Transcript 2A.2 Forming questions and expressing negation
Point de départ
You have learned how to make affirmative and declarative statements in French. Now you will learn how to form questions and make negative statements.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
2A.2-1
Forming questions
There are several ways to ask a question in French. The simplest way is to use the same wording as for a statement but with rising intonation (when speaking) or setting a question mark at the end (when writing). This method is considered informal.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
2A.2-2
Forming questions (continued)
A second way is to place the phrase
Est ce que…
directly before a statement. If the next word begins with a vowel sound, use
Est ce qu’
. Questions with
est-ce que
are somewhat formal.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
2A.2-3
Forming questions (continued)
A third way is to place a tag question at the end of a statement. This method can be formal or informal.
A fourth way is to invert the order of the subject pronoun and the verb and hyphenate them. If the verb ends in a vowel and the subject pronoun is
il
or
elle
,
-t-
is inserted between the verb and the pronoun. Inversion is considered more formal.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
2A.2-4
Forming questions (continued)
If the subject is a noun rather than a pronoun, invert the pronoun and the verb, and place the noun before them.
The inverted form of
il y a
is
y a-t-il
.
C’est
becomes
est-ce
. Use
pourquoi
to ask
why
? Use parce que ( parce qu ’ vowel sound) in the answer to express
because
.
before a © 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
2A.2-5
Expressing negation
To make a sentence negative in French, place
ne
(
n’
before a vowel sound) before the conjugated verb and
pas
after it.
In the construction [
conjugated verb + infinitive
],
ne
(
n’
) comes before the conjugated verb and
pas
after it.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
2A.2-6
Expressing negation (continued)
In questions with inversion, place
ne
before the inversion and
pas
after it.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
2A.2-7
Expressing negation (continued)
Use these expressions to respond to a statement or a question that requires a
yes
or
no
answer.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
2A.2-8
Expressing negation (cont’d)
Use
si
instead of
oui
to contradict a negative question.
© 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
2A.2-9
Essayez!
Make questions out of these statements. Use est ce que/qu’ in items 1–6 and inversion in 7–12.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Vous mangez au resto U. Ils adorent les devoirs. La biologie est difficile. Tu travailles. Elles cherchent le prof. Aude voyage beaucoup. Vous arrivez demain. L’étudiante oublie le livre.
La physique est utile. Il y a deux salles de classe. Ils n’habitent pas à Québec. C’est le professeur de gestion.
____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ © 2015 by Vista Higher Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.
2A.2-10