Questions and negation
est-ce que, question words, and ne … pas.
12 minutes · A free lesson from A1 : Premiers pas (first steps) · Roman and Urdu pronunciation guides and English meanings are shown under each phrase
Three ways to ask the same question:
- Intonation (spoken): Tu parles français ?
Tu parles français ? Say tue parl frah(n)seh? تیُ پاغل فغاںسے? Means: Do you speak French? - Est-ce que: Est-ce que tu parles français ?
Est-ce que Say ehs kuh اےس کَ Means: turns a statement into a yes/no question Est-ce que tu parles français ? Say ehs kuh tue parl frah(n)seh? اےس کَ تیُ پاغل فغاںسے? Means: Do you speak French? - Inversion (formal): Parlez-vous français ?
Parlez-vous français ? Say parlehvoo frah(n)seh? پاغلےوُو فغاںسے? Means: Do you speak French? (formal)
Negation wraps the verb: Je ne parle pas allemand. Before a vowel, ne becomes n': *Je **n'*aime pas le café.
| Je ne parle pas allemand. | Say zhuh nuh parl paz almah(n). | ژَ نَ پاغل پاز الماں. | Means: I don't speak German. |
| aime pas le café. | Say ehm pa luh kafeh. | اےم پا لَ کافے. | Means: … not like coffee. |
Question words
Lesson quiz
Check what you have learned. Choose an answer to see whether it is right, and why.
Quick check: Choose the correct negative.
- Je parle ne pas allemand.
- Je ne pas parle allemand.
- Je ne parle pas allemand.
Show the answer
C: Je ne parle pas allemand. — ne … pas wraps the verb: ne before it, pas after it.
Quick check: Which question uses est-ce que?
- Est-ce que tu parles français ?
- Parlez-vous français ?
- Tu parles français ?
Show the answer
A: Est-ce que tu parles français ? — Est-ce que turns a sentence into a question without changing its word order.
Quick check: Which word asks “why?”
- quand ?
- pourquoi ?
- combien ?
Show the answer
B: pourquoi ? — pourquoi ? is why, quand ? is when, and combien ? is how much or how many. The answer often starts with parce que.
Quick check: What does “Je n'aime pas le café” mean?
- I don't like coffee.
- I only like coffee.
- I would like a coffee.
Show the answer
A: I don't like coffee. — Before a vowel, ne becomes n': je n'aime pas.
Marked as soon as you finish — free with an account.Practise now
Marked as soon as you finish — free with an account.Practise now