28- Closed Questions in French (Les Questions Fermées): Formation and Usage Guide

Learn How to Formulate and Use Closed Questions Effectively in French What is a closed question ? A closed question is a question that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no" or by providing very specific and limited information ; it does not require an elaborate or detailed response. For example, "Are you ready ?" is a closed question. Tu as mangé ? / Est-ce qu'il pleut dehors ? / Aimes-tu le chocolat ? To these questions, one can respond with "yes" or "no". THE 3 WAYS TO ASK A QUESTION IN FRENCH : 1- Intonation : A normal (affirmative) sentence can be considered as a question if the intonation rises at the end. In writing, just add the question mark "?". Tu apprends le français = Tu apprends le français ? // Vous parlez espagnol = Vous parlez espagnol ? This type of question is appropriate in all conversations. Pay close attention to pronunciation to make the question clear ; if you're not sure, use “EST-CE QUE” ! 12- Est-ce que ? “EST-CE QUE” is the most commonly used interrogative form for closed questions in French and the most practical. I recommend using “EST-CE QUE” if you are a beginner in French, it is pronounced "esske”. The construction is very simple : EST-CE QUE + sentence + “?” // ex: EST-CE QUE tu apprends le français ? 13- Subject-verb inversion : This type of question is very formal ! You have to invert the subject and verb of your sentence to form the question. Here's an example : Without inversion: Vous êtes Italien ? // With inversion: Êtes-vous Italien ? The subject (vous) and the verb (êtes) have inverted their positions in the sentence. Don't forget the hyphen (–) between the verb and the subject. Other examples: Vous parlez anglais ? // Parlez-vous anglais ? Nous avons rendez-vous à 19h ? // Avons-nous rendez-vous à 19h ? Small difficulty: vowels ! You know that in French, we don't like when two vowels follow each other at the end of one word and the beginning of the following word. To make asking questions easier to pronounce, we add a "t" between the verb and the subject when the verb ends with a vowel and the subject begins with a vowel : Donne-elle des cours ? NO ! = Donne-t-elle des cours ? YES ! Habite-elle en France ? NO ! = Habite-t-il en France ? YES !