Paul pose une question à Marie.

Paul asks Marie a question.

Breakdown of Paul pose une question à Marie.

• Paul: Paul
• Marie: Marie
• à: to
• la question: the question
• poser: to ask

Questions & Answers about Paul pose une question à Marie.

Why do we say poser une question and not demander une question in French?

In French, the natural expression is poser une question (literally: to put/pose a question), not demander une question.

• poser une question à quelqu’un = to ask someone a question
• demander quelque chose à quelqu’un = to ask someone for something / to ask someone something

So you can say:

• Paul pose une question à Marie. – Paul asks Marie a question.
• Paul demande l’heure à Marie. – Paul asks Marie the time.

But Paul demande une question is incorrect in standard French.

What does the verb poser mean here? I thought it meant to put.

Yes, poser does literally mean to put or to place, but it has several common idiomatic uses:

• poser une question – to ask a question
• poser un problème – to cause a problem / to pose a problem
• poser une condition – to set a condition

So in Paul pose une question à Marie, poser is being used in one of its idiomatic meanings: to ask (a question), not physically to put something somewhere.

Why is there à before Marie? Can we leave it out?

The à introduces the indirect object (the person who receives the question).

• Paul = subject (who acts)
• pose = verb
• une question = direct object (what is asked)
• à Marie = indirect object (to whom the question is asked)

In French, the person who receives something is usually introduced by à:

• Paul donne un livre à Marie. – Paul gives a book to Marie.
• Paul écrit une lettre à Marie.

So you cannot omit à here; Paul pose une question Marie is incorrect. You must say à Marie.

Why is it à Marie and not pour Marie?

À is used for the indirect object, the person you are speaking to or giving something to.

• poser une question à quelqu’un – to ask someone a question
• dire quelque chose à quelqu’un – to say something to someone
• donner quelque chose à quelqu’un – to give something to someone

Pour usually means for in the sense of intended for or on behalf of:

• Ce cadeau est pour Marie. – This present is for Marie.

If you say Paul pose une question pour Marie, it sounds like Paul is asking a question on Marie’s behalf (perhaps in a meeting), not asking Marie herself. That is a different meaning.

Why is it une question and not just question without an article?

In French, you normally need an article (or another determiner) before a singular countable noun.

Question is a countable noun, so you must say:

• une question (a question)
• la question (the question)
• sa question (his/her question)

You cannot say Paul pose question à Marie; it sounds ungrammatical. You have to say Paul pose une question à Marie.

Why is it une question and not un question?

Because question is a feminine noun in French.

Every French noun has a grammatical gender, masculine or feminine. The article must agree with that gender:

• une question – feminine
• la question – feminine
• cette question – feminine demonstrative

You just have to learn the gender with each noun: une question, un problème, une réponse, un livre, etc.

Why is the verb pose and not poser or poses?

Pose is the present tense, 3rd person singular form of poser.

Poser is the infinitive (the dictionary form: to pose / to put / to ask).
Here, the subject is Paul (he), so we conjugate:

• je pose
• tu poses
• il / elle / on pose
• nous posons
• vous posez
• ils / elles posent

So with Paul, you must use pose: Paul pose une question à Marie.

Paul poser une question would be like saying in English Paul to ask a question – not a complete, correct sentence in this context.

Could we say Paul demande à Marie instead of Paul pose une question à Marie?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly and the grammar changes more:

• Paul pose une question à Marie. – Paul asks Marie a question.
• Paul demande quelque chose à Marie. – Paul asks Marie for something / asks her something specific.

To use demander, you normally specify what is being asked:

• Paul demande l’heure à Marie. – Paul asks Marie the time.
• Paul demande un conseil à Marie. – Paul asks Marie for advice.

You do not say demander une question. That is the key difference.

Can the word order change, like À Marie, Paul pose une question?

Yes, French word order is fairly flexible for emphasis, although the basic order is:

• Subject – Verb – Object
  Paul pose une question à Marie.

If you want to emphasize Marie, you can move à Marie to the beginning:

• À Marie, Paul pose une question.

This is grammatical and sounds a bit more formal or literary, with focus on Marie.
However, Paul à Marie pose une question (in the middle) is unusual and sounds wrong in normal French.

How would I replace Marie with a pronoun in this sentence?

The indirect object pronoun for à Marie is lui (to her / to him).

So:

• Paul pose une question à Marie.
  → Paul lui pose une question. – Paul asks her a question.

Word order with pronouns in the present tense:

• Subject + pronoun + verb + (direct object)

So the pronoun lui must go before pose, not after.

How is pose pronounced in this sentence?

Pose is pronounced approximately like poze in English:

• po – like po in polish (but with a pure French o)
• s – pronounced like z here, because it is between two vowels in pose
• The final e is silent in standard speech.

So pose is /poz/ in IPA.
The full sentence is roughly: pol poz yn kestjɔ̃ a maʁi.

Why does à have an accent, and what is the difference between a and à?

In French, a (without accent) and à (with accent) are different words:

• a (no accent) = 3rd person singular of avoir (he/she/it has).
  Example: Paul a une question. – Paul has a question.
• à (with accent) = preposition meaning to, at, or in.
  Example: Paul pose une question à Marie.

The accent clearly distinguishes the preposition à from the verb form a in writing.