu'est-ce que?- What? In question with qu'est-ce que preserves the direct word order, with que inversion is done.
Question for indirect addition under construction:
for animate objects- using the preposition + qui:
A qui parlez-vous? (inversion)
A qui est-ce que vous parlez?
Who are you talking to?
for inanimate objects- using the construction preposition + quoi:
De quoi parlez-vous? (inversion)
De quoi est-ce que vous parlez?
What are you talking about?
Depending on the content of the offer in french are narrative, motivating and interrogative (each of them can be exclamatory).
Interrogative sentence is built with:
- intonation(more often in colloquial speech)
- interrogative turnoverest-ce que(which is usually not translated in any way, but allows you to preserve the direct word order)
- inversions(simple or complex)
1. In sentences with turnoverest-ce que:
- Word order is always straight
- The use of the turnover is obligatory if the predicate is expressed by the 1st person unit. the numbers (je) of the present tense of the 1, 2 groups and the majority of the 3 groups. For example, Est-ce que tu parles russe (do you speak Russian)? Est-ce que ta mère habite Moscou (your mother lives in Moscow)? Est-ce qu'il regarde la télé (he watches TV)? Est-ce qu'Il y a des livres sur la table (there are books on the table)? Est-ce que je parle vite (I speak fast)? Est-ce que nous allons au magasin (we go to the store)? Est-ce qu'il fait frois ce matin (cold this morning)?
2. Simple inversion:
- It is used if the subject is PRONOUNCI, as well as for turnover C'est(of course, only for the singular, for the plural it will be Est-ce que ce sont ...)
- a or e t between verb and pronoun
Tu lis ce livre (you are reading this book) - Lis-tu ce livre?
Elle est en Russie (she is in Russia) - Est-elle en Russie?
Il fait ses études (he learns) - Fait-il ses études?
Nous parlons vite (we speak fast) - Parlons-nous vite?
Tu peux rester ici (you can stay here) - Peux-tu rester ici?
Vous avez un secrétaire (you have a secretary) - Avez-vous un secrétaire?
Je peux entrer (I can enter) - Puis-je entrer?
Il va à la gare (he goes to the station) - Va-t -ilà la gare?
Elle parle à sa mère (she speaks to her mother) - Parle-t -elleà sa mère?
3. Complex inversion:
- When a complex inversion is formed, the subject remains in its place, but is then repeated after the verb in the form of a personal pronoun of the 3rd person
- Used if the subject is Noun
- In the presence of several subjects of different kinds, the masculine plural pronoun is used
In the case when the verb in the 3rd person is singular. numbers (il, elle) ends in a or e, then for the vocal cord we insert the letter t between verb and pronoun (as with simple inversion)
Les amis habient Paris (friends live in Paris) - Les amis habient-ils Paris?
Michel travaille à la fabrique (Michel works in the factory) - Michel travaille-t -ilà la fabrique?
Pierre et Marie révisent ces textes (Pierre and Maria revise texts) - Pierre et Marie révisent-ils ces textes?
Claire va à la pharmacie (Claire goes to the pharmacy) - Claire va-t -elleà la pharmacie?
Ma voirtue est prête (my car is ready) - Ma voiture est-elle prête?
Sometimes you might think that learning French is beyond your power, but don't be upset at first. All over the world they are of the opinion that it is the Russian language that is the most difficult, and you are its native speaker, which means that you can also master the French language, you just have to be patient and at least half an hour a day. So, let's take a look at the basic rules.
1. The French sentence is characterized by a direct word order, in contrast to the Russian one. This means that the subject will always come before the predicate and nothing else. Sometimes they can be broken down by another part of speech. For example:
Marie joue avec ses amies - Marie plays with her friends.
Je vaisà la gare. I'm going to the station. In Russian it is also possible to say: "I am going to the station" if the intonation is slightly changed, which in French would be a tough violation of the rules.
2. In French, a direct object noun will appear immediately after the predicate. It looks like this:
Marie chante une chanson. Marie sings a song.
A noun expressed by an indirect object will also appear in a sentence after the predicate. For example:
Marie parle à son mari -Mari is talking to her husband.
If the sentence contains both direct and indirect additions, then the predicate is followed by the direct, followed by the indirect addition. Example:
Marie lit un livre d`amour - Marie is reading a book about love.
3. If there is a circumstance in the sentence, then it is put either at the beginning of the sentence, or at the end, if it is one in the sentence. If there are two or more, then they are evenly distributed in meaning, something is put in front, and some at the end. This rule does not apply to the Russian language, which you can see in the translation. Let's consider an example:
Mardi, je voudrais arriver l`aprés-midi - I would like to arrive on Tuesday afternoon.
4. The French sentence uses the impersonal phrase il est to indicate tenses. For example:
Il est dix heures - It is 10 o'clock now.
Il est tard - Late.
5. The impersonal turnover il y a is used to indicate the presence of something. In a sentence, this turnover is expressed by a circumstance, and is located either at the beginning or at the end. It will be clearer if we consider an example:
Il y a une pomme sur la table. - There is (literally) an apple on the table.
Sur la table il y a une pomme.
6. A negative sentence is formed by adding negative particles to a verb. Typically, ne, pas particles are used. The first is placed before the verb, and the second after it, for example:
Marie travaille à l`usine. Marie ne travaille pas à l`usine.
Marie works in a factory. Marie does not work at the factory.
If the verb begins with a vowel, then according to the rules, the first particle "ne" is dropped "e", and it is written with the verb through an apostrophe. For example:
Marie arrive demain. Marie n`arrive pas demain.
Marie is coming tomorrow. Marie not arrives tomorrow.
There are a lot of different abbreviations in colloquial speech, therefore, when studying classical French, it can be difficult to understand a fluent Frenchman. One of the methods of colloquial speech, with regard to this rule, is the omission of the particle "ne". For example:
Marie travaille pas.
To enhance the meaning of the sentence, negative particles are used jamais - never, rien - nothing, personne - no one. They take the place of the pas particle in the sentence. For example:
Marie ne sais rien. - Marie doesn't know anything.
Marie ne voit personne. - Marie doesn't see anyone.
Marie n`a jamais été à Moscou. - Marie has never been to Moscow.
7. The construction of an interrogative sentence deserves special attention. The simplest education is carried out through inversion, that is, a change in the order of words. In this case, the predicate is placed before the noun and a hyphen is placed between the words. For example:
Marie mange la pomme. Mange-Marie la pomme?
Marie is eating an apple. If Marie has an apple.
In an interrogative sentence, "t" is often added to sound the inversion if the verb ends in a vowel. Example:
Elle mange la pomme. Mange-t-elle la pomme?
There are two types of inversion: simple and complex. The above examples are variants of a simple inversion, and a complex one is such an inversion, where the subject is expressed by the predicate in the sentence. In this case, the subject remains in front of the predicate, and is also repeated after the verb in the form of a pronoun from the 3rd person, which agrees in gender and number with the forward subject. For ease of understanding, here's an example:
Marie mange la pomme. Marie mange-t-elle la pomme?
If several subjects are used in a sentence, then the pronoun is plural.
Marie et Jan vont vite. Marie et Jan vont-t-ils vite?
Marie and Jean walk quickly. Are Marie and Jean walking fast?
Especially the French love to build questions using the interrogative phrase est-ce que. It can be used in any cases, and without fail, if the predicate is expressed by a verb of the 1st group in the 1st person singular and in the present tense. In this case, the word order is kept straight! Example:
Je mange la pomme Est-ce que je mange la pomme?
Very often you have to resort to interrogative words to build interrogative sentences. There are a lot of such words. They are placed at the beginning of the sentence, and then it will be built on the basis of the inversion.
Elle regarde les image. Que regarde-t-elle?
She looks at the pictures. What is she considering?
The following question words can be used:
Quand? - When?
Où? - Where? Where to?
Pourquoi? - Why?
Combien? - How many?
Comment? - How?
Quel? - Which? (varies by gender and number: Quels? - What? Quelle? - What? Quell (e) s? - What?)
Learning French is an exciting, interesting, and, most importantly, useful activity. How? You've probably noticed that all nationalities are different? The fact is that, depending on the culture, language, field of activity, various brain structures are involved, which is why polyglots are considered one of the intelligent representatives of the human population. Knowledge of a foreign language makes you smarter and gives you an advantage over your compatriots, even in small everyday situations, the one who works on his development will find ways to solve the problem faster. We hope that this fact will serve as an incentive for you to study, good luck!
V interrogative sentence direct order words occurs in the following cases:
- if the question is expressed using intonation: Vous venez?
- if an interrogative sentence starts with a question qui (who), qui est-ce qui (who), qu'est-ce qui (what) in the function of the subject or quel (what) in the function of determining the subject: Qui a dit cela?
- with turnover est-ce que(usually not translated into Russian): Comment est-ce que vous lisez?
- if the question word is at the end of a sentence: Tu t'appelles comment?
In all other cases, the interrogative sentence is characterized by inversion, i.e. reverse word order. Inversion can be simple or complex.
Simple inversion used when the subject is expressed by a pronoun. In this case, the pronoun is placed after the verb through a dash. Pronoun permutation je allowed only in some monosyllabic forms of verbs:
ai-je? suis-je? dis-je? dois-je? vais-je? puis-je?
Between the verb (if it does not end in t or d) and the pronoun of the 3rd person singular, a letter is placed t:
Lit-il le journal? Pense- t-il à notre projet?
Complex inversion used when the subject is expressed by a noun or pronoun (other than personal or indefinite on). In this case, the subject remains in its place and is still repeated after the predicate in the form of a personal unstressed pronoun of the 3rd person of the corresponding gender and number:
Pierre est- il étudiant? Les nôtres sont- ils venus?
General question can be set in three ways:
1) With the help of an interrogative turnover est-ce que preserving the direct word order after it:
Est-ce que tu vas au cinéma? - Are you going to the cinema?
2) By changing intonation to the interrogative. The word order in the sentence does not change:
Tu vas au cinéma? - Are you going to the cinema?
3) With help inversions:
Vas-tu au cinéma? - Are you going to the cinema?
Special question can be asked using special question words:
where? | où ...? | Où habites-tu? - Where do you live? |
where? | Où vas-tu? - Where are you going? |
|
where? | d'où ...? | D'où viens-tu? - Where are you going from now? |
when? | quand ...? | Quand reviens-tu? - When will you be back? |
at what time? | à quelle heure ...? | A quelle heure reviens-tu? - At what time you will you come back? |
as? | comment ...? | Comment cet enfant lit-il? - How does this child read? |
why? why? | pourquoi ...? | Pourquoi est-ce que tu es en retard? - Why are you late? |
There are three options for constructing phrases with interrogative words:
- question word + inversion: Quand reviens-tu? - When will you be back?
- question word + est-ce que + direct word order: Quand est-ce que tu reviens? - When will you come back?
- direct word order + interrogative word: Tu reviens quand? - When will you be back?
A question to an animate subject:
- Qui+ 3rd person singular verb: Qui habite rue Rivoli? - Who lives on Rue de Rivoli?
- Qui est-ce qui+ 3rd person singular verb: Qui est-ce qui habite rue Rivoli? - Who lives on Rue de Rivoli?
Ask an inanimate subject: Qu'est-ce qui+ direct word order: Qu'est-ce qui se passe? - What's happening?
Question for direct animate addition (no preposition):
- Qui+ inversion: Qui Serge rencontre-t-il? - Whom does Serge meet?
- Qui est-ce que+ direct word order: Qui est-ce que Serge rencontre? - Whom does Serge meet?
Question for direct inanimate addition (no preposition):
- Que+ inversion: Que prépare Marie? - What is Marie cooking?
- Qu'est-ce que+ direct word order: Qu'est-ce que Marie prépare? - What is Marie cooking?
Question to the indirect animate addition (with a preposition):
- Preposition + qui + est— ce que+ direct word order: Avec qui est-ceque tu pars? - Who are you leaving with?
- Preposition + qui+ inversion: Avec qui pars-tu? - Who are you leaving with?
Question to the indirect inanimate addition (with a preposition):
- Preposition + quoi + est— ce que+ direct word order: De quoi est-ceque vos amisparlent? - What are your friends talking about?
- Preposition + quoi + inversion: De quoi vos amis parlent-ils? - What are your friends talking about?
Question for definition:
to the subject | to supplement |
||
which? | quel(m.r.un.) quelle(noun units) quels(m.r. pl.) quelles(noun plural) | Direct word order Quel parc est beau? - Which park is beautiful? | 1) + est-ce que + direct word order 2) + inversion Quel livre est-ce que tu lis? Quel livre lis-tu? - Which book are you reading? |
how? | combien de… | Direct word order Combien d'étudiants travaillent ici? - How many students are there? | 1) + est-ce que + direct word order 2) + inversion Combien de livres est-ce que tu lis? Combien de livres lis-tu? - how many books you are reading? |
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