Forming Questions by Inversion

01

Adding "-t-" for Pronunciation

When inverting the third person singular pronouns il, elle, or on, a pronunciation issue may arise if the verb ends in a vowel. To prevent two vowels from clashing (which sounds awkward in the language), the letter -t- is inserted between the verb and the pronoun. This has no grammatical meaning; it is strictly for sound.

This rule applies when the verb ends in a vowel and the pronoun is il, elle, or on.

• Parle-t-il anglais ?

  Does he speak English?

• A-t-elle une voiture ?

  Does she have a car?

• Va-t-on au cinéma ?

  Are we going to the cinema?

Note that if the verb already ends in a t or a d (which sounds like a 't' in liaison), you do not add the extra -t-.

• Comprend-il la question ?

  Does he understand the question?

02

Inversion with Compound Tenses

In compound tenses like the passé composé, which consist of an auxiliary verb and a past participle, you only invert the subject pronoun and the auxiliary verb. The past participle remains in its place after the pronoun.

• Avez-vous fini ?

  Have you finished?

• Sont-ils partis ?

  Have they left?

• As-tu vu ce film ?

  Have you seen this movie?

03

Inversion with Noun Subjects

If the subject of the sentence is a noun (like a name or an object) rather than a pronoun, you cannot simply swap the noun and the verb. Instead, you must keep the noun at the beginning of the sentence and add the corresponding subject pronoun after the verb.

The structure is: Noun + Verb + Hyphen + Pronoun.

• Marie est-elle là ?

  Is Marie here?

• Pierre mange-t-il avec nous ?

  Is Pierre eating with us?

• Les enfants sont-ils fatigués ?

  Are the children tired?

04

Inversion with Negation

When asking a negative question using inversion, the negative particles ne and pas surround the inverted verb-pronoun group.

• Ne voulez-vous pas venir ?

  Do you not want to come?

• Ne sont-ils pas prêts ?

  Are they not ready?

• N'avez-vous pas faim ?

  Are you not hungry?

05

Using Question Words

Inversion is often combined with interrogative words like où (where), quand (when), comment (how), or pourquoi (why). The question word is placed at the very beginning, followed immediately by the inversion.

• Où allez-vous ?

  Where are you going?

• Quand part-il ?

  When is he leaving?

• Pourquoi pleures-tu ?

  Why are you crying?