Yes-no questions: intonation, est-ce que and inversion

Kurz erklärt

French has three common ways to ask a question that can be answered with yes or no. In everyday speech, you can keep normal statement order and raise your voice at the end. You can also put est-ce que before the statement; this is clear and works in most situations. Inversion, with the verb before the subject pronoun, is more formal and is especially common in careful speech and writing.

Bildung

Intonation: subject + verb + … ?; est-ce que: Est-ce que + subject + verb + … ?; inversion: verb-subject pronoun + … ?

Verwendung

• Use rising intonation for common, informal spoken questions.
• Use est-ce que for a neutral, straightforward question.
• Use inversion mainly in formal or careful French; join the verb and subject pronoun with a hyphen.
• With il, elle, or on, add -t- between two vowel sounds: A-t-il…?

Beispiele

• Tu travailles demain ? — Are you working tomorrow?
• Est-ce que vous aimez ce restaurant ? — Do you like this restaurant?
• Parlez-vous français ? — Do you speak French?
• A-t-elle un billet ? — Does she have a ticket?

Typischer Fehler

❌ Est-ce que aimez-vous ce restaurant ?

✅ Est-ce que vous aimez ce restaurant ?

Do not combine est-ce que with inversion. After est-ce que, keep normal subject-verb order.

Merke

Choose one question pattern at a time. In writing, always include the question mark.