ELONIO
Log inSign up

Est-ce que c'est parce que tu as un rhume ?

Est-ce que c'est parce que tu as un rhume ?
Is it because you have a cold?
From Lesson 57:Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)·French

Questions & Answers about Est-ce que c'est parce que tu as un rhume ?

Could I use pourquoi instead of parce que here?
No, because pourquoi means "why" (asking for a reason), and parce que means "because" (giving the reason). Even though this sentence is a question, you are guessing the reason yourself ("because you have a cold"), so you use parce que.
Why does que stay as a full word instead of shrinking to qu'?
You only shorten que to qu' when the next word starts with a vowel or a silent 'h' (like in parce qu'il or parce qu'elle). Since the next word here is tu, which starts with a consonant, parce que stays as two full words.
What does Est-ce que c'est mean word-for-word? It looks very long for just "Is it".
Literally, it means "Is it that it is". Est-ce que is the standard French phrase used to turn any statement into a yes/no question. The actual "it is" part is c'est. Put them together, and you simply get "Is it?".
Does avoir un rhume work just like "to have a cold" in English?
Yes, it is an exact match! You use the verb avoir (to have) for catching a cold. This is nice and easy, especially since French sometimes uses avoir where English uses "to be" (like tu as faim for "you are hungry").

Learn Est-ce que c'est parce que tu as un rhume and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →