L'interrogation


 * Les questions **

 __Question Words__  Below are the common question words in French which you must know:

Qui = who  Quoi = what  Quand = when  Où = where  Pourquoi = why  Comment = how  Combien = how many

 __Les types de questions__  There are different ways to ask a question in French. The two most common methods are 1) adding 'est-ce que' in front of any sentence, and 2) inversion, where you change the order of the verb and the subject and insert a hyphen between them.

 1. Est-ce que  eg. Est-ce que tu vas au cinéma ce soir? //(Are you going to the movies tonight?)// <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> eg. Où est-ce qu’il est né? //(Where was he born?)// <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">Notice in the second example that the question word goes in front of 'est-ce que' if you are using one.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> 2. Inversion <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> eg. Vas-tu au cinéma ce soir? //(Are you going to the movies tonight?)// <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> eg. Où est-il né? //(Where was he born?)// <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">Notice that even though they look different, the two examples here have the same translations as the two examples above.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">One additional point to remember with inversion questions is that you must insert the letter 't' in between the verb and the subject if the verb ends in a vowel and the subject begins with one.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">eg. Aim**e**-**t**-**i**l le chocolat? //(Does he like chocolate?)// <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">eg. Où achèt**e**-**t**-**e**lle ses jupes? //(Where does she buy her skirts?)//

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> __Les réponses aux questions__ <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">Answering questions in French is no different than answering questions in English. The subjects usually change, which then causes the verb endings to change.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">1. Tu --> Je, Vous --> Nous //(You becomes I, You (plural) becomes We)// <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> eg. Est-ce que **tu** __vas__ au cinéma ce soir? Oui, **je** __vais__ au cinéma ce soir. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">//Are **you** going to the movies tonight? Yes, **I**'m going to the movies tonight.// <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> eg. __Êtes__-**vous** prêts? Oui, **nous** __sommes__ prêts. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">//Are **you** ready? Yes, **we** are ready.//

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> 2. ton, ta, tes --> mon, ma, mes / votre, vos --> notre, nos //(Your/yours becomes My, Your/Yours (plural) becomes Our/ours)// <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> eg. Où __est__ **ton** livre? **Mon** livre __est__ dans mon casier. //<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">Where is **your** book? **My** book is in my locker. // <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> eg. Qui __sont__ **vos** parents? Ils __sont__ **nos** parents. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">//Who are **your** parents? They are **our** parents.//

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> 3. Il, Elle, On, Qui, Ils, Elles, son, sa, ses, leur, leurs ne changent pas //(He, she, one, who, they, his, her, their, theirs do not change from question to answer).// <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> eg. Où est-**il** né? **Il** est né à Montréal. //<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">Where was **he** born? **He** was born in Montréal. // <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;"> Eg. Où sont **ses** amis? **Ses** amis sont à la bibliothèque. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">//Where are **his** friends? **His** friends are at the library.//