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In formal situations, such as journalism, literature, or very polite conversation, French uses **inversion** to ask questions. Instead of using *est-ce que* or raising your intonation, you simply swap the verb and the subject pronoun.

### Basic Inversion

Let's imagine you are on a television show (*une émission*) and want to ask (*poser*) a question:

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To form an inverted question, place the verb first, followed by a hyphen (`-`), and then the subject pronoun. This is very common with the formal *vous*.

{{item:870807}}

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### The "-t-" in Third-Person Inversion

When inverting a verb with **il**, **elle**, or **on**, French requires the sounds to flow smoothly. If the verb ends in a vowel (like *a* or *chante*), you must insert a **-t-** between the verb and the pronoun. 

{{item:870808}}

{{item:870815}}

However, if the verb already ends in a consonant like *t* or *d*, you do not add the extra *t*. You just use a standard hyphen.

{{item:870816}}

### Conducting an Interview

Now you have all the tools to conduct a formal interview (*une interview*) with a singer (*un chanteur*) or a writer (*un écrivain*).

{{item:870818}}

{{item:870826}}

Formal questions (parlez-vous, a-t-il)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
to ask (a question)	poser
the show/the broadcast (f)	l'émission
I would like to ask a question during the show.	Je voudrais poser une question pendant l'émission.
the album (m)	l'album
recent	récent
Do you have a recent album?	Avez-vous un album récent ?
Does he sing in English?	Chante-t-il en anglais ?
to participate in	participer à
the tour	la tournée
Are you participating in the tour?	Participez-vous à la tournée ?
Do you receive a lot of messages?	Recevez-vous beaucoup de messages ?
Are you ready for the tour?	Êtes-vous prêt pour la tournée ?
the role	le rôle
Does she have a role in the new film?	A-t-elle un rôle dans le nouveau film ?
Are they participating in the new show?	Participent-ils à la nouvelle émission ?
the singer	le chanteur
Do you want to ask the singer a question?	Voulez-vous poser une question au chanteur ?
Do you still live in Paris during the tour?	Vivez-vous toujours à Paris pendant la tournée ?
Do they prefer the latest album or the tour?	Préfèrent-ils le dernier album ou la tournée ?
the writer (m)	l'écrivain
I am a writer, but I play a role in this show.	Je suis écrivain, mais je joue un rôle dans cette émission.
Are you inviting the singer to the show today?	Invitez-vous le chanteur à l'émission aujourd'hui ?
the interview (journalistic) (f)	l'interview
Are you watching a recent interview?	Regardez-vous une interview récente ?
Does he have an interview with a writer?	A-t-il une interview avec un écrivain ?

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