Learn French: Ils font quoi ici ? - What are they doing here?

Ils font quoi ici ?

What are they doing here?

Breakdown of Ils font quoi ici ?

ici

here

ils

they (masculine/mixed)

Questions & Answers about Ils font quoi ici ?

Why does this sentence use quoi for "what" instead of que or qu'est-ce que?

In French, when you put the question word after the verb, you must use quoi instead of que. The word que is generally only used at the beginning of a sentence.

Is it normal to put the question word at the end like in Ils font quoi?

Yes, it is very common! In everyday spoken French, people often use the normal statement order (Ils font meaning "They do") and just stick the question word at the end. It is much more casual than asking Qu'est-ce qu'ils font ?.

The English translation says "What are they doing", but where is the word for "are"?

French does not have a separate "-ing" tense like English does. The simple present tense ils font translates to both "they do" and "they are doing" depending on the context. You don't need to add a word for "are" (never say ils sont font!).

Doesn't font mean "make"? Could this sentence mean "What are they making here?"

Yes! The verb faire means both "to do" and "to make". Without any extra context, Ils font quoi ici ? could absolutely mean "What are they making here?". In real life, the situation will make it obvious which meaning is intended.