questions in past tense in French 2

To form questions in past tense in French, you typically use inversion or the est-ce que structure. Here are the general guidelines:

1. Inversion:
   • Invert the subject pronoun and the auxiliary verb in the past tense.
   • Place a hyphen (-) between the inverted subject pronoun and the verb.
   • Add the past participle of the main verb.
   • For regular verbs, the past participle is formed by adding -é, -i, or -u to the verb stem. For irregular verbs, the past participle varies.

   Example: Statement: Tu as mangé une pomme. (You ate an apple.) Question: As-tu mangé une pomme ? (Did you eat an apple?)

2. Est-ce que structure:
   • Begin the question with “Est-ce que.”
   • Follow it with the subject pronoun and the auxiliary verb in the past tense.
   • Add the past participle of the main verb.

   Example: Statement: Ils ont étudié pour l’examen. (They studied for the exam.) Question: Est-ce qu’ils ont étudié pour l’examen ? (Did they study for the exam?)

Here are a few more examples using both the inversion and est-ce que structures:

1. Inversion: Statement: J’ai vu le film hier soir. (I saw the movie last night.) Question: As-tu vu le film hier soir ? (Did you see the movie last night?)
2. Est-ce que structure: Statement: Elle a terminé son travail. (She finished her work.) Question: Est-ce qu’elle a terminé son travail ? (Did she finish her work?)
3. Inversion: Statement: Nous sommes partis en vacances. (We went on vacation.) Question: Sommes-nous partis en vacances ? (Did we go on vacation?)
4. Est-ce que structure: Statement: Vous avez visité le musée hier. (You visited the museum yesterday.) Question: Est-ce que vous avez visité le musée hier ? (Did you visit the museum yesterday?)

questions in past tense in French