If you’ve studied any of the real-life examples of conversational French on this blog, you have seen that questions and answers make up the basic fabric of a conversation. In this blog post, I want to have a look at something called closed questions and how to make your answers more idiomatic and interesting.

A closed or yes/no question is one where the answer is either negative or affirmative. An example : Avez-vous froid ? (Are you cold?). In French, this is called une interrogation totale or une interrogation globale.

An open question, on the other hand, requests some information. An example is : Quel est votre nom ? (What is your name ?) This is called une interrogation partielle in French.

In passing, remember that in French one says poser une question not *demander une question. But demander can be used to ask for things. A very common phrase you will hear is something along the lines of :

J’aimerais poser une question. (I would like to ask a question.)

Let’s first look at how closed questions are formed in French. Suppose you want to ask someone if they are hungry, here are the three basic ways of saying so in French :

1.1. Vous avez faim ?
1.2. Avez-vous faim ?
1.3. Est-ce que vous avez faim ?

We see three kinds of constructions here:
(1.1.) The declarative form ending on a rising interrogative pitch as indicated by the question mark.
(1.2.) Reversal of the verb and the subject pronoun.
(1.3.) Use of the interrogative marker « Est-ce que » in front of the declarative form.

These three forms are not exactly interchangeable. In future blog posts I’ll go into the reasons for choosing one or the other. For the time being, let’s say that form 1.1. is somewhat informal and used mostly for short phrases. It is very common in spoken French.

Form 1.2. is more formal and has the most grammatical complications.

Form 1.3. is a very simple and universal solution that works in all contexts. When in doubt use this form.

Here is a longer example of these forms where you are asking if a person’s friend is coming to a movie with us this evening:

2.1. Ton ami vient au cinéma avec nous ce soir ?
2.2. Ton ami vient-il au cinéma avec nous ce soir ?
2.3. Est-ce que ton ami vient au cinéma avec nous ce soir ?

Going beyond Oui and Non for closed questions in French

Although most textbooks and websites say that one is supposed to answer oui or non, in reality you have a wide range of forms to choose from.

Here are some options :

A. Affirmative answers to closed questions

1. Oui. Just as in English where yes can become yep, yup, yah, yeah, etc. in French oui can be pronounced as some variation of ouais, oué, ouein. Be aware of course that a certain pronunciation may be considered very casual. You can’t go wrong with a plain oui.
2. Absolument (absolutely) – great for emphasis
3. Tout à fait (totally)
4. Exact, exactement
5. D’accord
6. Bien sûr, mais bien sûr
7. Bien entendu
8. Beaucoup
9. Un peu
10. C’est ça (That’s it)
11. Volontiers (By all means, please)
12. C’est vrai
13. Et voilà

These forms are not all interchangeable. Although I have not given translations for all the forms, there are differences of meaning that should guide your choice. For example, here is a typical situation where you would use volontiers. At dinner, you are asked if you would like a second helping of food. Here is the dialogue :

– Je vous en resers ?
– Volontiers

Of course, you could also say : Oui, je veux bien or Un peu.

You can get creative with these forms by repeating and combining them. Here is an example :

– Vous êtes d’accord avec cette idée. (Do you agree with this idea.)
– Mais tout à fait, tout à fait. Elle me paraît géniale.

B. Negative answers to closed questions

1. Non. This is often repeated, as in non non non. There is also a strong form,que non. I’ve even heard a very emphatic non, nein, nyet.
2. Absolument pas
3. Du tout, pas du tout
4. Il n’en est pas question, pas question
5. Aucunement
6. C’est faux, c’est archi-faux
7. Bien au contraire
8. Pas tellement

As with the affirmative ones, these forms are not all interchangeable. You can get creative by combining various forms. You might hear something like this :

– Ah non, non, non. Il n’en est pas question.

C. An affirmative answer to a negative closed question

French has an interesting way of saying yes to a negative question. Instead of oui, it uses si. Here is an example :

– Vous ne me reconnaissez pas ? (You don’t remember me ?)
– Mais si, je vous reconnais. (Yes, I do.)

– Tu n’as pas soif ? (You’re not thirsty)
– Si, si, j’ai soif (Yes, I am)

I should point out that a lot of people, especially in Quebec, do not respect this rule at all.

Incorporating these forms into your spoken French

You can’t go wrong with plain oui and non. But you can make your speech more interesting and native-like with these suggested forms. I particularly recommend tout à fait and pas du tout when you want to add emphasis to your answer.

Keep in mind that there are subtle nuances and differences between the various forms. Do not use something just because you’ve seen it on a piece of paper.

When using these forms, pay attention to the intonation because one can convey nuances of enthusiasm, hesitation, irony, sarcasm or doubt just by pronunciation.

Observe how these forms are used in the real-life examples in this blog. Then make them your own.

Stanley Aléong is a polyglot, author, musician, language coach in French, English and Spanish, language workshop facilitator and organizer of French-English conversation meetups in Montreal, Canada. He likes to share his passion for languages and believes that anybody can learn to speak a foreign language well with the right methods and tools. He has also invented a cool visual learning tool called the Essential French Wall Chart Calendar. Reach him at info@langcal.com.