28.19: Part 2: 18 INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES
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18 INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES
It is very important to note, explicitly, that there are two major classes of questions: (1) "yes/no" questions, and (2) "information-requesting" questions. Although the same syntactic constructions may be used for either type of question, there are some restrictions dependent on the type. However, the crucial difference is in the spoken language: "Yes/no" questions are asked with an easily recognized rising intonation, very similar to the one we use in English, while info-requesting questions are posed with essentially the same intonation as a declarative sentence, again much as we do in English.
18.1 "Yes/No" Questions
a. Intonation
The simplest way to make a "yes/no" question (and a perfectly correct, natural and common way) is to maintain standard declarative word order and use rising intonation pattern.16 We'll indicate the intonation pattern here by adding a question mark.
Jean va au théâtre.
→ Jean va au théâtre?
Les enfants sont au lit.
→ Les enfants sont au lit?
Tu as trouvé tes clés.
→ Tu as trouvé tes clés?
16 See the beginning of the Pronunciation Section for an explanation of intonation patterns.
b. Est-ce que
The next simplest way to form a "yes/no" question (also perfectly correct and natural—and the most frequent with more complex sentences) is to insert "est-ce que" in front of standard declarative word order. (Remember, the intonation is also rising: est-ce que doesn't signal "yes/no" all by itself in the spoken language.)
Jean va au théâtre.
→ Est-ce que Jean va au théâtre?
Les enfants sont au lit.
→ Est-ce que les enfants sont au lit?
Ils sont allés voir leurs cousins la semaine passée.
→ Est-ce qu'ils sont allés voir leurs cousins la semaine passée?
c. N'est-ce pas?
Another simple way of asking a "yes/no" question (this time with the rising intonation only on the added expression) is to maintain standard word order and add the expression "n'est-ce pas". Note that the English equivalent is much more complex, since we usually have to use a form of "do" or "to be," in the proper tense and person-number. We'll give translations here.
| Il est malade, n'est-ce pas? | He's sick, isn't he? |
| Tu as trouvé tes clés dans ton sac, n'est-ce pas? | You found your keys in your pocketbook, didn't you? |
| Nous sommes tous des pécheurs, n'est-ce pas? | We're all sinners, aren't we? |
d. Inversion ( = Verb Followed by Subject)
Inversion is simple and quite natural, when the subject is a pronoun. When the subject is a noun, there are restrictions on whether or not one can use full inversion (that is, verb followed by the noun subject). Also, with a noun subject, it is possible to leave the noun phrase in its normal position and insert a dummy subject pronoun after the verb.
We urge you to use est-ce que when in doubt, and in general to use the question-makers in sections a-c in preference to inversion.
However, you will certainly use inversion with pronoun subjects in simple questions such as the following. (Again, recall that we use rising intonation with these "yes/no" questions, no matter what other question-form may be used.)
Il va au cinéma.
→ Va-t-il au cinéma?
Elle comprend la question.
→ Comprend-elle la question?
Tu as trouvé tes clés?
→ As-tu trouvé tes clés?
NB: Do not combine n'est-ce pas (or est-ce que) with inversion!
Finally, here are some examples of inversion with a noun subject. As explained in Section 16.6, the only time you can have full inversion (verb followed by noun subject) is with certain interrogative adverbs; therefore, there are no such cases for "yes/no" questions.
Les enfants ont passé la nuit chez des amis.
→ Les enfants ont-ils passé la nuit chez des amis?
Votre camarade de chambre est allé tout seul à la réunion.
→ Votre camarade de chambre est-il allé tout seul à la réunion?
18.2 Information-Requesting Questions
As we pointed out at the beginning of this section on interrogatives, "info-requesting" questions are distinguished from "yes/no" questions by the fact that all "yes/no" questions use a strong rising intonation pattern. It is clear that, by definition, intonation is not one of the techniques available for signaling such questions. Neither is n'est-ce pas, as you can see from the meaning.
Thus, we are left with inversion and est-ce que to form "info-requesting" questions, and we'll urge you again to depend mainly on est-ce que.
a. Est-ce que
To form an "info-requesting" question using est-ce que, one inserts that expression after the interrogative word/expression (pronoun or adverbial) and before all the rest of the sentence. DO NOT place est-ce que in front of the interrogative word. (See Sections 1.6, 2.2.6, and 16.6.)
| Pourquoi est-ce qu'ils sont allés au cinéma hier soir? | Why did they go to the movies last night? |
| Qui est-ce que vous avez vu en classe hier? | Who(m) did you see in class yesterday? |
| Comment est-ce que je peux vous remercier? | How can I thank you? |
| Qu'est-ce qu'on a trouvé sous la voiture? | What did they find under the car? |
| Dans quel film est-ce que Catherine Deneuve a fait son début? | In what film did Catherine Deneuve make her debut? |
b. Inversion
To form an information-requesting question using inversion, the speaker follows a procedure similar to the one we described for "yes/no" questions.
(1) If the subject is a pronoun, inversion is comparatively simple.
| Pourquoi sont-ils allés au cinéma? | Why did they go to the movies? |
| Comment allez-vous? | How are you? |
| Quand veux-tu partir? | When do you want to leave? |
| Qui a-t-il vu ce matin? | Who(m) did he see this morning? |
| Laquelle de ces robes vas-tu mettre? | Which of these dresses are you going to put on? |
(2) If the subject is a noun, inversion is more complicated, and full inversion is only possible under severe constraints (see Section 16.6). The standard inversion system is to insert a dummy pronoun after the verb.
| Pourquoi les Romains ont-ils envahi la Gaule? | Why did the Romans invade Caul? |
| Quand vos amis sont-ils arrivés à Londres. | When did your friends arrive in London. |
| Sous quel prétexte le voleur est-il entré dans la banque? | Under what pretext did the robber enter the bank? |
NB: We have given these examples for reference only (you may see them in reading and this could help you recognize their function). Please do not try to "learn" them; they will not be used actively in this course. Use est-ce que to form questions.
18.3 Interrogative-Negative
When you ask a question in the negative, apply all the rules for the negative that are discussed in 17.2 above. Obviously, the construction can begin to appear quite complex, but actually there are no added problems except to note that, when inversion occurs, the negative word follows the inverted pronoun (which is connected to the verb by a hyphen) rather than directly following the verb.
Consider the following:
| Ils sont allés au théâtre. | They went to the theater. |
| Sont-ils allés au théâtre? | Did they go to the theater? |
| Ils ne sont pas allés au théâtre. | They didn't go to the theater. |
| Ne sont-ils pas allés au théâtre? | Didn't they go to the theater? |