Tu parles français ? (intonation, casual) — Est-ce que tu parles français ? (neutral, safe) — Parles-tu français ? (formal, written). Ces trois questions sont des façons différentes de demander si quelqu'un parle français. Elles sont toutes correctes, mais elles ont des niveaux de formalité différents. Parfois, il est important de choisir la bonne façon de poser une question selon la situation. Par exemple, si tu parles à un ami, tu peux utiliser la première question. Si tu es dans un contexte plus formel, la dernière question est préférable. En plus de cela, tu peux poser d'autres questions comme Où habites-tu ? Quel âge as-tu ? Pourquoi apprends-tu le français ? Ces questions t'aideront à mieux connaître la personne avec qui tu parles.
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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
Compréhension
1.What are the three ways to ask if someone speaks French?
2.Which question is the most casual?
3.What question should you use in a formal context?
4.What is one question you can ask to know where someone lives?
5.Why might you ask someone how old they are?
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.
Tap an answer below, then tap the question it belongs to — or tap a question first to pick its slot. Tap a filled slot to send the answer back.
- Q1qui
- Q2où
- Q3quand
- Q4pourquoi
- Q5combien
- Q6comment
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...).