Breakdown of Pourquoi est-ce que vous annulez la réunion ?
vous
you (plural/formal)
est-ce que
is it that / do / does (question marker)
pourquoi
why
la réunion
the meeting
annuler
to cancel
Questions & Answers about Pourquoi est-ce que vous annulez la réunion ?
Why do we use "est-ce que" right after "pourquoi"?
Pourquoi means "why". In French, a very standard and natural way to build a question is to place est-ce que (literally "is it that") right after the question word. Together, pourquoi est-ce que simply translates to "why do" or "why are".
Can I ask this question without using "est-ce que"?
The English translation says "are you canceling". Where is the word for "are" in the French sentence?
There isn't one! In French, the present tense (vous annulez) does double duty: it means both "you cancel" and "you are canceling". You never translate the "are" or "is" into French when talking about an action happening right now.
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