Question Words

Question Words | Les expressions interrogatives

Qui means who or whom and is used when asking about people.
When whom is the object of the question, qui can be followed by either est-ce que or an inversion.

* Inversion = verb + hyphen + subject/pronoun: aimez-vous

Qui

Qui est-ce que vous aimez? / Qui aimez-vous? | Whom do you like?
Qui est-ce que tu vois? / Qui vois-tu? | Whom do you see?

When who is the subject of the question, you can use either qui or qui est-ce qui.
The word order cannot be inverted and the verb is always third person singular.

Qui veut le faire? / Qui est-ce qui veut le faire? | Who wants to do it?
Qui parle? / Qui est-ce qui parle? | Who is speaking?

Que means what and is used to refer to ideas or things.
When what (que) is the object of the question, it can be followed by est-ce que or an inversion.

* Inversion = verb + hyphen + subject/pronoun: veut-il

Que

Qu’est-ce qu’il veut? / Que veut-il? | What does he want?
Qu’est-ce que tu penses de mon jeu? / Que penses-tu de mon jeu? | What do you think of my game?

When what is the subject of the question, you must use qu’est-ce qui followed by a verb in the third person singular, with no inversion.

Qu’est-ce qui se passe? | What’s happening?
Qu’est-ce qui est tombé sur la terre? | What fell on the ground?

Quel / Quelle / Quels / Quelles are interrogative adjectives and must agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the noun each modifies. They are used to ask for specific information about a noun.
Questions with quel may be asked with an inversion or est-ce que.

* Inversion = verb + hyphen + subject/pronoun: veux-tu.

Quel livre (m. s.) veux-tu? / Quel livre est-ce que tu veux? | Which book do you want?

Quelle heure (f. s.) est-il? | What time is it?

Quels crayons (m. pl.) de couleur prend-t-elle? | Which colouring pencils is she taking?

Quelles pommes (f. pl.) aime-t-il? / Quelles pommes est-ce qu’il aime? | Which apples does he like?

To ask a question in which “what” comes after the verb, use quoi (this is an informal construction).

Tu veux quoi? | You want what?
C’est quoi, ça? Ça c’est quoi? | What’s that?
Quoi? (Comment?) | What?

When “what” follows a preposition, you usually need quoi in French.
In a simple question, use quoi followed by either an inversion or est-ce que.

* Inversion = verb + hyphen + subject/pronoun: parlez-vous

De quoi parlez-vous? De quoi est-ce que vous parlez? | What are you talking about?
Sur quoi tire-t-il? Sur quoi est-ce qu’il tire? | What is he aiming at?

In a question or statement with a relative clause (a clause that completes or complements the thought), use quoi + subject + verb.

Sais-tu à quoi il pense? | Do you know what he’s thinking about?
Je me demande avec quoi c’est écrit. | I wonder what it’s written with.

Lequel / Lequelle / Lesquels / Lesquelles means which / which one(s) and replaces quel + noun.
It has four basic forms, because it agrees in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the noun each replaces.

Quel livre (m. s.) veux-tu? Lequel veux-tu? | Which book do you want? / Which one do you want?

Je veux la pomme (f. s.) là-bas. Lequelle? | I want that apple over there. Which one?

Quels crayons (m. pl) aimez-vous? Lesquels aimez-vous? | Which pencils do you like? Which ones do you like?

Nous mangeons les autres bananes (f. pl.). Lesquelles? | We are eating the other bananas. Which ones?

Comment is an interrogative adverb and usually means how. It can be used to ask questions with either an inversion or est-ce que.

* Inversion = verb + hyphen + subject/pronoun: allez-vous

Comment a-t-elle réussi lors de son entrevue? | How did she do during her interview?
Est-ce qu’elle a réussi son entrevue?
Comment allez-vous? / Comment ça va? | How are you?

Que / Qu’ is more or less interchangeable with comme.

Qu’il fait beau! | How beautiful the weather is!
Que c’est difficile! | How difficult it is!

Où is an interrogative adverb and means where. It can be used to ask questions with either an inversion or est-ce que.

* Inversion = verb + hyphen + subject/pronoun: habite-t-elle

Où habite-t-elle? Où est-ce qu‘elle habite? | Where does she live?

Pourquoi is an interrogative adverb and means why. It can be used to ask questions with either an inversion or est-ce que.

* Inversion = verb + hyphen + subject/pronoun: as-tu

Pourquoi as-tu fait cela? Pourquoi est ce que tu as fait cela? | Why did you do that?

Quand is an interrogative adverb and means when. It can be used to ask questions with either an inversion or est-ce que.

* Inversion = verb + hyphen + subject/pronoun: manges-tu

Quand manges-tu? Quand est-ce que tu manges? | When do you eat?

Combien de is an interrogative adverb and means how many. It can be used to ask questions with either an inversion or est-ce que.

* Inversion = verb + hyphen + subject/pronoun

Combien de livres veut-il? Combien de livres est-ce qu‘il veut? | How many books does he want?
Combien d’amis as-tu invités? Combien d’amis est-ce que tu as invités? | How many friends have
you invited?

Combien is an interrogative adverb and means how much. It can be used to ask questions with either an inversion or est-ce que.

* Inversion = verb + hyphen + subject/pronoun

Combien coûte cette robe? Combien est-ce que cette robe coûte? | How much is that dress?
C’est combien? Combien est-ce que c’est? | How much is that?