When asking a question in French, it is possible to do it in several ways. Using est-ce que at the start of a phrase or changing the order of the subject and verb are options.
You can also use question words at the start of a question. Where there is a subject pronoun in the sentence, the verb goes directly after the question word used – ie you invert the verb and the subject pronoun. For example:
| French | English | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qui ? | Who? | Qui aime jouer au foot dans ta famille? | Who likes playing football in your family? |
| Que ?/ Qu'est-ce que ? | What? | Que fais-tu le week-end ?/ Qu'est-ce que tu fais le week-end ? | What do you do at the weekend? |
| Quand ? | When? | Quand pars-tu en vacances ? | When do you go on holidays? |
| Où ? | Where? | Où habites-tu ? | Where do you live? |
| Pourquoi ? | Why? | Pourquoi aimes-tu les chiens ? | Why do you like dogs? |
| Comment ? | How? | Comment vas-tu ? | How are you? |
| Combien ? | How much/how many? | Combien as-tu d'animaux ? | How many animals do you have? |
| À quelle heure ? | (At) what time? | À quelle heure arrives-tu le matin ? | What time do you arrive in the morning? |
| Combien de temps ? | How long? | Combien de temps lis-tu le week-end ? | How long do you read for at the weekend? |