French Question Formation: Inversion Method

What is Inversion?

In French, inversion means switching the position of the subject and verb to form a question. It's similar to English "Are you?" instead of "You are."

Basic Inversion Pattern

Statement: Subject + Verb Question: Verb + Subject + Rest of sentence

Simple Verb Examples:

1. "Parles-tu français?" (Do you speak French?)

• Original statement: Tu parles français
• The subject 'tu' and verb 'parles' switch positions

2. "Aime-t-elle le chocolat?" (Does she like chocolate?)

• Original statement: Elle aime le chocolat
• Notice the 't' added between verb and subject for better sound

Complex Verb Tenses

Passé Composé:

1. "As-tu mangé?" (Have you eaten?)

• Original statement: Tu as mangé
• Only the auxiliary verb 'as' inverts with subject

2. "Ont-ils fini?" (Have they finished?)

• Original statement: Ils ont fini
• The auxiliary 'ont' moves before 'ils'

Future Tense:

"Viendras-tu demain?" (Will you come tomorrow?)

• Original statement: Tu viendras demain
• The entire conjugated verb moves

Special Cases

With Nouns as Subjects:

1. "Marie aime-t-elle le café?" (Does Marie like coffee?)

• Keep the noun, add pronoun after verb
• Never say: "Aime Marie le café?"

2. "Le train arrive-t-il bientôt?" (Is the train arriving soon?)

• Noun stays first, matching pronoun follows verb

With Complex Pronouns:

"Pourquoi est-ce que Jean-Pierre est-il parti?" (Why did Jean-Pierre leave?)

• Long subjects require matching pronoun after verb

Common Question Words with Inversion

1. "Où vas-tu?" (Where are you going?)

• Question word first, then inversion

2. "Quand partez-vous?" (When are you leaving?)

• Simple inversion with question word

3. "Comment allez-vous?" (How are you?)

• Standard formal greeting using inversion

Important Rules

1. Add hyphen between verb and subject pronoun
2. Add 't' between verb and subject if verb ends in vowel
3. Keep noun subjects in front with matching pronoun after verb
4. Use only with yes/no questions or question words

When to Use Inversion

• Formal situations
• Written French
• Professional contexts
• Official documents
• Literature and formal speech

Note on Register

Inversion is considered formal in French. While it's essential to understand it, in casual conversation, French speakers often use:

• Rising intonation: "Tu viens?"
• Est-ce que: "Est-ce que tu viens?"

Practice forming questions starting with simple subject-verb combinations before moving to complex tenses and noun subjects.