Tu parles français ? (intonation, casual) — Est-ce que tu parles français ? (neutral, safe) — Parles-tu français ? (formal, written). Où habites-tu ? Quel âge as-tu ? Pourquoi apprends-tu le français ?
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Materials
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GrammarA1questions
Asking questions
Poser des questions
A1fr24 min
What you'll learn
- Ask yes/no questions three ways
- Ask information questions
- Avoid English do-support
Tips for this lesson
- French has no 'do/does' — est-ce que already carries that function.
- Rising intonation alone can turn a statement into a question.
- Inversion needs a hyphen, and sometimes an extra -t- for pronunciation.
Step 1 of 6
1Reading
In context
Read the same question asked three ways. Notice they all mean the same thing.
Step 2 of 6
2The pattern
The pattern — three ways to ask yes/no
The same yes/no question can be asked three ways, from casual to formal.
French has three ways to ask a yes/no question, from casual to formal. 1) Intonation — just raise your pitch at the end of a normal statement: "Tu parles français ?" (very common in speech). 2) Est-ce que — add this fixed phrase to the front of a normal statement: "Est-ce que tu parles français ?" (neutral, always safe, the best default for A1). 3) Inversion — flip the verb and subject with a hyphen: "Parles-tu français ?" (formal, common in writing). Crucially, English "do/does" has no French equivalent — don't translate it word for word; est-ce que already carries that meaning.
| Style | Example | Register |
|---|---|---|
| Intonation | Tu parles français ? | casual, spoken |
| est-ce que | Est-ce que tu parles français ? | neutral, safe default |
| Inversion | Parles-tu français ? | formal, written |
| Question word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| qui | who |
| que / qu'est-ce que | what |
| où | where |
| quand | when |
| comment | how |
| pourquoi | why |
| combien | how much/many |
| quel(le) | which/what |
Où habites-tu ?
Where do you live?
No 'do' — the question word + inversion is enough.
Qu'est-ce que tu fais ?
What are you doing?
The safest way to ask 'what' — qu'est-ce que + normal statement.
Quel âge as-tu ?
How old are you?
quel agrees with the noun: quel âge, quelle heure.
Parle-t-il français ?
Does he speak French?
Extra -t- inserted for pronunciation between two vowels.
Erreurs fréquentes
- Est-ce que tu fais parler français ?Est-ce que tu parles français ?
Don't add an extra verb to translate 'do' — est-ce que already means that.
- Parle il français ?Parle-t-il français ?
Inversion needs a hyphen, and when the verb ends in a vowel and il/elle/on follows, insert -t- for pronunciation.
- Tu parles français. (said with flat pitch, meant as a question)Tu parles français ? (rising pitch)
Without rising intonation, this just sounds like a statement — the pitch IS the question mark.
Exceptions & à retenir
que vs qu'est-ce que
Que requires inversion ("Que fais-tu ?"), while qu'est-ce que doesn't ("Qu'est-ce que tu fais ?"). For A1, prefer qu'est-ce que — it avoids needing inversion.
Inversion with a noun subject needs a pronoun echo
You can't invert a noun directly: not "Parle Marie ?" but "Marie parle-t-elle ?" — the noun stays first, then you invert with the matching pronoun.
pourquoi is answered with parce que
Pourquoi... ? (why) pairs with parce que... (because) in the answer — a fixed pattern worth learning together.
Astuces & mémo
- When unsure which form to use, est-ce que is always correct and safe — use it as your default until inversion feels natural.
- qu'est-ce que ('what') is really 3 words (que + est-ce que) squashed together — treat it as one fixed chunk.
- quel/quelle/quels/quelles agrees with the noun that follows it, just like an adjective.
Step 3 of 6
3Q&A drill
Match the question word
Match each question word to its meaning.
- Q1quiA____________
- Q2oùA____________
- Q3quandA____________
- Q4pourquoiA____________
- Q5combienA____________
- Q6commentA____________
Step 4 of 6
4Fill the blanks
Guided practice — build the question
Fill in the missing question word or phrase.
Example
(1) habites-tu ?
→ Où habites-tu ?
Exercice
(1) âge as-tu ?
Exercice
(2) tu fais ce soir ?
Exercice
(3) est-ce que tu apprends le français ?
Answer pool — drag onto a blank (or tap to fill the next one)
Next empty blank: 1
Step 5 of 6
5Word order
Build the sentence
Put the words in the correct order to form a question.
Example
quetuest-ceparlesfrançais→Est-ce que tu parles français ?
- Sentence 1Tap the words below to build the sentence.
- Sentence 2Tap the words below to build the sentence.
- Sentence 3Tap the words below to build the sentence.
- Sentence 4Tap the words below to build the sentence.
Step 6 of 6
6Speak freely
Produce it
Ask four questions using at least two different styles (intonation, est-ce que, inversion) and two question words.
Ex.Tu habites où ? Est-ce que tu aimes le café ? Quel âge as-tu ? Pourquoi apprends-tu le français ?
- 1.Posez deux questions oui/non de styles différents.
- 2.Posez deux questions avec un mot interrogatif (où, quand, pourquoi...).