Learn French: Qu'est-ce que tu lis ?

Qu'est-ce que tu lis ?

What are you reading?

Breakdown of Qu'est-ce que tu lis ?

you (informal singular)

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Questions & Answers about Qu'est-ce que tu lis ?

Why does the verb lis end in an s?

lis is the tu (informal you) form of the irregular verb lire (to read). The singular forms of this verb are je lis, tu lis, and il/elle lit. Remember that the tu form of almost every French verb ends in an s!

Why use the long phrase qu'est-ce que instead of just saying que tu lis?

In French, you cannot simply put que (what) in front of a standard subject and verb to make a question. Qu'est-ce que is a fixed, incredibly common chunk that means what. It lets you keep the normal sentence order (tu lis) right after it without needing to flip the verb and subject.

The English translation says are you reading, but where is the -ing part in French?

French does not have a separate present continuous tense for things happening right now. You just use the standard present tense. Because of this, tu lis can translate to either you read in general or you are reading at this exact moment, depending on the context.

Do I pronounce the s at the end of lis?

No, the s at the end of lis is completely silent. However, this irregular verb has a hidden z sound that pops up when you use the plural forms. For example, in nous lisons (we read) or vous lisez (you read), you will clearly hear that s pronounced like a z.