French 1 Quiz: Information Questions
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Information QuestionsQuestion 1 of 9

Thomas dit à sa camarade de classe : « J'ai un nouveau professeur de chimie. » Sa camarade veut savoir comment s'appelle ce professeur.

Which question should Thomas's classmate ask to find out the teacher's name?

Quel est le nom de ton professeur de chimie ?
Qu'est-ce que ton professeur de chimie s'appelle ?
Qui est ton professeur de chimie ?
Comment s'appelle ton professeur de chimie ?
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French 1 Quiz

French 1 Quiz: Information Questions

Practice Information Questions in French 1 with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Information Questions, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for French 1.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

All questions

Question 1

Thomas dit à sa camarade de classe : « J'ai un nouveau professeur de chimie. » Sa camarade veut savoir comment s'appelle ce professeur.

Which question should Thomas's classmate ask to find out the teacher's name?

  1. Quel est le nom de ton professeur de chimie ?
  2. Qu'est-ce que ton professeur de chimie s'appelle ?
  3. Qui est ton professeur de chimie ?
  4. Comment s'appelle ton professeur de chimie ? (correct answer)
Explanation: When asking about someone's name in French, the key verb to know is s'appeler (to be named/to call oneself). The passage tells you Thomas's classmate wants to know how the teacher is called — so you need a question using the right interrogative word and structure. Comment s'appelle ton professeur de chimie ? (D) is the correct and most natural way to ask someone's name in French. Comment means "how," and paired with s'appelle, this literally asks "How is your chemistry teacher called?" — perfectly matching what the classmate wants to know. This is the standard, everyday formula French speakers use. Now let's look at why the other options fall short. A — Quel est le nom de ton professeur de chimie ? — is grammatically correct and technically means "What is your chemistry teacher's name?" However, it's a more formal, written-register phrasing. While not wrong in real life, it's not the idiomatic go-to expression tested here. B — Qu'est-ce que ton professeur de chimie s'appelle ? — is actually incorrect French. Qu'est-ce que asks "what" for things/objects, not for names, and this construction doesn't work with s'appelle. It's a common trap for learners who over-apply qu'est-ce que. C — Qui est ton professeur de chimie ? — uses qui ("who") and asks for the teacher's identity in general, not specifically their name. You'd use this to ask "Who is your teacher?" not "What is their name?" Study tip: Memorize Comment t'appelles-tu ? / Comment s'appelle-t-il/elle ? as fixed phrases — they're among the most tested name-asking structures in French 1.

Question 2

Sophie rencontre un nouvel étudiant, Lucas, à la bibliothèque. Elle veut savoir quelle langue il parle à la maison.

Which question should Sophie ask Lucas to find out which language he speaks at home?

  1. Quelle langue est-ce que tu parles à la maison ? (correct answer)
  2. Quel langue est-ce que tu parles à la maison ?
  3. Qu'est-ce que tu parles comme langue à la maison ?
  4. Comment tu parles à la maison ?
Explanation: When asking questions in French using quel/quelle (meaning "which" or "what"), you need to match the adjective's gender to the noun it modifies. This question tests both that gender agreement rule and your ability to form a meaningful, natural question. The noun being modified here is langue, which is feminine in French. That means you must use quelle (the feminine form), not quel (the masculine form). Answer A — Quelle langue est-ce que tu parles à la maison ? — uses the correct feminine form quelle paired with langue, making it grammatically accurate and perfectly natural. This is your correct answer. Answer B makes a classic gender agreement error: Quel langue uses the masculine form quel with a feminine noun. This is one of the most common mistakes French learners make — always check the gender of the noun before choosing quel or quelle. Answer C, Qu'est-ce que tu parles comme langue à la maison ?, is tempting because it uses qu'est-ce que correctly in other contexts, but this construction sounds awkward and unnatural here. French speakers would not phrase the question this way when asking specifically about a language. Answer D, Comment tu parles à la maison ?, asks how someone speaks at home, not which language they speak. Comment means "how," so this question misses the point entirely and would confuse Lucas. Your study tip: memorize the gender of high-frequency nouns like langue (f.), pays (m.), and ville (f.) so that quel/quelle agreement becomes automatic on exam questions.

Question 3

Which of the following correctly uses inversion to ask 'Why does she study French?'

  1. Pourquoi elle étudie-t-elle le français ?
  2. Pourquoi étudie-t-elle le français ? (correct answer)
  3. Pourquoi est-ce qu'elle étudie le français ?
  4. Pourquoi étudie elle le français ?
Explanation: When forming a question with inversion in French, you flip the subject pronoun and the conjugated verb, joining them with a hyphen. The question word (like pourquoi) comes first, followed directly by this inverted verb-subject pair, then the rest of the sentence. For "Why does she study French?", the inverted structure places the verb étudie before the pronoun elle, connected by a hyphen: Pourquoi étudie-t-elle le français ? Notice the -t- inserted between étudie and elle — this is required whenever a verb ends in a vowel and the pronoun begins with a vowel, purely for smoother pronunciation. That makes B the correct answer. Looking at the distractors: A is a classic trap called "double subject" construction — it keeps elle before the verb AND after it, which is not standard inversion (it's actually a common spoken form, but grammatically incorrect for formal inversion). C uses est-ce que, which is a valid way to ask a question in French, but it is not inversion — it's a fixed interrogative phrase that keeps normal word order. The question specifically asks for inversion, so C fails on those grounds. D attempts inversion but is missing the hyphen and the liaison -t-, writing étudie elle instead of étudie-t-elle, which is both grammatically and phonetically incorrect. A helpful tip: whenever a verb ends in a vowel (-e, -a) and is followed by il, elle, or on in an inverted question, always insert -t- between them. This small detail is a frequent test point in French grammar questions.

Question 4

Which of the following questions uses inversion correctly to ask 'When does the train leave?'

  1. Quand le train part ?
  2. Quand est-ce que le train part ?
  3. Quand part le train ? (correct answer)
  4. Quand part-il le train ?
Explanation: When forming questions in French, you have three main strategies: rising intonation, est-ce que, and inversion. This question tests whether you can correctly apply inversion, where the verb and subject pronoun are swapped and joined with a hyphen. With inversion, the verb moves before the subject, creating a verb-pronoun pair. For "When does the train leave?" (Quand part le train?), the verb part moves before the subject noun le train — and since the subject is a noun (not a pronoun), it simply follows the inverted verb directly. This is choice C, the correct answer. Here's why the other choices miss the mark: A (Quand le train part ?) keeps the standard subject-verb order and just adds quand at the front — this uses rising intonation style, not inversion. B (Quand est-ce que le train part ?) is actually a grammatically correct question, but it uses the est-ce que construction, not inversion — so it answers a different question than what was asked. D (Quand part-il le train ?) is the trickiest distractor. It looks like inversion because of the hyphen, but it incorrectly doubles the subject by using both le train and the pronoun -il together in this structure. When you invert with a noun subject, you don't add an extra pronoun — that rule only applies when clarifying which noun a pronoun refers to in certain complex sentences. A quick tip: on inversion questions, ask yourself — is the verb placed before the subject? If yes, and there's no unnecessary pronoun doubling, you've found your inversion.

Question 5

Marie parle au téléphone avec son ami Paul. Elle veut savoir des informations sur la fête de samedi.

Marie asks Paul where the party is being held. Which question most naturally and correctly expresses this in French?

  1. Où est-ce que la fête a lieu samedi ? (correct answer)
  2. Comment est-ce que la fête a lieu samedi ?
  3. Quand est-ce que la fête a lieu samedi ?
  4. Pourquoi est-ce que la fête a lieu samedi ?
Explanation: When asking questions in French, the interrogative word you choose must match the type of information being requested. Think of French question words the same way you think of English ones: who, what, when, where, why, and how each have a specific job. Here, Marie wants to know where the party is being held — she's asking about a location. The French word for "where" is où, which makes option A, Où est-ce que la fête a lieu samedi ?, the correct and natural choice. The phrase avoir lieu means "to take place," so the full sentence translates cleanly to "Where is the party taking place on Saturday?" — exactly what the passage describes. The wrong answers each use an interrogative word that requests the wrong type of information. Option B uses comment ("how"), which would ask about the manner in which the party takes place — an odd and unnatural question in this context. Option C uses quand ("when"), which asks about time. Since Marie already knows the party is on Saturday, asking when would be redundant and doesn't match what she wants to know. Option D uses pourquoi ("why"), which asks for a reason or explanation — not a location. A useful strategy: before choosing your answer, identify the category of information being sought (place, time, manner, reason, person, thing). Then match it to the correct interrogative word. In French, this mapping is straightforward — où = place, quand = time, comment = manner, pourquoi = reason — and keeping this chart in mind will help you avoid common mix-ups on these question-formation problems.

Question 6

Which sentence correctly asks 'What are you eating?' using the est-ce que form in French?

  1. Qu'est-ce que tu manges ? (correct answer)
  2. Quoi est-ce que tu manges ?
  3. Qu'est-ce qui tu manges ?
  4. Que tu manges ?
Explanation: When asking "what" questions in French using the est-ce que construction, you need to choose the right interrogative word based on grammatical function. The key distinction is between qu'est-ce que (what as the object of the verb) and qu'est-ce qui (what as the subject of the verb). In "What are you eating?", what is the object — you are eating something. That means you need qu'est-ce que, followed by the subject and verb in normal order: tu manges. Answer A, Qu'est-ce que tu manges ?, follows this structure perfectly and is the correct sentence. Looking at the wrong answers: B uses Quoi at the start of the sentence, but quoi is an informal, standalone pronoun (used after prepositions or in very casual speech) — it never begins a formal est-ce que question. C uses qu'est-ce qui, which is reserved for questions where "what" is the subject of the verb, as in Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? ("What is happening?"). Since tu is already the subject in this sentence and "what" is the object, qui is grammatically wrong here. D, Que tu manges ?, drops est-ce entirely but doesn't invert the subject and verb — if you use que without est-ce que, you must invert: Que manges-tu ? Mixing the non-inverted order with bare que is a common error. A handy tip: memorize the pair — qu'est-ce qui + verb (no subject needed, "what" IS the subject) vs. qu'est-ce que + subject + verb ("what" is the object). This distinction appears frequently on French grammar exams.

Question 7

A student writes the following question: « Vous habitez où ? » Which statement best describes this question?

  1. It is incorrect because où must always appear at the beginning of a French question.
  2. It is a grammatically acceptable informal question that places the question word at the end of the statement. (correct answer)
  3. It is incorrect because vous habitez requires inversion to form any type of question in French.
  4. It is a formal, written-style question that is preferred in official documents and academic writing.
Explanation: When forming questions in French, it helps to know that there are three main registers: informal spoken French, standard French (using est-ce que), and formal French (using inversion). This question tests whether you recognize how informal French handles question word placement. In everyday spoken French, it's completely natural and grammatically acceptable to take a regular statement and simply drop a question word at the end. « Vous habitez où ? » follows exactly this pattern — the base statement vous habitez remains intact, and où is tacked on at the end with rising intonation. You'll hear this constantly in casual conversation, and it's the kind of French real speakers use daily. Choice A is wrong because it describes a rule that doesn't exist. While placing où at the beginning (« Où habitez-vous ? ») is certainly one valid option, French does not require question words to always appear first — that's a misconception students often carry over from formal grammar drills. Choice C is similarly wrong because inversion is only required for the formal register, not for all question types. Informal questions deliberately avoid inversion, so the absence of it here is a feature, not an error. Choice D misidentifies the register entirely — this construction is informal and spoken, not the formal style you'd find in official documents, which would instead use inversion (« Où habitez-vous ? »). A useful study tip: whenever you see a French question with normal subject-verb order and a question word at the end, recognize it immediately as informal/spoken style — perfectly correct in context, just not suitable for formal writing.

Question 8

A French 1 student wants to ask 'How many students are in the class?' Which sentence is correct?

  1. Combien des étudiants sont dans la classe ?
  2. Combien d'étudiants est-ce qu'il y a dans la classe ?
  3. Comment d'étudiants est-ce qu'il y a dans la classe ?
  4. Combien d'étudiants sont dans la classe ? (correct answer)
Explanation: When asking "how many" in French, two key elements must work together correctly: the interrogative word combien and the contraction that follows it. The phrase "how many" in French is combien de, and when the next word starts with a vowel (like étudiants), de contracts to d' — giving you combien d'étudiants. This contraction is mandatory, not optional. From there, the most natural sentence structure uses the simple inversion or a straightforward verb agreement: since étudiants is plural, you need a plural verb, making combien d'étudiants sont dans la classe ? your correct answer — that's D. Now let's look at why the others fall short. A uses des instead of de/d', which is a very common mistake. After combien, you always use de (never du, des, or de la) — it doesn't follow the usual partitive/indefinite article rules. B is grammatically valid French (Combien d'étudiants est-ce qu'il y a dans la classe ? = "How many students are there in the class?"), but it asks about existence with il y a rather than directly stating students "are" in the class — it's a different construction and not the most direct translation of the target sentence. C replaces combien with comment, which means "how" (as in Comment allez-vous?) — a completely different question word that makes the sentence meaningless in this context. Your study tip: after combien, always write de (or d' before a vowel) — never use an article like des. Think of it as a fixed rule: combien de + noun, no exceptions.

Question 9

A student sees the sentence « Tu travailles avec qui ? » and wants to rewrite it using est-ce que with the question word at the front. Which rewrite is correct?

  1. Avec que est-ce que tu travailles ?
  2. Qui est-ce que tu travailles avec ?
  3. Avec qui est-ce que tu travailles ? (correct answer)
  4. Qui est-ce qui tu travailles avec ?
Explanation: When transforming a question using est-ce que, you need to think about two things simultaneously: where the question word goes, and how the preposition behaves with it. In French, when a question word is the object of a preposition (like avec, pour, à), the preposition and question word must stay together as a unit — you cannot separate them. Starting from « Tu travailles avec qui ? », the prepositional phrase is avec qui. To form a formal question with est-ce que, you move that entire phrase to the front, then add est-ce que, then the subject and verb: « Avec qui est-ce que tu travailles ? » — which is answer C, the correct rewrite. Answer A (Avec que est-ce que tu travailles ?) is wrong because que is not the right pronoun here. Que refers to things, not people. Since qui refers to a person, it must be used after the preposition. Answer B (Qui est-ce que tu travailles avec ?) commits the classic "dangling preposition" error — it rips qui away from avec and leaves the preposition stranded at the end, which is acceptable in English but incorrect in formal French. Answer D (Qui est-ce qui tu travailles avec ?) incorrectly uses qui est-ce qui, a construction reserved for subject questions (e.g., Qui est-ce qui parle ?), and again leaves avec stranded. A helpful rule to memorize: in French, a preposition never gets left behind. If your question word needs a preposition, they move to the front together as one block.