Asking Questions in French Using EST-CE QUE Flashcards
What does “est-ce que” technically mean?
Is/Is it that
When do you ask questions that START with “est-ce que”?
When you want to ask something like “do you…?” “have you…?” “does she…?” “did you…?”
When do you NOT ask questions that START with “est-ce que”?
When there are interrogative pronouns such as where/when/how/why before it: “WHERE did you…?” or “WHO does she…?”
How do you use “est-ce que”?
You put it at the beginning of the question and then insert the sentence built in a “normal way” (when you haven’t inverted the verb and the subject)
How do you ask the question “Are you French?” (without the who/why/when/where before it) in French using “est-ce que” and what is an important thing to note in it?
You first put the question in the right order (built in the “normal way”):
“Are you French?” —–> “You are French”
Then, translate it in French:
“You are French” —–> “Tu es Français(e)”
Now just add “est-ce que” in front of it:
“Tu es Français(e)” —–> “Est-ce que tu es Français(e)?”
*Important Note: “Est-ce que tu es Français(e)?” has the word “French” written as “Français(e)” with brackets around the “e” because you add the “e” depending on which gender you’re speaking to. If it’s a male, you don’t add the “e.” If it’s a female, then you add the “e”
How do you ask “Are you coming to the cinema with us?” using est-ce que?
1) “Are you coming to the cinema with us this evening?” —-> “You are coming to the cinema with us this evening”
2) “You are coming to the cinema with us this evening” —-> “Tu viens au cinéma avec nous ce soir”
3) “Tu viens au cinéma avec nous ce soir” —-> “Est-ce que tu viens au cinéma avec nous ce soir?”
How do you ask “Are you eating at the restaurant today?” using est-ce que and what are 2 important things to note about it?
- “You are eating at the restaurant today”
- “Tu manges au restaurant aujourd’hui”
- “Est-ce que tu es manges au restaurant aujourd’hui?” / “Est-ce que vous mangez au restaurant aujourd’hui?”
*Important note: In French, you don’t say “You are eating” so you just translate it to “tu manges” or “vous mangez” (depending on how close you are with the person you’re talking to and how respectful you need to be) which simply means “you eat”
**Important note: Sometimes, when you have “at” and “the” right next to each other, you say “au” rather than “sur le” or “à le”
How do you ask “Did the children go to the swimming pool yesterday?” using est-ce que (even though it’s in past tense) and what’s an important thing to note?
- “The children went to the swimming pool yesterday”
- Translate it using passé compose: “Les enfants sont allés à la piscine hier”
- “Est-ce que les enfants sont allés à la piscine hier?”
*Important note: Mostly, when “to” and “the” are next to each other, it’s “à la/le.” When “at” and “the” are next to each other, it’s “au.”
How do you say “Have they finished their homework?” using est-ce que and what’s an important thing to note?
- They have finished their homework
- Translate it using passé compose: “Ils/elles ont fini leurs devoirs”
- “Est-ce que ils ont fini leurs devoirs?” or “Est-ce qu’elles ont fini leurs devoirs?”
*Important note: The reason why the “e” in “que” disspeared in “Est-ce qu’elles” and was replaced with an apostrophe instead was because there were 2 vowels right next to each other.
“Do you like apples?” using est-ce que
- “You like apples”
- “Tu aimes les pommes”
- “Est-ce que tu aimes les pommes?”
“Do you have a brother?” using est-ce que
- “You have a brother”
- “Tu as un frère”
- “Est-ce que tu as un frère?”
“Have you eaten your vegetables?” using est-ce que
- “You have eaten your vegetables”
- “Tu as mangé tes légumes”
- “Est-ce que tu as mangé tes légumes?”
