Asking questions Flashcards
Where
Where is it that ……
Où
Où est-ce que……
When
When is it that……..
Quand
Quand est-ce que……..
How
How well is it that …..
Comment
Comment est-ce que….
At what time
At what time is it that …..
À quelle heure
À quelle heure est-ce que……
Why
Why is it that…….
Pourquoi
Pourquoi est-ce que
Because
Parce que /parce qu’
Information questions usually follow this pattern:
Interrogative expression + est-ce que + subject + verb
où/quand/à quelle heure/pourquoi
To ask questions about people use the interrogative pronoun ‘qui’ (who or whom).
Who
Who is that ……
Qui
Qui est-ce que………
To whom
To whom is it that ……
Example: to whom is it that you telephone?
À qui
À qui est-ce que
Example: à qui est-ce que vous téléphonéz?
Of whom
Of whom is it that
Example: Of whom is it that you talk?
De qui
De qui est-ce que
Example: de qui est-ce que tu parles?
With whom
With whom is it that
Example: With whom is it that you study?
Avec qui
Avec qui est-ce que
Example: Avec qui est-ce que tu étudies?
For whom
For whom is it that
Example: For whom is that your cousin works?
Pour qui
Pour qui est-ce que
Example: Pour qui est-ce que ta cousine travaille?
To ask WHO is doing something , omit the est-ce que
for example: qui habite ici? (who lives here?)
Verbs and prepositions
Many French verbs require a specific preposition when followed by another verb or noun.
The choice on the preposition depends on the verb before it.
There are no rules - they must be memorised.
The most common prepositions are à and de.
Refer to Word Reference Dictionary (online).
To ask questions about things, use the interrogative pronouns que and quoi (what).
About what
About what is it that
Example: About what is it that you speak?
De quoi
De quoi est-ce que
Example: De quoi est-ce que vous parlez?
What (is it that)
Example: What (is it is that) you are eating?
Qu’est-ce que
Qu’est-ce que tu manges?
Quoi (what)!!!! may be used on its own, however it is more polite to use pardon or please repeat SVP.
Use ‘que’ when asking a question about the subject or object.
Example:
Qu’est-ce que tu étudie?
Use ‘quoi’ when what follows a preposition.
Tu penses á quoi?
De quoi est-ce qu’elle parle?
Use ‘quoi’ when asking a questions in which what comes after the verb.
Tu veux quoi?
Ils regardent quoi?
Stress pronouns refer to people
je - moi tu - toi il - lui elle - elle vous - vous nous - nous ils - eux elles - elles
Uses of stress pronouns:
- To reinforce a subject pronoun eg. moi, je parle français
- After c’est and ce n’est pas eg. C’est Paul? Non, ce n’est pas lui.
- In short sentences where there is no verb eg. Qui parle français ici? Moi!
- Before and after et and ou eg. Lui et moi, nous sommes français.
- After prepositions like de, avec, pour eg.Voici Thomas. Nous parlons souvent de lui.
