How to Ask Questions in French with Inversion

In French, there are different ways to ask questions. One of the most correct ways is called inversion. Inversion means switching the subject and the verb in a sentence. Let’s look at how to use inversion to ask questions, and some important grammar tips to remember.

Important Grammar Tips

1. Present Tense of Regular Verbs

First, you need to know how to change regular verbs to the present tense:

• -ER verbs (like parler → je parle)
• -IR verbs (like finir → je finis)
• -RE verbs (like attendre → j'attends)

Example:

• Statement: Tu parles français. (You speak French.)
• Inverted Question: Parles-tu français? (Do you speak French?)

2. Using Avoir and Être

When making questions with past actions (like passé composé), you need to flip "avoir" (to have) and "être" (to be) too.

Example:

• Statement: Elle a mangé. (She ate.)
• Inverted Question: A-t-elle mangé? (Did she eat?)

Example with Être:

• Statement: Nous sommes prêts. (We are ready.)
• Inverted Question: Sommes-nous prêts? (Are we ready?)

3. Matching Adjectives with Gender and Number

Make sure the adjectives match the subject in gender (male or female) and number (singular or plural). This is important for correct grammar.

Example:

• They are happy. (Ils sont contents.) → Are they happy? (Sont-ils contents?)

4. Forming Negative Questions with ne...pas

When you want to make a question negative, the "ne" and "pas" do not change places when you use inversion.

Example:

• Statement: Il ne mange pas. (He does not eat.)
• Inverted Question: Ne mange-t-il pas? (Does he not eat?)

5. Asking Questions with Inversion and Intonation

Inversion questions usually follow this pattern: Verb + subject. For a more casual way, you can just raise your voice at the end of the statement to ask a question.

Inversion Example:

• Are you coming? → Viens-tu? (Are you coming?)

Intonation Example:

• You are going. → Tu vas? (You are going?)

Quick Steps for Inversion

1. Find the subject and the verb.
2. Switch the subject and the verb, adding a hyphen if needed.
3. Add "avoir" or "être" if needed for compound tenses.
4. Add "ne...pas" for negative questions if necessary.

By understanding these key tips, you can easily ask questions in French using inversion. Practice by changing positive sentences into questions using these rules, and you will feel more confident in chatting with others!