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A-t-il une interview avec un écrivain ?

A-t-il une interview avec un écrivain ?
Does he have an interview with a writer?
From Lesson 143:Formal questions (parlez-vous, a-t-il)·French

Questions & Answers about A-t-il une interview avec un écrivain ?

Why is there a "-t-" in A-t-il?
In formal questions, we flip the subject and the verb. The normal order is il a (he has). When we flip them to a il, we get two vowel sounds right next to each other. To make it sound smoother, French adds a -t- between them, making it a-t-il. This only happens with the pronouns il, elle, or on when the flipped verb ends in a vowel.
Could I just say Est-ce qu'il a... instead of A-t-il...?
Yes, absolutely. Est-ce qu'il a une interview... is standard and very common in everyday spoken French. Using inversion like A-t-il... sounds much more formal and is mostly used in writing, journalism, or professional situations.
Is the word interview really feminine?
Yes! Even though it is a word borrowed directly from English, it takes the feminine article une. Another word you might see for this, especially in Canadian French, is une entrevue, which is also feminine.
How would I say "with a female writer"? Does écrivain change?
Yes, it does. The feminine form of un écrivain is une écrivaine (adding an -e at the end). To say "with a female writer," you would ask: A-t-il une interview avec une écrivaine ?

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