A1
Asking a question, three ways
The three ways to form a French question, which register each belongs to, and where the question word goes.
French has three ways to ask the same question, and choosing between them is mostly about how formal you are being.
Intonation only
The commonest in speech. Nothing changes but the pitch.
Tu viens ?
you come
Are you coming?
est-ce que
Put it in front of a statement and the statement becomes a question. Neutral, usable anywhere, and the safest of the three for a learner.
Est-ce que tu viens ?
is-it that you come
Are you coming?
Est-ce qu’il est là ?
is-it that-he is there
Is he here?
Inversion
The verb and subject swap, joined by a hyphen. Formal, and standard in writing.
Venez-vous ?
come-you
Are you coming?
With il or elle after a vowel, a -t- is inserted to keep it pronounceable: a-t-il, parle-t-elle.
Où habite-t-elle ?
where lives-t-she
Where does she live?
Question words
| qui | who |
| que / quoi | what |
| où | where |
| quand | when |
| pourquoi | why |
| comment | how |
| combien | how much, how many |
They go at the front, and in speech they are often left in place instead — tu vas où ? is completely ordinary and completely informal.
Pourquoi est-ce que tu pars ?
why is-it that you leave
Why are you leaving?
The space before the question mark
French puts a thin space before ?, !, : and ;. It is a typographic rule rather than a grammatical one, and it is why French text looks slightly airier.
Est-ce que tu viens?
Est-ce que tu viens ?
The space is standard in French typesetting. Nobody will misunderstand you without it, but written French looks wrong to a French reader when it is missing.