Overview of French Interrogative Adverbs

Overview of French Interrogative Adverbs Interrogative adverbs are used to ask for specific information or facts. As adverbs, they are invariable, meaning they never change form. The most common French interrogative adverbs are: combien, comment,  oà ¹, pourquoi, and quand.  They can be used to ask questions with est-ce que  or subject-verb  inversion  or to pose indirect questions. And some can be worked into to nimporte (no matter)  expressions. 'Combien (de)' Combien means how many or how much. When its followed by a noun, combien requires the preposition de (of).  For example: Combien de pommes est-ce que tu vas acheter ? How many apples are you going to buy?Combien de temps avez-vous  ? How much time do you have 'Comment' Comment means how and sometimes what. For example: Comment va-t-il  ?   How is he doing?Comment as-tu fait à §a  ?   How did you do that?Comment  ?   What?Je ne vous ai pas entendu.   Ã‚  I didn’t hear you.Comment vous appelez-vous ? What’s your name? 'Oà ¹' Oà ¹Ã‚  means where. For example:   Oà ¹ veux-tu manger  ?   Where do you want to eat?Oà ¹ est-ce qu’elle a trouvà © ce sac  ?   Where did she find this bag? 'Pourquoi ' Pourquoi  means why. For example: Pourquoi à ªtes-vous partis  ?   Why did you leave?Pouquoi est-ce qu’ils sont en retard  ?   Why are they late? 'Quand' Quand means when. For example Quand veux-tu te rà ©veiller  ?   When do you want to wake up?Quand est-ce que Paul va arriver  ?   When is Paul going to arrive? In Questions With "Est-Ce Que" or Inversion All of these interrogative adverbs can be used to ask questions with either est-ce que or subject-verb  inversion. For example: Quand manges-tu  ? / Quand est-ce que tu manges  ?   When do you eat?Combien de livres veut-il  ? / Combien de livres est-ce quil veut  ?   How many books does he want?Oà ¹ habite-t-elle  ? / Oà ¹ est-ce quelle habite  ?   Where does she live? In Posing Indirect Questions They can be useful in indirect questions. For example: Dis-moi quand tu manges.   Tell me when you eat.Je ne sais pas combien de livres il veut.   I dont know how many books he wants.Jai oublià © oà ¹ elle habite.   I  forgot where she lives. With 'N'Importe' Expressions Comment, oà ¹, and quand can be used after nimporte  (no matter) to form indefinite adverbial phrases.  For example: Tu peux manger nimporte quand. You can eat whenever / anytime. And the Literary Why: 'Que' In literature or other formal French, you might see an additional interrogative adverb: que, meaning why. For example: Quavais-tu besoin de lui en parler  ? Why did you have to go and talk to him about it?Olivier et Roland, que nà ªtes-vous ici  ? (Victor Hugo) Olivier and Roland, why arent you here?