est-ce que

== French == === Alternative forms === est-ce qu' (elided before a vowel) esque (informal) === Etymology === From the subject-verb inversion of c'est que (“it is that”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɛs kə/ Rhymes: -ə === Particle === est-ce que Used to introduce a yes-or-no question. Est-ce que tu veux une chambre ? ― Do you want a bedroom? Est-ce qu’elle est arrivée ? ― Has she arrived? Used after a preposed interrogative to introduce the remainder of the question. ==== Usage notes ==== Before a vowel, est-ce que becomes est-ce qu’: est-ce qu’elle est-ce qu’il In older forms of French, and in more formal registers of present-day French, the role of est-ce que is often fulfilled by subject-verb inversion: Quand viendrez-vous ? ― When will you come? In fact, est-ce que itself results from subject-verb inversion; it comes from c’est que — however, in modern French, est-ce que is a set phrase that does not necessarily function as the inversion of c’est que and the former can be used to introduce a question beginning with the latter: In colloquial French, yes-or-no questions are often indicated solely by punctuation (in writing) or intonation (in speech), with no special lexical or syntactic marker: T'es prête ? ― You ready? Similarly, non–yes-or-no questions often use the same structure as statements, with question words not being preposed: Il a dit quoi ? ― He said what? In informal or colloquial French, question syntax is often used instead of subject-verb inversion in indirect questions: ==== Descendants ==== Haitian Creole: èske Louisiana Creole: èske Seychellois Creole: eski === See also === qu'est-ce qui qu'est-ce que qu'est-ce que c'est === Further reading === “est-ce que”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012