Learn French: Est-ce que le policier est ici ?

Est-ce que le policier est ici ?

Is the police officer here?

Breakdown of Est-ce que le policier est ici ?

ici

here

est-ce que

is it that / do / does (question marker)

le policier

the police officer

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching French grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning French now

Questions & Answers about Est-ce que le policier est ici ?

Why do we start the sentence with Est-ce que?

Est-ce que is a standard way to turn a statement into a yes-or-no question in French. It literally translates to 'Is it that', so the whole sentence is built like 'Is it that the police officer is here?'.

Why is the word est used twice here?

est is the verb for 'is'. It shows up first as part of the question phrase Est-ce que. It shows up again in the main part of the sentence, le policier est ici, meaning 'the police officer is here'.

If we are talking about a female police officer, does the word change?

Yes. le policier refers to a male police officer, or just the police in a general sense. If you are specifically talking about a female police officer, you would say la policière.

Could I use là instead of ici?

Strictly speaking, ici means 'here' and là means 'there'. However, in everyday spoken French, you will often hear people use là to mean 'here' as well! As a beginner, it is safest to use ici when you mean 'here'.