A1 · Questions and negation
The question words
«What» splits into three, and one of them is an adjective.
At a glance
- Remember
- «What» is que, quoi or quel, depending on where it stands.
- Form
- quiwho
- Signal words
- qui
- que
- où
- quel
- combien
- Trap
- Wrong:Que heure est-il ?Right:Quelle heure est-il ?
Your turn
5 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself4 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
The form
The forms and what they mean
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in French.
| who | qui |
| what | que, quoi |
| where, when | où, quand |
| how, why | comment, pourquoi |
| how many | combien de |
| which, what (before a noun) | quel, quelle, quels, quelles |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
qui asks about people, que about things.
Qui est là ? Que fais-tu ?Who is there? What are you doing?
quel agrees with the noun.
Quelle heure est-il ?What time is it?
After combien comes de with no article.
Combien de personnes viennent ?How many people are coming?
At the end of a sentence it is quoi, not que.
Tu penses à quoi ?What are you thinking about?
Example sentences
Où est la gare, s’il vous plaît ?Where is the station, please?
Quel âge as-tu ?How old are you?
Pourquoi est-ce que tu ris ?Why are you laughing?
Combien ça coûte ?How much does it cost?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
quel is an adjective and not a stand-alone question word: it always sits with a noun and agrees with it. «What is your name?» is Quel est ton nom ? with quel, because the question is about a noun; «What are you doing?» is Que fais-tu ? with que, because it is about a verb. English uses one word for both, so the choice has to be made deliberately.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
The main ones are qui(who)que(what)où(where)quand(when)comment(how)pourquoi(why)combien(how much) Most of them map onto English one for one and cost nothing.
The exception is «what», which does three separate jobs in English and needs three different French words. In front of a verb it is que: Que fais-tu ? At the end of a sentence, or after a preposition, it is quoi: Tu fais quoi ?, Tu penses à quoi ? And in front of a noun it is quel: «what time», «what day» are quelle heure, quel jour.
That third one is not a question word at all but an adjective, and it agrees: quel, quelle, quels, quelles. Since English «what» never changes shape, there is nothing to remind you that this one does.
How well do you know this topic?
This is filled in automatically after you practise. You can change it here at any time.
Next on the path: 32 · Accents: é, è, êBack to the learning path
The verbs on this page, in every form: être · faire · venir · plaire · penser · rire