In the most basic form of questions, these question words can be used:
| qui | who |
| que/quoi | what |
| quand | when |
| où | where |
| comment | how |
| pourquoi | why |
| combien | how much |
Let's see the three ways to use them:
1. Use intonation with a normal statement
In that very simple case, most of the time question words would be at the end of the statement, but they can also sometimes be at the beginning of the statement.
The question will be marked with a querying tone (and in written form with a question mark):
The question will be marked with a querying tone (and in written form with a question mark):
ATTENTION:
What can only be at the end of the sentence, and you use quoi and NOT que.
In who + [verb] questions - (who does, who cooks...?) - qui is always at the beginning of the question - (qui fait, qui cuisine...?) - BUT in other cases, such as whom... or who is it?, qui can be in either place.
See Qui/Qui est-ce qui [conjugated verb] ? = Who ... ? (French Questions) and Qui/Qui est-ce que ... ? = Whom ... ? (French Questions).
2. With est-ce que...
You place the question word before est-ce que followed by the statement in a normal order. This is a common way to start a question.
-> Note that in this last case, que becomes qu' because it's in front of a vowel.
3. Use the "inverted question" form
You use the question word at the beginning of the sentence, followed by the inverted verb and then the subject. This is a more elegant and more formal way to ask questions in French.
ATTENTION: in the inverted form, quoi becomes que or qu' :
These question words are always placed at the start with inverted forms.
See also Que + [inverted statement] ? = What ... ? (French Questions) and Inverted questions in the present tense (Le Présent) in French - il/elle/on forms
For more question types, see also:
Asking yes/no questions in French with intonation, est-ce que, n'est-ce pas (French Questions)
Want to make sure your French sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Braimap today »
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
