How do French people convert a declarative sentence into an interrogative one?

1. Using Est-ce-que...

Est-ce que... is very commonly used.

  • Tu participes à toutes nos réunions. Audio. Press to listen!
    You take part in all our meetings.
  • Est-ce que tu participes à toutes nos réunions ? Audio. Press to listen!
    Do you take part in all our meetings?
  • Il joue au football. Audio. Press to listen!
    He plays soccer.
  • Est-ce qu'il joue au football ? Audio. Press to listen!
    Does he play soccer?
  • Marie aime la peinture. Audio. Press to listen!
    Marie is fond of painting.
  • Est-ce que Marie aime la peinture ? Audio. Press to listen!
    Is Marie fond of painting?
  • Nos amis préparent le dîner.
    Our friends are preparing the dinner.
  • Est-ce que nos amis préparent le dîner ?
    Do our friends prepare the dinner?

2. Reverting the subject and the verb

  • Tu participes à toutes nos réunions. Audio. Press to listen!
    You take part in all our meetings.

becomes:

  • Participes-tu à toutes nos réunions ? Audio. Press to listen!
    Do you take part in all our meetings?

Note: a dash must be included between the verb and the subject.

  • Il joue au football. Audio. Press to listen!
    He plays soccer.
  • Joue-t-il au football ? Audio. Press to listen!
    Does he play soccer?

Note: add -t- between the verb and the subject when the verb ends with a vowel and the subject begins with a vowel.

  • Marie aime la peinture. Audio. Press to listen!
    Marie is fond of painting.
  • Marie aime-t-elle la peinture ? Audio. Press to listen!
    Is Marie fond of painting?

Note: You can't say : "Aime Marie la peinture ?" Instead, replace the firstname by the corresponding pronoun and keep the firstname at the beginning of the phrase. Here is a last example with the same rule:

  • Nos amis préparent le dîner.
    Our friends are preparing the dinner.
  • Nos amis préparent-ils le dîner ?
    Do our friends prepare the dinner?

3. Changing your voice tone

Even easier! Just add a question mark and change your voice tone.

Let's get the examples we used in the previous pages:

  • Tu participes à toutes nos réunions. Audio. Press to listen!
    You take part in all our meetings.
  • Tu participes à toutes nos réunions ? Audio. Press to listen!
    Do you take part in all our meetings?
  • Il joue au football. Audio. Press to listen!
    He plays soccer.
  • Il joue au football ? Audio. Press to listen!
    Does he play soccer?
  • Marie aime la peinture. Audio. Press to listen!
    Marie is fond of painting.
  • Marie aime la peinture ? Audio. Press to listen!
    Is Marie found of painting?
  • Nos amis préparent le dîner.
    Our friends are preparing the dinner.
  • Nos amis préparent le dîner ?
    Do our friends prepare the dinner?