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Rhetorical French Expression
| Meaning | It’s not an issue, it never comes up, it doesn’t matter | |
| Literally | The question isn’t asked | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation | [lah kehs tyo(n) neu seu poz pah] | |
| IPA | [la kɛs tjɔ̃ nə sə poz pa] | |
Usage notes: The meaning of the French expression la question ne se pose pas is pretty much self-evident – as long as you’re familiar with the passive reflexive. Se poser, literally “to ask oneself,” in this expression means “to be asked.” La question can indicate a question or an issue. So la question ne se pose pas, literally, "the question/issue doesn’t ask itself," has two uses:
1) The issue is not an issue: the question isn’t asked, it doesn’t come up, it’s not an issue, there’s no point in asking (or even wondering).
Par exemple…
| Je ne sais pas si Marc veut y aller. Il doit travailler, donc la question ne se pose pas. | I don’t know if Marc wants to go. He has to work, so it’s not an issue / the question never came up. | |
| Dans ce pays, la question ne se pose pas. | In this country, there’s no question (of that happening), it’s impossible. |
2) The answer to the question is so obvious that it goes without saying, it doesn’t need to be asked – if it is asked, it’s rhetorical.
Par exemple…
| Si j’aime le chocolat ? La question ne se pose pas ! | (You want to know) if I like chocolate? No need to ask / of course I do! | |
| Pas besoin de dire, la question ne se pose pas. | That’s self-evident, it’s a rhetorical question. |
Somewhat synomymous
- bien sûr
- ça / cela va de soi
- ça / cela va sans dire
- évidemment
- il va de soi
- il va sans dire
- mais oui
Variations
- la question ne se pose même pas
- le problème ne se pose pas
Related lessons
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