 |
|
| Elle l’aime, mais est-ce qu’il l’aime ? | |
| Share / Tweet / Pin Me! | |
Essential French Expression
| Meaning | (turns a statement into a question) | |
| Literally | is it that | |
| Register | normal/informal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[ehs keu] |
| IPA | [ɛs kə] | |
Usage notes: Est-ce que is unique among French expressions in that it doesn’t actually mean anything – it’s just a way of turning a statement into a question, kind of like the word "do" in English. The difference is that the word order changes when asking a question with "do," whereas in French, it stays exactly the same, with est-ce que placed directly in front of the statement.
Est-ce que is the inversion of c’est que, literally, “it is that.” Hence the hyphen between est and ce: c’est = ce + est is inverted to est-ce.
Though est-ce que is widespread in spoken French, it’s much less common in writing because it’s slightly informal. Remember that if you’re in a formal situation, you should avoid it in favor of inversion.
Par exemple…
Tu es prêt. Est-ce que tu es prêt ? |
You are ready. Are you ready? |
| Michel l’a fait. Est-ce que Michel l’a fait ? |
Michel did it. Did Michel do it? |
| Vous voulez danser. Est-ce que vous voulez danser ? |
You want to dance. Do you want to dance? |
As always, que contracts to qu’ when it precedes a word that begins with a vowel.
Par exemple…
| Elle est sympa. Est-ce qu’elle est sympa ? |
She’s nice. Is she nice? |
| Il y a du pain. Est-ce qu’il y a du pain ? |
There’s bread. Is there any bread? |
| Arnaud va nous accompagner. Est-ce qu’Arnaud va nous accompagner ? |
Arnaud is going to accompany us. Is Arnaud going to accompany us? |
So far, these have all been yes/no questions. WH questions (which ask for information like “who” and “how”) are a bit different: they need an interrogatory pronoun, adverb, or adjective before est-ce que:
Par exemple…
| Qui est-ce que nous allons inviter ? | Whom are we going to invite? | |
| Pourquoi est-ce que tu es parti ? | Why did you leave? | |
| Quelle voiture est-ce qu’elle préfère ? | Which car does she prefer? |
Related lessons
Share / Tweet / Pin Me!
This free website is created with love and a great deal of work. If you love it, please consider making a 
Is your French as rusty as an old can? Did you live in France years ago or study it in high school—and promptly forget everything upon leaving? The fact is that language ability fades with lack of practice. If you used to know French but haven’t spoken it in years or decades, the bad news is that it probably won’t come rushing back all at once. But the good news is that you can relearn it much more quickly than if you were starting out without that previous knowledge.
N’importe literally means “no matter” or “(it) doesn’t matter.” This indefinite expression can precede an interrogative adjective, adverb, or pronoun when talking about something indefinite or non-specific.
