ESPACES - PROGRAM SAMPLER

Leçon 2A 2A.2 Forming questions and expressing negation Point de départ You have already learned how to make statements about yourself and others. Now you will learn how to ask questions, which are important for gathering information, and how to make statements and questions negative. Forming questions • There are four principal ways to ask a question in French. The first and simplest way to ask a question when speaking is to make a statement but with rising intonation. In writing, simply put a question mark at the end. This method is considered informal. Vous habitez à Bordeaux? You live in Bordeaux? Tu aimes le cours de français? You like French class? • A second way is to place the phrase Est-ce que… directly before a statement. This turns it into a question. If the next word begins with a vowel sound, use Est-ce qu’ . Questions with est-ce que are somewhat formal. Est-ce que vous parlez français? Do you speak French? Est-ce qu’ il aime dessiner? Does he like to draw? • A third way is to end a statement with a tag question, such as n’est-ce pas? ( isn’t that right? ) or d’accord? ( OK? ). This method can be formal or informal. Nous mangeons à midi, n’est-ce pas ? We eat at noon, don’t we? On commence à deux heures, d’accord ? We’re starting at two o’clock, OK? • A fourth way is to invert the order of the subject pronoun and the verb and place a hyphen between them. If the verb ends in a vowel and the subject pronoun begins with one (e.g., il , elle , or on ), insert -t- between the verb and the pronoun to make pronunciation easier. Inversion is considered more formal. Vous parlez français. You speak French. Parlez-vous français? Do you speak French? Il mange avec Jules. He’s eating with Jules. Mange-t-il avec Jules? Is he eating with Jules? • Only subject pronouns can be inverted. If the subject is a noun rather than a pronoun, place the noun at the beginning of the question followed by the inverted verb and pronoun. Les étudiants mangent au restaurant. The students are eating at a restaurant. Les étudiants mangent-ils au restaurant? Are the students eating at a restaurant? Nina arrive demain. Nina arrives tomorrow. Nina arrive-t-elle demain? Does Nina arrive tomorrow? • The inverted form of il y a is y a-t-il . C’est becomes est-ce . Y a-t-il une horloge dans la classe? Is there a clock in the class? Est-ce le professeur de lettres? Is he the humanities professor? • Use pourquoi to ask why? Use parce que ( parce qu’ before a vowel sound) to answer because . Pourquoi retrouves-tu Sophie ici? Why are you meeting Sophie here? Parce qu’ elle habite près d’ici. Because she lives near here. Tutorial STRUCTURES ESPACE 58 cinquante-huit Communicative Goal Ask and answer questions about daily life