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Adjectifs interrogatifs
When asking someone to make a choice between two or more things, you need the interrogative adjective quel, meaning "which" or "what."
Par exemple…
| Quel film veux-tu voir ? | Which movie do you want to see? | |
| Quelle ville est plus jolie : Annecy ou Besançon ? | Which city is prettier: Annecy or Besançon? |
Characteristics of interrogative adjectives
- Used in place of an article, not with one
- Placed directly in front of a noun
- Must agree with the noun in gender and number
- Are identical to French exclamative adjectives
- Quel + noun can be replaced by the interrogative pronoun lequel
French interrogative adjectives
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Masculine | quel | quels | ||
| Feminine | quelle | quelles |
All four words are pronounced identically in front of consonants: the s in the plural forms is silent. In front of a vowel or mute h, a liaison is required.
Asking questions
You can ask questions with either est-ce que or inversion.
Par exemple…
| Quel film est-ce que tu préfères ? Quel film préfères-tu? |
Which movie do you prefer? | |
| Quels livres est-ce qu’elle doit acheter ? Quels livres doit-elle acheter ? |
What books does she need to buy? |
Informally, you can put quel and the noun at the end of the question:
Par exemple…
| Tu préfères quel film ? | You prefer which movie? | |
| Elle doit acheter quels livres ? | She needs to buy what books? |
When asking a question with a verb that needs a preposition, the preposition precedes quel.
Par exemple…
| À quel voyage est-ce que tu penses ? À quel voyage penses-tu ? |
Which trip are you thinking about? | |
| Sur quelle table est-ce que tu as mis ton sac ? Sur quelle table as-tu mis ton sac ? |
Which table did you leave your bag on? |
Quel + être
Par exemple…
- Quel est … ? means "what is … ?"
- Quels sont … ? means "what are … ?"
Par exemple…
| Quelle est la solution ? | What’s the solution? | |
| Quels sont les cours les plus intéressants? | What are the most interesting classes? |
Set expressions
| Quelle heure est-il ? | What time is it? | telling time | |
| Quelle est la date? | What’s the date? | dates | |
| Quel jour sommes-nous / est-il ? | What day is it? | days |
Quel is used for asking about a choice between two or more options. In contrast, when asking what something is – a definition or description – you need an interrogative pronoun.
Par exemple…
| Quel est ton dinosaure préféré ? | What (which) is your favorite dinosaur? | |
| vs | ||
| Qu’est-ce qu’un dinosaur ? | What is a dinosaur? (I need a definition.) |
Beyond questions
Despite the name, the interrogative adjective quel is not limited to questions.
Par exemple…
| Je ne sais pas quelle chemise acheter. | I don’t know which shirt to buy. | |
| Il ne m’a pas dit à quelle heure il va arriver. | He didn’t tell me what time he’s arriving. |
To say "which one?" you need the interrogative pronoun lequel.
Related lessons
En español
In italiano
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