The key question words
Question words (French mots interrogatifs) open an open question: one you answer with a piece of information, not just yes or no.
| Question word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| qu’est-ce que / quoi | What? |
| qui | Who? |
| où | Where? (où has an accent, ou = or) |
| quand | When? |
| comment | How? |
| pourquoi | Why? |
| combien | How much? / How many? |
| quel / quelle | Which? / What? (before a noun; also quels, quelles) |
How to build the question
Standard — question word + est-ce que
Question word + est-ce que + statement. This works with every question word in every situation. It replaces the English do/does.
Où est-ce que tu vas ?
Where are you going?
Quand est-ce que tu arrives ?
When are you arriving?
Comment est-ce qu’on dit ça en français ?
How do you say that in French?
Casual speech — question word at the end
The statement stays as it is and the question word goes at the end, where the information would be in the answer.
Tu habites où ?
Where do you live?
Tu pars quand ?
When are you leaving?
Tu t’appelles comment ?
What's your name? (literally: how do you call yourself?)
Four question words in more detail
What? — qu’est-ce que / quoi
At the start of a question say qu’est-ce que (que + est-ce que); at the end say quoi.
Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?
What are you doing?
Tu fais quoi ?
What are you doing?
Who? — qui
When qui asks about the subject, the verb follows directly, without est-ce que.
Qui parle français ici ?
Who speaks French here?
Qui vient demain ?
Who is coming tomorrow?
How much? — combien
Before a noun it is combien de (before a vowel combien d’).
Tu as combien de frères ?
How many brothers do you have?
Combien d’enfants est-ce que vous avez ?
How many children do you have?
Why? — pourquoi
The answer with “because” starts with parce que.
Pourquoi est-ce que tu apprends le français ?
Why are you learning French?
Parce que j’aime la France.
Because I like France.
Set questions to learn as chunks
Learn these short everyday questions as a whole.
Comment ça va ?
How are you?
Où est la gare ?
Where is the station?
Combien ça coûte ?
How much does it cost?
Quelle heure est-il ?
What time is it?
Quel âge as-tu ?
How old are you?
