How to ask questions
In French, you can ask a question in several different ways.
1. You can simply raise your voice in a questioning way:
- tu as faim ? - are you hungry?
- elle est fatiguée ? - is she tired?
2. You can use est-ce que at the start of a phrase:
- est-ce que tu as faim ? - are you hungry?
- est-ce qu'elle est fatiguée ? - is she tired?
3. You can change the order of the subject and verb:
- as-tu faim ? - are you hungry?
- est-elle fatiguée ? - is she tired?
All are perfectly acceptable ways to ask a question.
What if the verb ends in a vowel?
If the verb ends in a vowel with il/elle/on, you need to add -t when you change the order around:
- a-t-il faim ? - is he hungry?
- joue-t-elle au tennis ? - does she play tennis?
In the perfect tense, you turn the avoir and être part around and add a hyphen:
- as-tu parlé à Paul ? - have you spoken to Paul?
- êtes-vous allés au restaurant ? - did you go to the restaurant?
In the immediate future tense, you turn the aller part around and add a hyphen:
- vas-tu parler à Paul ? - are you going to speak to Paul?
- allez-vous manger des frites ? - are you going to eat chips?
