Est-ce que


Elle l’aime, mais est-ce qu’il l’aime ?
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Essential French Expression

Meaning	(turns a statement into a question)
Literally	is it that
Register	normal/informal
Pronunciation		[ehs keu]
IPA		[ɛs kə]

Usage notes: Est-ce que is unique among French expressions in that it doesn’t actually mean anything – it’s just a way of turning a statement into a question, kind of like the word "do" in English. The difference is that the word order changes when asking a question with "do," whereas in French, it stays exactly the same, with est-ce que placed directly in front of the statement.

Est-ce que is the inversion of c’est que, literally, “it is that.” Hence the hyphen between est and ce: c’est = ce + est is inverted to est-ce.

Though est-ce que is widespread in spoken French, it’s much less common in writing because it’s slightly informal. Remember that if you’re in a formal situation, you should avoid it in favor of inversion.

Par exemple…

Tu es prêt. Est-ce que tu es prêt ?	You are ready. Are you ready?
Michel l’a fait. Est-ce que Michel l’a fait ?	Michel did it. Did Michel do it?
Vous voulez danser. Est-ce que vous voulez danser ?	You want to dance. Do you want to dance?

As always, que contracts to qu’ when it precedes a word that begins with a vowel.

Par exemple…

Elle est sympa. Est-ce qu’elle est sympa ?	She’s nice. Is she nice?
Il y a du pain. Est-ce qu’il y a du pain ?	There’s bread. Is there any bread?
Arnaud va nous accompagner. Est-ce qu’Arnaud va nous accompagner ?	Arnaud is going to accompany us. Is Arnaud going to accompany us?

So far, these have all been yes/no questions. WH questions (which ask for information like “who” and “how”) are a bit different: they need an interrogatory pronoun, adverb, or adjective before est-ce que:

Par exemple…

Qui est-ce que nous allons inviter ?		Whom are we going to invite?
Pourquoi est-ce que tu es parti ?		Why did you leave?
Quelle voiture est-ce qu’elle préfère ?		Which car does she prefer?