This French Word of the Day lesson provides a clear explanation of quand vs. lorsque, which both mean ‘when’. In short, quand is an interrogative adverb (when?) and lorsque is a conjunction (or connecting word).
quand – IPA pronunciation /kɑ̃/
lorsque – IPA pronunciation /lɔʁ.sk/
How To Say “When” In French
Usages of quand
Quand is used to mean ‘when‘ when asking a question and seeking information. There is no set place for where to place quand within a question sentence.
The most common way to ask a question in French is to use the word est-ce que, which means is/are/do/does. To ask a ‘when’ question, place quand before est-ce que.
Quand est-ce que vous mangez la pizza?
When are you eating the pizza?
Another common and slightly more formal way to ask a question is to use inversion. This is when the subject and verb are inverted with a hyphen.
Quand mangez-vous la pizza ? When are you eating the pizza?
Two more examples of how to use quand in questions:
Quand est-ce que le train part ?
When is the train leaving?
Quand est-ce que le film commence ?
When’s the movie starting?
For these sentences, both ‘à quelle heure?‘ (literally at what time) and ‘dans combien de temps‘ (literally in how much time) can also be used in the place of quand.
How to use lorsque
Another commonly used word for ‘when’ is lorsque. In this sentence in the futur simple tense, lorsque is being used as conjunction.
Je vous téléphonerai lorsque j’arriverai.
I’ll telephone you when I arrive.
The above sentence can also be written with the quand:
Je vous téléphonerai quand j’arriverai. I’ll telephone you when I arrive.
Lorsque cannot be used for ‘when’ in the context of asking an information-seeking question.
- Quand est-ce que tu commences ? When are you starting? (RIGHT!)
- Lorsque est-ce que tu commences ? When are you starting? (WRONG!)
Lorsque and quand can be used at the beginning of a sentence to express a condition.
- Lorsqu‘il neige, les gens font du ski. When it snows, people go skiing.
- Quand il neige, les gens font du ski. When it snows, people go skiing.
Continue learning French!
Now that you’ve mastered quand vs. lorsque, check out our this lesson which provides a comprehensive explanation of asking questions in French!
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