Forming Questions and Expressing Negation

Forming Questions and Expressing Negation

FORMING QUESTIONS

There are several ways to form questions in French. Here they are from the simplest to the most sophisticated:

• INTONATION

• EST-CE QUE

• INVERSTION

Multiple Choice

How many ways there are in French to ask a question?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

Intonation

• To ask a question with intonation it's simple!

• Just add a question mark at the end of sentence and chance your intonation by rising your voice.

• Vous habitez à Paris. You live in Paris.

• Vous habitez à Paris? Do you live in Paris?

Est-ce que...

• The 2nd (and most common) way to ask question in French is to use the expression "est-ce que"

• Just place the expression "est-ce que" in front of a statement to turn it into a question.

• Tu parles français. You speak French.

• Est-ce que tu parles français? Do you speak French?

Inversion

• The last and most sophisticated way to ask question is called "inversion". It is the most formal way to talk.

• It's call like this because you have to invert the subject pronoun and the verb.

• Vous mangez à la cantine. You eat at the cafeteria.

• Mangez-vous à la cafétéria? Do you eat at the cafeteria?

3 things to remember with inversion

• 1) you can only use inversion with subject pronouns (je/tu/il/elle/on/nous/vous/ils/elles)

• 2) You have to put an hypen (-) between the subject pronoun and the verb.

• With the subject pronoun il / elle & on, you have to add -t- in between to create a smoothe "liaison"(link)

• Aimez-vous l'histoire? Do you like History?

• Habite-t-il à Cincinnati? Does he live in Cincinnati?

"Il y a" and "C'est"

• The inversion form of "il y a" (There is/are) is "Y a-t-il"

• Il y a un tableau dans la classe. > Y a-t-il un tableau dans la classe?

• The inversion form of "c'est" (this is) is "Est-ce"

• C'est le professeur de français > Est-ce le professeur de français?

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EXPRESSION NEGATION

To make a sentence negative you need 2 words

1) Place "ne" (or "n' " before a vowel sound) before the conjugated verb.

2) Place "pas" after the conjugated verb.

Examples:

Je dessine bien. => Je ne dessine pas bien.

Elles étudient la chimie => Elles n'étudient pas la chimie.

YOUR TURN!

NOW THE SAME THING BUT WITH INVERSION!