Mission: find out about a new club member
Asking questions. Three ways to ask a yes/no question, and the question words you need to find things out.
FrenchA1 · Everyday lifeAbout 4 min: 2 reading, 2 practiceUpdated
- Ask a yes/no question by intonation, with est-ce que, or by inversion with vous
- Use où, quand, combien, comment, qui, qu'est-ce que and quel / quelle
- Turn a word on a card into a polite question
Everyday life: lesson 3 of 5
- A1 · Numbers and prices
- Mission: understand a price and a phone number 5 min
- A1 · Everyday life
- Mission: read the opening hours and plan your swim 6 min
- Mission: find out about a new club member 4 min
- Mission: make weekend plans with your neighbour 6 min
- Mission: find the tourist office 5 min
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Level Level A1 (around the DELF A1 exam). Real French: getting to know someone you have just met.
What it is
Your mission: at the welcome evening of your French club you meet Madame Lefèvre, a long-standing member you don't know yet. Ask her six polite questions with vous: nationality, age, where she lives, children, sport, and languages.
Yes/no questions can be made three ways, from most casual to most formal:
| How | Example |
|---|---|
| Rising voice | Vous habitez à Paris ? |
| Est-ce que + sentence | Est-ce que vous habitez à Paris ? |
| Swap verb and vous, with a hyphen | Habitez-vous à Paris ? |
All three mean "Do you live in Paris?". Est-ce que becomes est-ce qu' before a vowel: Est-ce qu'il travaille ?
Question words go at the start (with est-ce que) or, in speech, at the end:
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| où | where | Où est-ce que vous habitez ? |
| quand | when | Quand est-ce que vous partez ? |
| combien | how much, how many | Ça coûte combien ? |
| comment | how; what (name) | Comment vous appelez-vous ? |
| qui | who | Qui est-ce ? |
| qu'est-ce que | what | Qu'est-ce que vous faites ? |
| quel / quelle | which, what (+ noun) | Quelle est votre profession ? |
Quel agrees with the noun: quel âge (m), quelle nationalité (f), quels sports (m pl), quelles langues (f pl). All four sound the same.
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
Which question word asks "where"?
- quand is when
- combien is how much / how many
Show answer
où. où = where.
Why it matters
Getting to know someone means turning a topic (nationalité, profession, enfants) into a question. With someone you have just met, use vous and a mix of question forms.
Worked example
Topics and the questions you could ask Madame Lefèvre:
- nationalité → Quelle est votre nationalité ?
- âge → Quel âge avez-vous ?
- habiter → Où est-ce que vous habitez ?
- enfants → Est-ce que vous avez des enfants ?
- sport → Qu'est-ce que vous faites comme sport ?
- frères et sœurs → Combien de frères et sœurs avez-vous ?
Combien before a noun takes de: combien de frères.
Real French: in speech, the rising voice is by far the most common: Tu habites où ?, Vous travaillez où ?, with the question word at the end. Inversion (Habitez-vous …) is mostly written or formal.
Common mistake
Forgetting the hyphen in inversion: wrong: Habitez vous à Paris ? is written Habitez-vous à Paris ? At A1, inversion is safest with vous only; with other subjects, use est-ce que.
And quel must match its noun: quelle nationalité (feminine), not wrong: quel nationalité.
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
« … est votre profession ? »
- profession is feminine
- That needs a verb after it, not est votre
Show answer
Quelle. quelle + feminine noun.
Key terms
- est-ce que
- turns a sentence into a yes/no question
- où / quand / combien
- where / when / how much, how many
- comment
- how; what (your name)
- qui
- who
- qu'est-ce que
- what (+ subject and verb)
- quel, quelle, quels, quelles
- which, what (+ noun)
- inversion
- verb before subject, with a hyphen: avez-vous
Practise the key terms
Tap a card to turn it over. 7 cards.
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| est-ce que | turns a sentence into a yes/no question |
| où / quand / combien | where / when / how much, how many |
| comment | how; what (your name) |
| qui | who |
| qu'est-ce que | what (+ subject and verb) |
| quel, quelle, quels, quelles | which, what (+ noun) |
| inversion | verb before subject, with a hyphen: avez-vous |
Practice
Quick quiz
Tap an answer to check it.
Card: « âge ». Which question is correct?
- âge is masculine
- Age uses quel
Show answer
Quel âge avez-vous ?. quel + âge (masculine) + avoir.
Which is a correct yes/no question?
- que becomes qu' before a vowel
- A question needs a question mark
Show answer
Est-ce qu'elle parle anglais ?. est-ce qu' + elle.
Card: « frères et sœurs ».
- combien + noun needs de
- This asks "which brothers and sisters", and quel would need to agree
Show answer
Combien de frères et sœurs avez-vous ?. combien de + noun.
Build the sentence
Build "Where do you live?" with est-ce que.
Show answer
Où est-ce que vous habitez ?. Question word, est-ce que, subject, verb.
Practise speaking
Studyfern has no voice tools of its own. To practise out loud, copy this prompt into a voice-capable AI assistant and talk with it.
Mission role-play. You are Madame Lefèvre, a friendly long-standing member of a French club, meeting me at the welcome evening, at level A1. Speak slowly and clearly. Give me one topic at a time from this list: nationalité, âge, profession, habiter, enfants, frères et sœurs, sport, musique, langues, week-end. I will ask you a polite question with vous using that topic, and you answer it briefly with a made-up answer. Use only these question words in your corrections: est-ce que, où, quand, combien, comment, qui, qu'est-ce que, quel, quelle. After each question, tell me what kind of mistake I made, if any, and let me try again. When I have asked questions on eight topics, say « Mission accomplie ! » and give me one tip. Keep every reply under 2 sentences. Explain corrections in English.
Listen too. Listen to native speakers before and after: see the free listening and shadowing links.
Good to know. AI feedback on pronunciation is hit and miss, so check yourself against native recordings. Many assistants turn your speech into text first, so a vowel or liaison you got wrong may be silently “heard” as the right word. Don't share personal details: use a made-up name and town.
New to this? Read Practising speaking with an AI.
In short
- Yes/no: rising voice, est-ce que, or inversion (habitez-vous ?).
- où, quand, combien (de), comment, qui, qu'est-ce que.
- quel / quelle / quels / quelles agree with the noun.
- With someone you have just met, ask politely with vous.
Mastery check
Answer without looking back. Score 80% or more and the lesson is marked done. Your result is kept only in this browser.
Check yourself
Answer in your head first, then open the answer. Nothing is saved.
Make a question with est-ce que: « Vous aimez le sport. »
Show answer
Est-ce que vous aimez le sport ?
Card « langues »: ask which languages Madame Lefèvre speaks.
Show answer
Quelles langues parlez-vous ? (or: Quelles langues est-ce que vous parlez ?)
What does « Ça coûte combien ? » mean?
Show answer
How much does it cost?
Further reading
- RFI, Journal en français facile: listen to how interviewers phrase their questions, and notice which are said with a rising voice.
- TV5MONDE, Apprendre le français, free A1 exercises on question words.
Finished? Mark it done to fill in your leaf on the French map.