155 - How to Say 'Do You Speak English' in French
In this episode, you’ll learn how to ask ‘Do you speak English?’ in French. 😊
After the lesson, head over to the French Made Easy Exercise Library to practice!
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Transcript
Hello everyone, welcome back to the French Made Easy podcast! This is episode number 155, numéro 155. Today’s episode is another short and sweet one, where I’ll teach you how to ask “Do you speak English?” in French.
Now of course, I teach you how to speak to people in French, sou can to avoid switching to English, but there might be times when you need to switch, and that’s perfectly fine! So, I’ll teach you how to ask “Do you speak English?” using the three methods of asking questions: the est-ce que method, the intonation method, and the inversion method. Now, if you aren’t familiar with these methods, and therefore not confident about how to ask questions in French, check out episodes number 75 and 76, where I cover how to ask questions using these three methods.
If you're new to the podcast, welcome! Make sure you have your lesson's cheat sheet in front of you, so you can listen to the words and see how they are written. And there are no exercises for this episode since it’s a very short, bite-sized lesson.
Alright, let’s dive in:
Method 1: Intonation Method
This is the simplest way to ask questions in French, where you just raise the pitch of your voice at the end of a statement to indicate that you’re asking a question. Plus, context helps obviously. It’s also the most common and casual way to ask a question.
So to say “Do you speak English” using the intonation method, you say:
“Vous parlez anglais?” or “Tu parles anglais?”
Depending on whether you’re saying “tu” or “vous” to someone. If you're not sure about when to use “tu” and when to use “vous,” both meaning “you,” make sure to listen to episode number 48.
Method 2: Est-ce que Method
This method is also very common, used in both spoken and written French, in casual and formal settings.
So to say “Do you speak English” using the est-ce que method, you say:
“Est-ce que vous parlez anglais?” or “Est-ce que tu parles anglais?”
Again, depending on whether you say “tu” or “vous.”
Method 3: Inversion Method
Now, I keep saying that, but inversion is not that common and a lot more formal. It's mainly found in written French. Plus, this structure is quite complex for beginners, as you have to reverse the verb and the subject pronoun. But even if it’s not as commonly used as the two other methods, but it's useful to know if you read it or hear it somewhere.
So to ask “Do you speak English” using the inversion method, you say:
“Parlez-vous anglais?” or “Parles-tu anglais?” Again, depending on “tu” or “vous.”
Ok, that’s it, so quick recap, to ask someone if they speak English, you can say:
“Vous parlez anglais?” or “Tu parles anglais?” using the intonation method.
“Est-ce que vous parlez anglais?” or “Est-ce que tu parles anglais?”
“Parlez-vous anglais?” or “Parles-tu anglais?”
Et voilà, that’s the end of today’s episode. I hope you enjoyed it. À la semaine prochaine! Chat with you next week.