|
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.

You take part in all our meetings.
- Est-ce que tu participes à toutes nos réunions ?

Do you take part in all our meetings?
- Il joue au football.

He plays soccer.
- Est-ce qu'il joue au football ?

Does he play soccer?
- Marie aime la peinture.

Marie is fond of painting.
- Est-ce que Marie aime la peinture ?

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.

You take part in all our meetings.
becomes:
- Participes-tu à toutes nos réunions ?

Do you take part in all our meetings?
Note: a dash must be included between the verb and the subject.
- Il joue au football.

He plays soccer.
- Joue-t-il au football ?

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.

Marie is fond of painting.
- Marie aime-t-elle la peinture ?

Is Marie found 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.

You take part in all our meetings.
- Tu participes à toutes nos réunions ?

Do you take part in all our meetings?
- Il joue au football.

He plays soccer.
- Il joue au football ?

Does he play soccer?
- Marie aime la peinture.

Marie is fond of painting.
- Marie aime la peinture ?

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?
|