»

Asking Questions — Poser des questions by Dawn-Michelle Baude, Ph.D.

Questions are an important part of playing with friends. When you have some friends over, you'll ask them if they want to play basketball or watch a movie. Questions take different forms. Some use quel/quelle, quand and combien — the question words you learned in Chapter 2 — and some are inverted! Sometimes they do both.

“Inversion” means “changing the order” of the words. You can think of it as “reversing” the order, because it's like going backwards. The difference between “Can you come over?”and “You can come over” is inversion.

“Can you” is inverted, because it's a question. The verb “can” goes in front of the subject “you.” But “You can” isn't inverted, because “you” is in its normal place in most sentences. In “You can,” the subject “you” precedes the verb “can.”

French kids invert their questions just like you do. But instead of using “can,” they use the right form of pouvoir, and instead of using “want,” they use the right form of vouloir. Ready? Here are the questions you need to ask someone over:

IMPORTANT TIPS TRUCS IMPORTANTS

French has more personal pronouns than we do in English. We have “I,” “you,” “he,” “she,” “it,” “we,” and “they.” But French has je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, and elles. In English, you can't tell if “they” are boys or girls or both. But elles, the French pronoun for “they,” tells us that the group is made up of all girls. Ils can be all boys, or a mix of girls and boys.
<tgroup cols="2" align="center"> <colspec colnum="1" colname="col1" colsep="0" rowsep="0" colwidth="50%" align="left"/> <colspec colnum="2" colname="col2" colsep="0" rowsep="0" colwidth="50%" align="left"/> <thead> <row rowsep="1"> <td><p>English</p></td> <td><p>French</p></td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><p>Do you want to come to my house?</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Veux-tu venir chez moi?</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>Can you come today?</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Peux-tu venir aujourd'hui?</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>Can you come tomorrow?</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Peux-tu venir demain?</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>Can you come after school?</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Peux-tu venir après l'école?</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>Can you come for sleep-over?</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Peux-tu dormir chez moi?</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>Can you ask your mom/dad?</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Peux-tu demander à ta mère/à ton père?</emphasis></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <h2>Answer words — <emphasis>Les mots pour répondre</emphasis></h2> <p>Questions always help you learn a language, because as soon as you learn the questions, you have most of, or even all, the words for the response. Sometimes you just need to add a <emphasis>oui</emphasis> (“yes”) or a <emphasis>non</emphasis> (“no”), and start the sentence with <emphasis>je</emphasis> (“I”). And sometimes you have to get rid of the inversion. <emphasis>Peux-tu venir demain</emphasis>? (“Can you come tomorrow?”) becomes <emphasis>Je peux venir demain</emphasis> (“I can come tomorrow”). Look at the answers to common invitation questions below:</p> <div class="npsb"> <tip> <h2>IMPORTANT TIPS <emphasis>TRUCS IMPORTANTS</emphasis><inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="!.jpg" format="JPG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject></h2> <p>In French there are other common ways of asking questions. <emphasis>Est-ce que</emphasis> turns any statement into a question without inversion. <emphasis>Tu peux venir chez moi</emphasis> (“You can come to my house”) becomes <emphasis>Est-ce que tu peux venir chez moi</emphasis>? (“Can you come to my house?”). Another way is <emphasis>Qu'est-ce que</emphasis>, which means “what.” It gives us the popular question, <emphasis>Qu'est-ce que c'est</emphasis>? (“What is it?”).</p> </tip> </div> <table frame="none" width="100%"> <title/> <tgroup cols="2" align="center"> <colspec colnum="1" colname="col1" colsep="0" rowsep="0" colwidth="50%" align="left"/> <colspec colnum="2" colname="col2" colsep="0" rowsep="0" colwidth="50%" align="left"/> <thead> <row rowsep="1"> <td><p>English</p></td> <td><p>French</p></td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><p>Yes, I want to come to your house.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Oui, je veux venir chez toi.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>I can come today.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Je peux venir aujourd'hui.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>I can come tomorrow.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Je peux venir demain.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>I can come after school.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Je peux venir après l'école.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>I can come for a sleep-over.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Je peux dormir chez toi.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>I'll ask my mom/dad.</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Je vais demander à ma mère/à mon père.</emphasis></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <p>Now let's practice what we've learned. In the blanks, write the answer that goes with the question, or the question that goes with the answer:</p> <ul> <li><p><emphasis>Peux-tu venir demain?</emphasis> </p></li> <li><p> <emphasis>Oui, je veux venir chez toi.</emphasis></p></li> <li><p> <emphasis>Je vais demander à ma mère.</emphasis></p></li> <li><p><emphasis>Peux-tu venir aujourd'hui?</emphasis> </p></li> <li><p><emphasis>Peux-tu dormir chez moi</emphasis>? <inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="imagesline2.jpg" format="JPG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject></p></li> <li><p> <emphasis>Je peux venir après l'école</emphasis>.</p></li> </ul> <h2>What Do You Want to Do? — <emphasis>Qu'est-ce que tu veux faire?</emphasis></h2> <p>Once your friend comes over, you usually ask what he or she wants to do. Usually you ask if it's something you like doing yourself — building models, doing workbooks, putting a puzzle together. Remember in Chapter Three when we wrote down all the things you like to do? Now you're going to use that same French vocabulary to ask your French friend what he or she would enjoy doing.</p> <p>You set up the question using your <emphasis>vouloir</emphasis> (“to want”) verb. Your conjugation map tells you that <emphasis>tu</emphasis> goes with <emphasis>veux</emphasis>. Now, add a little inversion, and you're on your way to constructing a good question!</p> <table frame="none" width="100%"> <title/> <tgroup cols="2" align="center"> <colspec colnum="1" colname="col1" colsep="0" rowsep="0" colwidth="50%" align="left"/> <colspec colnum="2" colname="col2" colsep="0" rowsep="0" colwidth="50%" align="left"/> <thead> <row rowsep="1"> <td><p>English</p></td> <td><p>French</p></td> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td><p>Do you want to…</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>Veux-tu…</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>play outside?</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>jouer dehors?</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>go bike riding?</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>faire du vélo?</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>go to the park?</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>aller au parc?</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>watch a film?</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>regarder un film?</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>play chess?</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>jouer aux échecs?</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>listen to music?</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>écouter de la musique?</emphasis></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p>eat a snack?</p></td> <td><p><emphasis>manger quelque chose?</emphasis></p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <p>Now you're going to practice your questions by writing them as answers! Beside each of the following questions, write <emphasis>oui</emphasis> (“yes”) or <emphasis>non</emphasis> (“no”) and the answer, using the same words, but without inversion. Don't forget to change the pronoun!</p> <p>For example, next to <emphasis>Veux-tu jouer dehors?</emphasis> (“Do you want to play outside?”), you write, <emphasis>Oui, je veux jouer dehors</emphasis> (“Yes, I want to play outside”)<emphasis>.</emphasis> Or you can write, <emphasis>non</emphasis> and add the <emphasis>ne… pas</emphasis> sandwich we learned in Chapter 2. <emphasis>Non, je ne veux pas jouer dehors</emphasis> (“No, I don't want to play outside.”) Here we go:</p> <p><emphasis>Veux-tu faire du vélo?</emphasis> </p> <p><emphasis>Veux-tu aller au parc?</emphasis> </p> <p><emphasis>Veux-tu regarder un film?</emphasis> </p> <p><emphasis>Veux-tu jouer aux échecs?</emphasis> </p> <p><emphasis>Veux-tu écouter de la musique?</emphasis> </p> <div class="npsb"> <h2> FUN FACTS <emphasis>Pour s'amuser</emphasis></h2> <p>You may have heard the French word, <emphasis>adieu</emphasis>, as “goodbye.” But French kids never use <emphasis>adieu.</emphasis> If you say <emphasis>adieu</emphasis>, that means you'll never see the person again! It's goodbye forever.</p> </div> <!--/gc--> <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/social-life-la-vie-sociale/inviting-friends-over-inviter-des-amis.htm" title="Inviting Friends Over — Inviter des amis">Inviting Friends Over — Inviter des amis</a></li><li class="next"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/social-life-la-vie-sociale/saying-goodbye-dire-au-revoir.htm" title="Saying Goodbye — Dire au revoir">Saying Goodbye — Dire au revoir</a> </li></ul></div></div> <div id="coda"> <div id="rel"><div class="n5">Related Articles</div><ul> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/social-life-la-vie-sociale/asking-questions-poser-des-questions.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Asking Questions — Poser des questions - French for Kids </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/time-and-dates-lheure-et-les-dates/weather-le-temps.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Weather — Le temps - French for Kids </a></li> <li><a href="http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/vouloir.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> All about Vouloir - French Verb </a></li> <li><a href="http://french.about.com/od/mistakes/a/jeveuxquejaie.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Je veux que j'aie - French Mistake </a></li> <li><a href="http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/onpeutsetutoyer.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> On peut se tutoyer ? - French Expression </a></li> </ul></div> <div id="sec"><div class="n5">Read More Social Life — La vie sociale</div><ul><ul class="col1"><li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/social-life-la-vie-sociale/hi-whats-up-salut-a-va.htm">Hi! What's Up? — Salut! Ça va?</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/social-life-la-vie-sociale/greeting-friends-saluer-les-amis.htm">Greeting Friends — Saluer les amis</a></li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/social-life-la-vie-sociale/please-and-thank-you-sil-te-plat-et-merci.htm">Please and Thank You — S'il te plaît et merci</a></li> </ul><ul class="col2"><li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/social-life-la-vie-sociale/inviting-friends-over-inviter-des-amis.htm">Inviting Friends Over — Inviter des amis</a></li> <li class="btO">Asking Questions — Poser des questions</li> <li ><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/social-life-la-vie-sociale/saying-goodbye-dire-au-revoir.htm">Saying Goodbye — Dire au revoir</a></li> </ul></ul></div> </div> <script>if(zSbL<1)zSbL=3;zSB(2);zSbL=0</script> </div> <div id="widgets"><script type="text/javascript">if(z336>0){w('<div id="adB">'+ap[0]+at[4]+as[0]);adunit('','','about.com',ch,gs,336,280,'1','bb',3);w('</div>')}if(z155>0){w('<div id="adP">'+ap[0]+at[4]+as[0]);adunit('','','about.com',ch,gs,336,155,'1','ps',4);w('</div>')}</script> <div id="pg" class="pane"><div class="n3">Shopping</div><div class="cntnr"><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-kids-learning-french-book"><img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/np/kids-french/Cover.jpg"></a><h4><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-kids-learning-french-book">THE EVERYTHING KIDS' LEARNING FRENCH BOOK</a></h4><p><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-kids-learning-french-book">By Dawn-Michelle Baude, Ph.D.</a></p><div id="fp"><a href="http://shop.everything.com/product/the-everything-kids-learning-french-book">Buy This Book</a></div></div></div> <div id="toc" class="pane"><div class="n3">French for Kids Sections</div><ul><li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/lets-get-started-allons-y/">Let's Get Started! — Allons-y!</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/time-and-dates-lheure-et-les-dates/">Time and Dates — L'heure et les dates</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/all-about-me-tout-sur-moi/">All About Me — Tout sur moi</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/social-life-la-vie-sociale/">Social Life — La vie sociale</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/what-should-we-do-quest-ce-quon-va-faire/">What Should We do? — Qu'est-ce qu'on va faire?</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/im-hungry-jai-faim/">I'm Hungry! — J'ai faim!</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/going-to-town-aller-en-ville/">Going to Town — Aller en ville</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/lets-go-outdoors-allons-dehors/">Let's Go Outdoors — Allons dehors</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/getting-along-bien-sentendre/">Getting Along — Bien s'entendre</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/appendix-a-english-french-dictionary/">English-French Dictionary</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/appendix-b-glossary/">Glossary</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/appendix-c-puzzle-answers/">Puzzle Answers</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/appendix-d-exercise-answers/">Exercise Answers</a></li> </ul></div></div> <script type="text/javascript">zCi();validateForms();</script> <div id="abf" style="padding-right:0"><ol class="crumbtrail"><li class="home"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/">Home</a></li><li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/">French for Kids</a></li><li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/kids-french/social-life-la-vie-sociale/">Social Life — La vie sociale</a></li><li>Asking Questions — Poser des questions</li></ol></div> <div id="aboutinfo" class="hlist"><div id="morefrom"><h6>Visit other About.com sites:</h6><ul><li><a href="http://caloriecount.about.com/" rel="nofollow">Calorie Count</a></li><li class="last"><a href="http://www.allexperts.com/" rel="nofollow">Allexperts.com</a></li></ul></div> <ul id="siteinfo"><li><a href="http://spiderbites.about.com/sitemap.htm">SiteMap</a></li><li><a href="http://www.about.com/gi/pages/hc.htm" rel="nofollow">Help</a></li><li><a href="http://www.about.com/gi/pages/mprivacy.htm" rel="nofollow">Privacy Policy</a></li><li><a href="http://www.about.com/gi/pages/mprivacy.htm#adchoices" rel="nofollow">Your Ad Choices</a></li><li class="last"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/pform.htm" rel="nofollow">Contact Us</a></li></ul> <ul id="companyinfo"><li class="last"><a href="http://shop.everything.com/ " rel="nofollow">Buy Books</a></li></ul><div id="disclaimer"> </div></div></div> <script type="text/javascript"><!-- zPxA[zPxC]=new Image();zPxA[zPxC++].src="http://b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=6036459&c7=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2enetplaces%2ecom%2fkids%2dfrench%2fsocial%2dlife%2dla%2dvie%2dsociale%2fasking%2dquestions%2dposer%2ddes%2dquestions%2ehtm&c8=Asking%20Questions%20%26%238212%3b%20Poser%20des%20questions&c9=&cv=2.0&cj=1"; adclose() //--> </script> <script type="text/javascript">(function(){var po=document.createElement('script');po.type='text/javascript';po.async=true;po.src='https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js';var s=document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(po,s)})();</script> </body></html>