Qu'est-ce que c'est un stylo ?

Stewart H.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Qu'est-ce que c'est un stylo ?

Two of the questions in this lesson are as follows: - Qu'est-ce que c'est un stylo ? Qu'est-ce que c'est qu'un stylo ? Could you please explain why the 2nd question has 'qu' inserted before 'un stylo'.

This question relates to:French lesson "Qu'est-ce que c'est... and Qu'est-ce que c'est que ça/cela ? = What is... / What's that? in French"

Asked 6 years ago

Like0Answer2

AurélieNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Bonjour Stewart !

These are simply two ways to ask questions in French.
The second is actually more elegant and is explained as such:
"Qu'est-ce que c'est que/qu' + [thing]?"

I can't really justify the structure, all I can say is that it's literally very convoluted to an English ear : "What is it that it's that [a thing]?"

I hope that helps :)
Bonne journée !

Like06 years ago

Stewart H.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Thank you Aurélie, your answer is fine.

Like06 years ago

Stewart H. asked:View original