A2 · Questions and negation
Questions by inversion
The main verb itself moves, which English never does.
At a glance
- Remember
- Here the main verb itself moves, with a hyphen.
- Form
- Parlez-vous français ?verb + pronoun
- Signal words
- -t-
- où
- comment
- pourquoi
- Trap
- Wrong:Part-t-il à midi ?Right:Part-il à midi ?
Your turn
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The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in French.
question marker
| verb + pronoun | Parlez-vous français ? |
| the inserted -t- | A-t-il compris ? |
| the noun stays in front | Pierre vient-il ? |
| with a question word | Où habitez-vous ? |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Verb and pronoun are joined by a hyphen.
Avez-vous une question ?Do you have a question?
A -t- goes between a vowel and il or elle.
Où va-t-elle ?Where is she going?
A noun subject stays in front and is echoed.
Le train part-il à midi ?Does the train leave at midday?
Inversion is almost never used with je.
Est-ce que je peux entrer ?May I come in?
Example sentences
Parlez-vous anglais ?Do you speak English?
Comment allez-vous ?How are you?
Que fait-il ici ?What is he doing here?
Vos parents habitent-ils à Paris ?Do your parents live in Paris?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The inserted -t- is neither a typo nor an ending: it appears only between a vowel and il or elle. A-t-il yes; Part-t-il no, because part already ends in a consonant. And with je the inversion sounds antique — puis-je survives, little else does — so there you use est-ce que.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
In an inverted question the pronoun moves behind the verb, joined by a hyphen: Parlez-vous français ? English inverts too, but only ever an auxiliary — «Are you coming?», «Have you seen it?» — and when there is no auxiliary it invents one rather than move the main verb: «Do you speak French?», never «Speak you French?». French moves the main verb without hesitation, which is the older English pattern still visible in «What say you?».
If the verb ends in a vowel and il or elle follows, a -t- is slipped in: A-t-il compris ? It means nothing at all; it is there so the two vowels do not collide.
If the subject is a noun, it stays at the front and is echoed by a pronoun: Pierre vient-il ? — «Pierre, is he coming?». English does this only in careless speech; in French it is the correct written form.
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