Quantity & Selection Questions in French

Overview

Once you have mastered the basic question words in French, the next step at the A1 level is learning how to ask about quantities and make selections. Two essential tools for this are combien (de) (how much/how many) and quel/quelle/quels/quelles (which/what).

Combien lets you ask about amounts, prices, and numbers — topics that come up constantly in daily life, from shopping to making plans. Quel is the go-to word for asking someone to specify or choose, and it appears in some of the most common French phrases like Quel âge as-tu? (How old are you?) and Quelle heure est-il? (What time is it?).

The key challenge with quel is that it must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies, giving you four forms to learn. This is different from English, where "which" and "what" never change form.

How It Works

Combien (de):

Usage	Structure	Example
How much (price)	Combien + verb	Combien ça coûte?
How many + noun	Combien de + noun	Combien de frères as-tu?
How much + noun	Combien de + noun	Combien d'eau veux-tu?

Quel / Quelle / Quels / Quelles:

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	quel	quels
Feminine	quelle	quelles

Key points:

• Combien de is always followed by a noun without an article: combien de livres (not combien des livres).
• Before a vowel, de becomes d': combien d'enfants.
• Quel agrees with the noun it refers to, not with the subject of the sentence.
• Quel can be used as an adjective before a noun (Quel livre?) or with être (Quel est ton nom?).
• In exclamations, quel means "what a...!": Quelle belle journée! (What a beautiful day!)

Examples in Context

French	English	Note
Combien ça coûte?	How much does it cost?	Asking a price
Combien de frères as-tu?	How many brothers do you have?	Quantity of people
Combien de temps faut-il?	How much time does it take?	Duration
Quel âge as-tu?	How old are you?	Fixed expression (masculine)
Quelle heure est-il?	What time is it?	Fixed expression (feminine)
Quels films tu aimes?	Which films do you like?	Masculine plural
Quelles langues parlez-vous?	Which languages do you speak?	Feminine plural
Quel est ton numéro?	What is your number?	With être
Quelle est ta couleur préférée?	What is your favorite color?	With être, feminine
Combien d'étudiants il y a?	How many students are there?	Before vowel = d'
Quelle belle surprise!	What a lovely surprise!	Exclamatory use

Common Mistakes

Adding an article after "combien de"

• Wrong: Combien des livres as-tu?
• Right: Combien de livres as-tu?
• Why: After combien de, use the bare noun — no article. The de already fills that role.

Using the wrong gender for "quel"

• Wrong: Quel heure est-il?
• Right: Quelle heure est-il?
• Why: Heure is feminine, so you need the feminine form quelle.

Confusing "quel" with "qu'est-ce que"

• Wrong: Quel tu fais?
• Right: Qu'est-ce que tu fais? or Que fais-tu?
• Why: Quel must be attached to a noun or used with être. For "what are you doing?" use que/qu'est-ce que.

Practice Tips

1. Practice combien de with everyday items: count things in your room and ask yourself Combien de livres ai-je? Combien de chaises y a-t-il? Then answer with the number.
2. Drill all four forms of quel by pairing each with a noun: quel jour, quelle saison, quels mois, quelles couleurs. Say each one aloud to build the habit.
3. Learn the key fixed expressions with quel by heart — Quel âge as-tu?, Quelle heure est-il?, Quel temps fait-il? — since these come up in almost every beginner conversation.

Related Concepts

• Basic Questions — the parent concept covering qui, que, où, quand, comment, pourquoi