French: Asking Questions

This section explains Asking Questions in French (Poser des questions en français). In French, questions can be formed in several different ways, depending on the level of formality and the context. Here are the key methods used to ask questions, with examples for both Foundation and Higher tier levels.

Foundation Tier

Raising the Intonation (L'intonation montante)

This is the simplest way to ask a question in spoken French. You keep the sentence structure the same as in a statement but raise your voice at the end.

🔹 Example:

• Statement: Tu aimes le chocolat. (You like chocolate.)
• Question: Tu aimes le chocolat ? (Do you like chocolate?)

💡 This method is informal and mainly used in spoken French.

Using “Est-ce que”

The phrase "Est-ce que" is placed at the beginning of a statement to turn it into a question. This structure is used frequently in both written and spoken French.

🔹 Example:

• Statement: Tu aimes le sport. (You like sport.)
• Question: Est-ce que tu aimes le sport ? (Do you like sport?)

💡 This is more formal than intonation and commonly used in spoken and written French.

Using a Question Word (Mots interrogatifs)

Question words are used at the beginning of the sentence to ask for specific information.

🔹 Common Question Words:

💡 "Quoi" is informal, while "Que" is more formal.

Using Inversion (Inversion du sujet et du verbe)

This is a formal way to ask questions. It involves reversing the subject and verb and linking them with a hyphen.

🔹 Example:

• Statement: Tu parles anglais. (You speak English.)
• Question: Parles-tu anglais ? (Do you speak English?)

💡 If the verb ends in a vowel and the subject is il/elle/on, add "-t-" for pronunciation:

• Aime-t-il le football ? (Does he like football?)

Higher Tier

Using More Complex Question Words

Higher-tier students should be able to use longer question phrases for more precision.

🔹 Examples:

• À quelle heure commence le film ? (At what time does the film start?)
• De quoi parles-tu ? (What are you talking about?)
• Avec qui vas-tu au cinéma ? (With whom are you going to the cinema?)

💡 Prepositions like "avec" (with), "de" (about), "à" (to) are placed before the question word.

Using the Conditional in Questions

The conditional tense is useful for polite or hypothetical questions.

🔹 Examples:

• Pourriez-vous m’aider ? (Could you help me?)
• Voudriez-vous du café ? (Would you like some coffee?)

💡 These structures are more polite and commonly used in formal situations.

Indirect Questions (Les questions indirectes)

Indirect questions are more formal and are often used in writing or polite speech.

🔹 Examples:

• Je me demande où elle habite. (I wonder where she lives.)
• Peux-tu me dire combien ça coûte ? (Can you tell me how much it costs?)

💡 Unlike direct questions, subject-verb inversion is not used in indirect questions.

Summary Table: Question Formation

Key Tips for GCSE Exams

✅ Use a variety of question structures to demonstrate a higher level of French.
✅Remember word order – in inversion, the verb comes before the subject.
✅Use polite forms (e.g. “Pourriez-vous…”) in formal writing and speaking tasks.
✅Practise pronunciation of inversion questions (e.g. Aime-t-il…?).

By mastering these different ways of asking questions, you will improve both your spoken and written French skills! 🎯