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Essential Question Words

Why This Matters

Questions are the engine of conversation. Without them, you can only make statements — which gets boring fast. Master these seven question words and you can ask about anything: people, places, times, reasons, and prices. You go from monologue to dialogue.

🦝 Remy says: "Knowing question words is like having a Swiss army knife. Once you have qui, quoi, où, quand, pourquoi, comment, combien — you can get information about literally anything. Questions = conversations = friendships!"

Core Lesson: Les Mots Interrogatifs

The Seven Essential Question Words

| French | Pronunciation | English | Used for | |

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-| | Qui? | [kee] | Who? | people | | Quoi? / Qu'est-ce que? | [kwah / kess kuh] | What? | things, actions | | Où? | [oo] | Where? | places | | Quand? | [kahn] | When? | time | | Pourquoi? | [poor-kwah] | Why? | reasons | | Comment? | [koh-mahn] | How? | manner, way | | Combien? | [kohn-byehn] | How much/many? | quantity, price |

Using Each One — Real Examples

QUI — Who

  • Qui est-ce? [kee ess] — Who is it?
  • Qui parle français ici? [kee parl frahn-seh ee-see] — Who speaks French here?
  • Avec qui tu viens? [ah-vek kee too vyehn] — Who are you coming with?

QUE / QU'EST-CE QUE — What

  • Qu'est-ce que tu fais? [kess kuh too feh] — What are you doing?
  • Qu'est-ce que tu manges? [kess kuh too mahnj] — What are you eating?
  • Tu fais quoi? [too feh kwah] — What are you doing? (casual)

OÙ — Where

  • Où habites-tu? [oo ah-beet too] — Where do you live?
  • Où est la gare? [oo eh la gar] — Where is the train station?
  • Tu vas où? [too vah oo] — Where are you going? (casual)

QUAND — When

  • Quand arrives-tu? [kahn ah-reev too] — When are you arriving?
  • Quand est ton anniversaire? [kahn eh tohn ah-nee-vehr-sehr] — When is your birthday?
  • Tu pars quand? [too par kahn] — When are you leaving? (casual)

POURQUOI — Why

  • Pourquoi tu pleures? [poor-kwah too plœr] — Why are you crying?
  • Pourquoi aimes-tu le français? [poor-kwah ehm too luh frahn-seh] — Why do you like French?
  • Response: Parce que... [pars kuh] — Because...

COMMENT — How

  • Comment allez-vous? [koh-mahn ah-lay voo] — How are you? (formal)
  • Comment s'appelle-t-il? [koh-mahn sah-pell teel] — What's his name?
  • Comment on dit "apple" en français? — How do you say "apple" in French?

COMBIEN — How much / How many

  • Combien ça coûte? [kohn-byehn sah koot] — How much does it cost?
  • Combien de frères as-tu? [kohn-byehn duh frehr ah too] — How many brothers do you have?
  • Combien de personnes? [kohn-byehn duh pehr-son] — How many people?

Two Ways to Ask Questions

Formal (inversion): Swap subject and verb: Où habites-tu? Casual (end the sentence with the question word): Tu habites où?

Both are correct. The casual form is more common in everyday speech.

🦝 Remy's trick: "When you don't know the formal structure, just put the question word at the END of a normal sentence and raise your voice. Tu manges quoi? Tu vas où? Tu pars quand? Native speakers use this all the time — it's not lazy, it's natural!"

📝 Exercise 1 — Fill in the Blank

Choose the correct question word (qui, où, quand, pourquoi, comment, combien, qu'est-ce que):

  1. _____ tu aimes le français? (why)
  2. _____ est ton meilleur ami? (who)
  3. _____ ça coûte? (how much)
  4. _____ tu habites? (where)
  5. _____ tu t'appelles? (what/how — for names)

✅ Answers:

  1. Pourquoi tu aimes le français?
  2. Qui est ton meilleur ami?
  3. Combien ça coûte?
  4. Où tu habites?
  5. Comment tu t'appelles?

📝 Exercise 2 — Make a Sentence

  1. (Ask where the restaurant is)
  2. (Ask how many people are in her family)
  3. (Ask what he is eating)

✅ Model answers:

  1. Où est le restaurant?
  2. Combien de personnes dans sa famille?
  3. Qu'est-ce qu'il mange? / Il mange quoi?

📝 Exercise 3 — Translate

  1. When does the train leave? → Quand part le train?
  2. Why are you studying French? → Pourquoi tu étudies le français?
  3. Who is she? → Qui est-ce? / C'est qui?
  4. How do you say "hello" in French? → Comment on dit "hello" en français?
  5. How much does a coffee cost? → Combien coûte un café?

🎯 Today's Challenge

Ask five real questions in French today — about anything! You could ask yourself: Qu'est-ce que je mange ce soir? Où est mon téléphone? Pourquoi j'apprends le français? Or write questions you'd want to ask a French speaker. The more you use question words, the more natural they become.

⭐ Key Takeaways

  • The seven question words: qui, quoi/qu'est-ce que, où, quand, pourquoi, comment, combien — learn these and you can navigate any conversation
  • The casual formula: normal sentence + question word at the end works every time: Tu vas où? Tu pars quand?
  • Always respond to pourquoi with parce que (because) — it's the natural pair

Bonjour! Prêt à continuer la leçon? Allons-y!