Learn French: Quel jour est-ce que tu arrives ?

Quel jour est-ce que tu arrives ?

What day are you arriving?

Breakdown of Quel jour est-ce que tu arrives ?

est-ce que

is it that / do / does (question marker)

quel

which / what (adjective)

Questions & Answers about Quel jour est-ce que tu arrives ?

The English translation says "are you arriving", but isn't arrives just the present tense?

Yes! French doesn't have a separate "am/is/are doing" form like English does. The simple present tense tu arrives translates to both "you arrive" and "you are arriving".

Why do we use quel instead of que for "what" here?

When "what" is followed directly by a noun (like "what day" or "what time"), you have to use a form of quel, which means "which" or "what". Because jour (day) is a masculine word, we use the masculine singular form, quel.

What is the purpose of est-ce que in the middle of the sentence?

Est-ce que is a very common way to build questions in French. It literally means "is it that". You put it right after your question phrase (Quel jour) and before your subject and verb (tu arrives) to make it a question.

How would I answer this question to say "I am arriving on Monday"? Do I need a word for "on"?

No, you don't need a word for "on" in French. For a one-time event, you just use the day of the week by itself: J'arrive lundi (I am arriving on Monday).

If I wanted to answer with a recurring habit (like "I arrive on Mondays"), how does that change?