How to Ask Questions in French: 3 Essential Structures

Knowing how to ask questions in French is essential if you want to have real conversations, whether you are meeting someone, travelling, ordering in a restaurant or asking for help. The good news is that French questions follow a few clear patterns. Once you understand them, you can choose a structure that suits both the situation and the level of formality.

In this guide, you will discover how to form French questions using intonation, est-ce que and inversion. You will also find useful question words, formal and informal structures, and common mistakes to avoid. If you would like to practise asking questions in real conversations and receive personalised feedback, my French Conversation Lessons can help you speak with greater confidence.

There are three main ways to ask questions in French: raising your intonation, using est-ce que, or inverting the subject and the verb. The meaning can remain the same, but the structure and register change.

Questions with Intonation

The simplest way to form a French question is to keep normal sentence order and raise your voice at the end. This structure is very common in everyday spoken French.

• Tu viens ce soir ? (Are you coming tonight?)
• Vous habitez ici depuis longtemps ? (Have you lived here for a long time?)

You can also use a question word while keeping standard word order:

• Tu vas où ? (Where are you going?)
• Vous en pensez quoi ? (What do you think about it?)

These structures are frequent in spoken French, but some of them may sound too informal in formal writing or professional situations.

Using Est-ce que to Ask a Question

Est-ce que is an easy and reliable way to ask questions in French. Simply place it before a statement without changing the usual subject-verb order.

• Est-ce qu’elle va bien ? (Is she well?)
• Est-ce que vous avez des croissants ? (Do you have any croissants?)

Before a vowel or silent h, que becomes qu’. This neutral structure is suitable for most everyday situations.

Est-ce que is neutral and works well in most everyday situations. It is especially useful for learners because you do not need to change the order of the subject and verb.

Questions with Inversion

Inversion places the conjugated verb before the subject pronoun, with a hyphen between them. This structure is mainly used in formal French and writing.

• Viens-tu ce soir ? (Are you coming tonight?)
• Où allez-vous ? (Where are you going?)

With a noun subject, repeat the subject using the corresponding pronoun:

• Marie vient-elle ce soir ? (Is Marie coming tonight?)

Before il, elle or on, add -t- when the verb ends in a vowel:

• Parle-t-il français ? (Does he speak French?)

The t is added only to make the question easier to pronounce.

French question words help you ask for specific information rather than a simple yes or no. They can be used with intonation, est-ce que or inversion, depending on the register you need.

Asking Questions with Qui

Use qui to ask about a person. When qui is the subject of the verb, it can be followed directly by the verb:

• Qui vient ce soir ? (Who is coming tonight?)

When asking about the person receiving the action, you can use qui est-ce que or inversion:

• Qui est-ce que tu invites ? (Who are you inviting?)
• Qui invites-tu ? (Who are you inviting?)

After a preposition, use qui:

• Avec qui tu parles ? (Who are you talking to?)
• Pour qui est ce cadeau ? (Who is this present for?)

Do not confuse interrogative qui and que with relative pronouns. If you would like to review that separate grammar point, read this guide to the French pronouns qui and que.

Asking Questions with Que, Qu’est-ce que and Quoi

French has several ways to ask “what”. Your choice depends on the structure and register of the question.

Use qu’est-ce que before a subject and verb in a neutral question:

• Qu’est-ce qu’ils font ? (What are they doing?)
• Qu’est-ce que tu voudrais comme dessert ? (What would you like for dessert?)

Use que before inversion in a more formal question:

• Que voulez-vous ? (What do you want?)
• Use quoi at the end of an informal question or after a preposition:
• Tu fais quoi ? (What are you doing?)
• À quoi tu penses ? (What are you thinking about?)
• De quoi avez-vous besoin ? (What do you need?)

When “what” is the subject of the verb, use qu’est-ce qui:

• Qu’est-ce qui se passe ? (What is happening?)

Choosing the Correct Form of Quel

The French question word quel agrees in gender and number with the noun it describes. Use quel with a masculine singular noun, quelle with a feminine singular noun, quels with a masculine plural noun and quelles with a feminine plural noun.

• Quel film veux-tu voir ? (Which film do you want to see?)
• Quelle est ta couleur préférée ? (What is your favourite colour?)
• Quels livres est-ce que vous recommandez ? (Which books do you recommend?)
• Quelles langues parlez-vous ? (Which languages do you speak?)

French questions change according to the situation and the person you are speaking to. Intonation is common in relaxed conversation, est-ce que is generally neutral, and inversion is more formal.

In everyday speech, native speakers frequently use intonation and place the question word at the end. This is natural, but it is still important to recognise est-ce que and inversion because you will hear and read all three forms.

Choose vous when speaking to someone you do not know, an older person, a client or a group. Use tu with friends, relatives, children and people who have invited you to address them informally. The choice between tu and vous also affects how polite a question sounds.
To make your conversations flow more naturally, combine good question structures with these French phrases that help you sound more natural.

French questions change according to the situation and the person you are speaking to. Intonation is common in relaxed conversation, est-ce que is generally neutral, and inversion is more formal.

Negative questions in French follow the same three structures, but the negative words surround the conjugated verb. Ne comes before the verb, while pas normally follows it.

• Vous n’avez pas soif ? (Aren’t you thirsty?)
• Est-ce que vous n’avez pas soif ? (Aren’t you thirsty?)
• Ne voulez-vous pas entrer ? (Don’t you want to come in?)

When answering a negative question, use si to contradict the negative idea:

• Vous ne venez pas ? Si, je viens. (Aren’t you coming? Yes, I am.)
• Non, je ne viens pas. (No, I’m not.)

For a complete explanation of word order with ne… pas, pronouns and compound tenses, see how to make negative sentences in French.

French questions change according to the situation and the person you are speaking to. Intonation is common in relaxed conversation, est-ce que is generally neutral, and inversion is more formal.

Polite French questions depend on your choice of pronoun, structure and wording. Using vous and est-ce que is often sufficient, while the conditional can make a request softer and more courteous.

• Est-ce que vous avez des croissants ? (Do you have any croissants?)
• Pourriez-vous m’aider ? (Could you help me?)
• Est-ce que je pourrais réserver une table ? (Could I reserve a table?)
• Qu’est-ce que vous me conseillez ? (What do you recommend?)

The conditional is not required for every polite question, but it is particularly useful for requests. You can review its formation and uses in this lesson on the French present conditional.