WH-questions in French are the questions that ask for information rather than a yes/no answer: where, when, how, why, how much. Each one corresponds to a French question word — où, quand, comment, pourquoi, combien — and each of those slots into the three French question registers you already know from yes/no questions: rising intonation, est-ce que, and inversion. So once you can ask Tu viens ? three ways, you can ask Where are you going? three ways too. The grammar is identical; you just add a WH-word.
What makes WH-questions distinct in French is that the WH-word is mobile. In English, the question word lives at the front (Where are you going?). In French, it can sit at the front (Où vas-tu ?) or — in casual speech — at the very end (Tu vas où ?). Both are everyday French, and choosing one over the other is mostly a register choice. This page lays out the five core WH-words, what each one means, and how to use each across the three registers.
The five core WH-words
| French | English | Asks about |
|---|---|---|
| où | where | place / direction |
| quand | when | time / moment |
| comment | how | manner / method |
| pourquoi | why | reason / cause |
| combien (de) | how much / how many | quantity |
These five cover almost every information-seeking question you will need at A1. Who (qui) and what (que / quoi) are also WH-words, but they behave differently because they replace a person or thing in the sentence rather than an adverbial; they live on their own page (see pronouns/interrogative/qui-que-quoi).
The three registers, applied to WH-questions
Every WH-question has three possible shapes — the same three shapes as yes/no questions. Take Where are you going? as a model:
| Register | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Informal (spoken) | WH-word at the end, declarative word order | Tu vas où ? |
| Informal (spoken) | WH-word at the front, declarative word order | Où tu vas ? |
| Neutral (any) | WH-word + est-ce que + declarative | Où est-ce que tu vas ? |
| Formal (written) | WH-word + inversion | Où vas-tu ? |
Four shapes, not three, because casual French allows two intonation patterns: the WH-word can sit at the end (the most common) or stay at the front without further reshuffling (still informal, slightly less casual). The cleanest mental model is: the WH-word can go almost anywhere, and the rest of the sentence stays roughly in declarative order — until you reach for inversion, which is the formal lever.
Où — where
Où asks about location or direction. It carries an accent grave that distinguishes it from the conjunction ou (or) — the accent is not optional, and writing ou vas-tu ? (without the accent) means something nonsensical like or you go?.
Où sont mes clés ? Je les avais sur la table.
Where are my keys? I had them on the table.
Où est-ce que tu pars en vacances cet été ?
Where are you going on vacation this summer?
Tu habites où, exactement ?
Where exactly do you live?
Où va ce train ? — À Lyon, je crois.
Where is this train going? — To Lyon, I think.
Où also works with prepositions for more precision: d'où (from where), par où (which way), jusqu'où (how far).
D'où viens-tu ? Tu as un accent que je n'arrive pas à placer.
Where are you from? You have an accent I can't place.
Par où on passe pour aller au métro ?
Which way do we go to get to the metro?
Quand — when
Quand asks about a moment or a time. Pronunciation note: the final -d is silent in isolation (quand = /kɑ̃/), but a liaison appears before a vowel-initial verb in inversion, pronounced /t/: Quand est-il arrivé ? sounds /kɑ̃ tɛ til aʁive/. This liaison is mandatory in formal speech.
Quand est-ce que tu rentres ? Maman s'inquiète.
When are you coming home? Mom's worried.
Tu pars quand, finalement ?
So when are you leaving, in the end?
Quand commence le film ? J'ai oublié l'heure.
When does the movie start? I forgot the time.
Quand viendras-tu nous voir ?
When will you come to see us?
A useful related expression is depuis quand (since when / how long), which corresponds to English how long in questions about ongoing situations:
Depuis quand tu connais Marie ?
How long have you known Marie?
Comment — how
Comment asks about manner, method, or condition. It's also the standard French opener for asking how someone is doing (Comment ça va ?) and for asking someone's name (Comment tu t'appelles ?).
Comment tu vas au travail, en métro ou en vélo ?
How do you get to work, by metro or by bike?
Comment est-ce qu'on fait une vraie carbonara ?
How do you make a real carbonara?
Comment ça s'est passé, ton entretien ?
How did your interview go?
Comment allez-vous, Monsieur ?
How are you, sir?
A subtle point: comment can also mean what in one specific context — asking for repetition. Comment ? on its own means What did you say? or Pardon?, and it is more polite than Quoi ?, which sounds blunt.
Comment ? Je n'ai pas entendu.
Sorry? I didn't catch that.
Pourquoi — why
Pourquoi asks for a reason. It's a compound of pour (for) + quoi (what), historically for what. The answer is typically introduced by parce que (because).
Pourquoi tu fais cette tête ? Il s'est passé quelque chose ?
Why do you have that look on your face? Did something happen?
Pourquoi est-ce que les magasins sont fermés aujourd'hui ?
Why are the shops closed today?
Pourquoi pars-tu si tôt ?
Why are you leaving so early?
Pourquoi pas ? Allons-y !
Why not? Let's go!
The phrase pourquoi pas ? — literally why not? — is a fixed expression used to enthusiastically accept a suggestion, identical in feel to English why not!.
Combien — how much / how many
Combien asks about quantity. When it modifies a noun, it takes the preposition de (no article): combien de livres (how many books), combien d'argent (how much money). The noun stays without an article — this is one of the few places in French where you have a bare noun, and it matches the partitive pattern of other quantity expressions (beaucoup de, peu de).
Combien tu paies de loyer par mois ?
How much rent do you pay per month?
Combien d'enfants vous avez ?
How many children do you have?
Combien est-ce que ça coûte, ce pull ?
How much does this sweater cost?
Combien de temps faut-il pour aller à Marseille en TGV ?
How long does it take to get to Marseille by TGV?
Combien also stands alone, without a noun, when asking about price or quantity in context:
C'est combien, le café ? — Deux euros cinquante.
How much is the coffee? — Two euros fifty.
On est combien à la fête ? — Une douzaine, je crois.
How many of us are at the party? — A dozen, I think.
Putting it all together: the mobility of the WH-word
The single most useful insight about French WH-questions is that the WH-word is mobile. The same question can wear different clothes depending on register, and a fluent speaker switches between them constantly without thinking. Take When are you coming back?:
- Casual, WH at the end: Tu reviens quand ?
- Casual, WH at the front: Quand tu reviens ?
- Neutral, with est-ce que: Quand est-ce que tu reviens ?
- Formal, with inversion: Quand reviens-tu ?
All four are correct French. All four are heard daily. The first is what you would say to a sibling over the phone; the last is what you would write in a polite email. Develop the habit of recognizing all four and producing at least two — the est-ce que form for safety and either the WH-at-the-end form (for spoken practice) or inversion (for writing).
How English vs French differ
English does WH-questions with a fixed recipe: WH-word + auxiliary (do/does/did/is/was) + subject + main verb (Where do you live?). French has no equivalent of do-support, so the auxiliary is absent — the verb itself simply moves, or stays in place, depending on register. This is why Tu vas où ? literally translates to You go where?, which sounds wrong in English but is one of the most common forms in spoken French. English speakers often resist the WH-at-the-end form because it feels like an interrupted statement; in French, it is a fully grammatical question.
A second contrast: in English, intonation alone (You're going where?) is reserved for surprise or disbelief (You're going *where?!). In French, intonation alone is the default casual form, with no extra emotional charge. *Tu vas où ? is neutral — the equivalent of a flat English Where are you going?.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ou tu vas ?
Wrong — missing accent grave on où. Without the accent, ou means 'or'.
✅ Où tu vas ?
Where are you going?
❌ Combien des livres tu as ?
Wrong — combien takes de (no article), not de + les.
✅ Combien de livres tu as ?
How many books do you have?
❌ Pourquoi est-ce que tu viens-tu ?
Wrong — don't combine est-ce que with inversion. Pick one.
✅ Pourquoi est-ce que tu viens ?
Why are you coming?
✅ Pourquoi viens-tu ?
Why are you coming?
❌ Quand est il arrivé ?
Wrong — inversion requires a hyphen, and a euphonic -t- to avoid two vowels colliding.
✅ Quand est-il arrivé ?
When did he arrive?
❌ Où vas tu ?
Wrong — inversion always uses a hyphen between verb and subject pronoun.
✅ Où vas-tu ?
Where are you going?
❌ Comment tu t'appelles ? — Bien, merci.
Wrong — comment can mean 'how', but 'comment tu t'appelles' is 'what is your name', not 'how are you'.
✅ Comment tu t'appelles ? — Je m'appelle Léo.
What's your name? — My name is Léo.
Key Takeaways
French WH-questions use five core question words — où, quand, comment, pourquoi, combien — and each one slots into the three registers you already know from yes/no questions. The WH-word is mobile: it can sit at the front (any register) or at the end (informal only). The neutral default is WH + est-ce que + declarative (Où est-ce que tu vas ?), the formal default is WH + inversion (Où vas-tu ?), and the casual default in speech is WH at the end (Tu vas où ?). Combien takes de before a following noun (combien de livres), and où always wears its accent grave. Master one register first — est-ce que is the safe bet — and add the others as your ear gets sharper.
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Start learning French→Related Topics
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- Lequel: 'which one' interrogatifB1 — Lequel/laquelle/lesquels/lesquelles asks 'which one(s)' — selecting from a known set rather than asking adjectivally with quel + noun. The forms agree in gender and number with what's being chosen from. Same forms as the relative lequel, but a completely different function. Why French splits 'which' into a determiner (quel) and a pronoun (lequel) where English uses 'which' for both.
- Le -t- EuphoniqueA2 — When French inverts a vowel-final third-person verb with a vowel-initial pronoun (il, elle, on), an inserted -t- prevents the vowel collision: 'a-t-il', 'parle-t-elle', 'va-t-on'. The -t- is purely euphonic, has no grammatical role, and is required wherever the verb itself does not already end in -t or -d. This page covers the rule, the exceptions, the orthography (always with two hyphens), and the spots where learners commonly slip.