Learn French: Où est-ce qu'ils habitent maintenant ?

In French, when the word que is followed by a word starting with a vowel sound (like ils), the e is dropped and replaced with an apostrophe. So, est-ce que becomes est-ce qu' right before ils.

What does est-ce que actually mean in this sentence?

Literally, est-ce que translates to "is it that". But in everyday French, it doesn't translate to anything in English. It just acts as a helper phrase (like "do" in "where do they live") that turns a statement into a question. Here, it safely connects the question word Où (Where) to the subject and verb.

How do I pronounce habitent? Do I say the -ent at the end?

No, you never pronounce the -ent ending on French verbs! For regular -er verbs like habiter, the "they" form (ils or elles) ends in -ent, but those letters are completely silent. You pronounce habitent exactly the same way you pronounce the "he/she" form, habite.

Could I use the verb vivre instead of habiter here?