Basic Questions in French

Overview

Asking questions is one of the first things you need to do in any language, and French gives you not one but three different ways to form them. At the A1 level, learning the key question words and the basic question structures will allow you to navigate everyday situations like asking for directions, ordering food, or getting to know someone.

The six essential French question words are qui (who), que/quoi (what), où (where), quand (when), comment (how), and pourquoi (why). These form the backbone of information questions and will appear in nearly every French conversation you have.

What makes French questions interesting is the flexibility in how you form them. You can raise your intonation, add est-ce que before a statement, or invert the subject and verb. Each method has a different register, from casual speech to formal writing, giving you options to match the situation.

How It Works

Question words:

French	English	Example
qui	who	Qui est-ce?
que / quoi	what	Que fais-tu? / Tu fais quoi?
où	where	Où habites-tu?
quand	when	Quand arrive-t-il?
comment	how	Comment vas-tu?
pourquoi	why	Pourquoi tu ris?

Three ways to form questions:

Method	Structure	Example	Register
Intonation	Statement + rising voice	Tu parles français?	Informal/spoken
Est-ce que	Est-ce que + statement	Est-ce que tu parles français?	Neutral/standard
Inversion	Verb-subject	Parles-tu français?	Formal/written

Key points:

• Intonation is the easiest: take a statement and raise your voice at the end. Very common in casual French.
• Est-ce que is the all-purpose method. It works in any situation and is neither too formal nor too casual.
• Inversion is more formal and mostly used in writing or polished speech. A -t- is inserted for pronunciation when the verb ends in a vowel and the subject starts with one: Parle-t-il français?
• Que becomes qu' before a vowel: Qu'est-ce que tu fais?
• Quoi is used at the end of sentences in informal speech: Tu fais quoi?

Examples in Context

French	English	Note
Qui est-ce?	Who is it?	Identifying someone
Qu'est-ce que tu fais?	What are you doing?	Est-ce que + que
Où habites-tu?	Where do you live?	Inversion
Quand est-ce que tu pars?	When are you leaving?	Est-ce que method
Comment tu t'appelles?	What's your name?	Intonation method
Pourquoi tu apprends le français?	Why are you learning French?	Intonation, informal
Tu veux du café?	Do you want coffee?	Yes/no, intonation only
Est-ce que c'est loin?	Is it far?	Neutral register
Parlez-vous anglais?	Do you speak English?	Formal inversion
C'est quoi, ça?	What is that?	Very informal
Où est la gare?	Where is the station?	Simple, direct
Comment ça va?	How are you?	Fixed expression

Common Mistakes

Mixing up "que" and "quoi"

• Wrong: Que tu fais? (in casual speech)
• Right: Tu fais quoi? or Qu'est-ce que tu fais?
• Why: Que cannot stand alone at the start of an informal question. Use quoi at the end informally, or use the est-ce que structure with que.

Forgetting the -t- in inversion

• Wrong: Parle-il français?
• Right: Parle-t-il français?
• Why: When the verb ends in a vowel and the pronoun starts with one, you must insert -t- for pronunciation.

Using inversion in casual speech

• Wrong: (to a friend) Desires-tu un café?
• Right: Tu veux un café?
• Why: Inversion sounds overly formal in everyday conversation. Use intonation or est-ce que with friends.

Practice Tips

1. Take five statements you already know and convert each one into a question using all three methods (intonation, est-ce que, inversion) to feel the difference in register.
2. Memorize the common fixed question phrases: Comment tu t'appelles?, Quelle heure est-il?, Où sont les toilettes? — these are immediate conversation starters.
3. In casual practice, start with intonation questions since they are the easiest, then gradually introduce est-ce que as your confidence grows.

Related Concepts

• Quantity & Selection Questions — combien and quel for asking about amounts and choices
• Complex Inversion — advanced inversion patterns for formal contexts