In today’s lesson we’ll look at one of the single most important expressions in the entire French language: est-ce que. Translations include “is”, “are”, “do” and “does” in the context of asking yes-no questions. Est-ce que vous êtes prêts ? (Are you ready?) – keep reading!
est-ce que
is/are/do/does
Est-ce que in French
Formation
Est-ce que is the inverstion if c’est que, which translates to “it’s that”. Hence, est-ce que translates literally to “is it that?”.
Pronunciation
Est-ce que in French is pronounced ehs-kuh or [ɛs-kə].
Example sentences
This is a standard yes-no question using est-ce que. The grammatical stucture is: est-ce que + subject + verb + object.
Est-ce que vous parlez français ?
Do you speak French?
When using the pronouns il (he) and elle (she), the -e on que is removed. Hence, qu’il sounds like [keel] and qu’elle sounds like [kell].
Est-ce qu‘il comprend ? Est-ce qu‘elle comprend?
Does he understand? Does she understand?
This same rule applies to ils and elles (they). Hence, qu’ils and qu’elles.
Est-ce qu‘ils apprennent le français ou l’allemand ?
Are they learning French or German?
Est-ce que can also be followed by c’est ot mean “is it…?”.
Est-ce que c’est une bonne idée d’y aller aujourd’hui ?
Is it a good idea to go today?
Related lessons
References
