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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.![]() |
You are ready.![]() |
Michel l’a fait.![]() |
Michel did it.![]() |
Vous voulez danser.![]() |
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.![]() |
She’s nice.![]() |
Il y a du pain.![]() |
There’s bread.![]() |
Arnaud va nous accompagner.![]() |
Arnaud is 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? |
Related lessons
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