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### Informal questions with "quoi"

In everyday spoken French, the most common way to ask a question is to keep the standard statement word order and place the question word at the very end. To ask "what," use **quoi**.

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You can use this structure to ask what someone is looking for (**chercher**) or hiding (**cacher**).

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### Asking "who" with "qui"

To ask "who" or "whom," use the question word **qui**. Just like **quoi**, you can simply place it at the end of an informal question.

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### Asking "what" at the beginning of a question

While **quoi** is perfect for the end of an informal sentence, it is not used at the beginning of a basic question. To ask "what" at the start of a structured question, use the phrase **qu'est-ce que** (literally "what is it that"). 

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Compare this with the informal spoken word order:

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Just like *est-ce que*, the **que** at the end of **qu'est-ce que** drops its "e" and becomes **qu'** if the next word begins with a vowel. 

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### Gifts and surprises

Use these question forms with verbs like **acheter** (to buy) and **entendre** (to hear) to uncover facts and surprises!

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Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

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 ?)

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)

Knowing facts vs. familiarity (savoir, connaître)

Question	Answer
to do, to make	faire
what	quoi
What are you doing now?	Tu fais quoi maintenant ?
to look for	chercher
Who are you looking for in the park?	Vous cherchez qui dans le parc ?
What is he looking for under the table?	Il cherche quoi sous la table ?
to hide	cacher
What is she hiding in the bag?	Elle cache quoi dans le sac ?
the surprise	la surprise
the gift	le cadeau
I am hiding a surprise, it is a gift for him.	Je cache une surprise, c'est un cadeau pour lui.
to buy	acheter
What are you buying, a gift for them?	Tu achètes quoi, un cadeau pour eux ?
They are buying a surprise for the child.	Ils achètent une surprise pour l'enfant.
to see	voir
Who do you see in the car?	Tu vois qui dans la voiture ?
What do you see there?	Vous voyez quoi là ?
to hear	entendre
Who do they hear in the house?	Elles entendent qui dans la maison ?
What do you hear?	Vous entendez quoi ?
What are they doing here?	Ils font quoi ici ?
what (unstressed)	que
What are you looking for?	Qu'est-ce que tu cherches ?
What is she preparing?	Qu'est-ce qu'elle prépare ?
What are you looking for?	Tu cherches quoi ?
Who are you watching?	Vous regardez qui ?
What is he buying?	Il achète quoi ?
Who is she listening to?	Elle écoute qui ?
surprised	surpris
The boy is very surprised.	Le garçon est très surpris.
I am surprised and happy.	Je suis surpris et content.
by plane	en avion
Do you travel by plane?	Est-ce que tu voyages en avion ?
We travel by plane for the holidays.	Nous voyageons en avion pour les vacances.
by bike	à vélo
He likes travelling by bike.	Il aime voyager à vélo.
Do you travel by bike with a friend?	Est-ce que vous voyagez à vélo avec un ami ?
the return ticket, the round trip (m)	l'aller-retour
Is this ticket a return ticket?	Est-ce que ce billet est un aller-retour ?
I am buying a return ticket for the holidays.	J'achète un aller-retour pour les vacances.

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