COMPARISON BETWEEN INTERROGATIVE CLAUSES IN ENGLISH AND

FRENCH

In this written paper, we will analyze the structure of interrogative clauses in English and
French. We will first start with an introduction to the matter with interrogatives in both
languages. Subsequently, we will analyze the type of resources each language has to create
interrogations. And finish with contrasting both structures. We will also focus on the
intonation used in both questioning techniques, and pitch patterns.

1. What are interrogative clauses?

To understand this project we will have to understand some key concepts such as the type of
clauses are interrogative clauses.

“Interrogative clauses are typically produced in order to elicit information from the
addressee. Depending on the kind of information requested by the speaker, one can
distinguish between two basic types of interrogatives: polar interrogatives and
constituent interrogatives”

[Oxford Research Encyclopedias, “Interrogatives”, Nicola Munaro, 2022]

In this definition we can highlight the objective of interrogative clauses. We can categorize
the type of questions depending on several factors.

1. SYNTACTICAL STRUCTURE OF THE INTERROGATIVE CLAUSE IN

FRENCH

Partial or Total Interrogatives (Partielles où totales)

This division is made depending on the question’s answer. If it can only be answered with a
yes or a no we would have a total question, if the answer has to be more developed that
would be a partial interrogative. This type of division exists in both languages.

Another important remark that we have to make is the language's structure to create
questions. In French we have three main types:

1.1 Subject-Verb Inversion:

In French, declarative sentences normally follow the same basic word order as in English:
subject-verb-object (SVO). Nevertheless, in many questions, the subject and the verb are
inverted to create the interrogative. An example for this type of questions would be:

​ Eg.1 Declarative: Ce livre s’adresse à Paul (This book is for Paul)

​ Eg.2 Interrogative: À qui s’adresse ce livre? (Who is this book for?)
 1.2 Inversion complex structure

We can also have some cases that include a pronoun, the so-called inversion complex
structure.This type is characterized by the placement of the nominal subject followed by the
inflected verb. An example of this would be:
- Eg.1 Declarative: Sarah a pleuré (Sarah cried)
- Eg.2 Interrogative: “Pleurait-elle Sarah?” (Did Sarah cry?)

In this example we can highlight the use of the pronominal subject “elle” enclitized onto the
verb. This is a particular use of French interrogative clauses that is not present in English.

1.3 “Est-ce que”

Finally, "Est-ce que" is frequently used at the start of a phrase from a declarative statement
in to create interrogative sentences.

-Eg. 1 Declarative: Il aime les chiens (He likes dogs)

-Eg.2 Interrogative: Est-ce qu’il aime les chiens? (Does he like dogs?)

Question Words:
In French we can also have questions that begin marked by “qu’” pronouns. These vary
related to the type of information wanted. We can use the pronoun “qui” for people (who in
English) “quoi/qu’” for things (what in English) and the expression “Qu'est-ce que”.
- Eg.1 Qui a touché l'arbre? (Who touched the tree?)
- Eg.2 Qu'est-ce qu'on va manger? (What are we going to eat?)

Intonation questions:

An intonation inquiry is the most basic type of question. The subject, verb, and object are still
arranged in the same order as in a declarative sentence. The rising intonation, which indicates
that it is in fact, a question, is the only distinction. We will discuss the importance of
intonation and the types in both languages further on in this paper.

- Eg. 1: Declarative: On va faire la fête (We are going out)

- Et. 2: Interrogative: On va faire la fête? (Are we going out? )

This type of difference is only marked by the intonation in oral expressions. For example in
these examples the pitch falls in the last word “fête”.
These are general patterns, and variations may occur depending on question type, format, and
context
Additionally, French, spoken informally, may use a rising intonation or be context-dependent
rather than a strict change in word order to indicate a question
 1. SYNTACTICAL STRUCTURE OF THE INTERROGATIVE CLAUSE IN
ENGLISH

In English there are four types of main clauses: declaratives (statements), interrogatives
(questions), imperatives (orders/instructions) and exclamatives (used for exclamations).

2.2 TYPES OF QUESTIONS

Similarly French, we can classify interrogative clauses into two main groups depending on
the answer that is given.
On the one hand there are yes/no questions. These are, very simply, the questions that invite
the person that the speaker is addressing to respond either yes or no. (“Do you want me to
pick you up later?”)

On the other hand, there are “wh” questions which are those who seek more information to be
given in the answer. (“Where do you live now?”)

We can also distinguish other types of questions such as the “choice question” (“Would you
prefer to go out now or later?”) where the sender pushes the receiver to choose between two
options.

There are also “tag questions” which are essentially questions added on to the main
statement; sometimes used to reinforce the first statement. ( “He told us that he was leaving
tomorrow, didn't he?”)

Finally, there are indirect questions such as “I wonder where my book is”.

Question Words:

English often uses question words (who, what, where, when, why, how) at the beginning of
interrogative sentences.

Example: What are you doing?

When forming non-polar inquiries, or wh-questions, one typically uses an interrogative word
(like what, where, how, etc.) into the query. This often fills the position that the information
being sought would typically occupy in the sentence's syntactic structure. But in many
languages, the interrogative word (or the phrase it belongs to) is moved to the front of the
sentence in terms of word order (a wh-fronting technique). Like yes/no inquiries, these
queries could also have the subject-verb inversion. Here are a few examples in English:

“He is somewhere”

“Where is he?” (Where is fronted)

When there is more than one interrogative word, only one of them is fronted: "Who wants to
order what?"

There is also the possibility of “wh” questions not fronting due to rising intonation and a
desire to add emphasis on the question: “He said what??”

Grammar-wise, a sentence can be classified as a question even when it doesn't include the
typical question intonation. This frequently denotes a rhetorical question, to which no
response is anticipated. In English, tag questions like "It's too late, isn't it?" frequently use
this expression. Speaking the tag question ("isn't it") with rising intonation implies that the
speaker is expressing doubt; conversely, speaking it with dropping intonation implies neither
doubt expression nor expectation of a response.

Regarding intonation, which will be spoken about later in this paper, English relies quite
heavily on it. In English , Yes/No questions are almost always spoken with a rising
intonation, whereas “wh” questions don't require it due to the fact that they are fronted by
markers of interrogation.

Regarding the word order of interrogative clauses, it depends on whether the question is
formed with an auxiliary verb or a modal verb. To explain this properly, we must return to the
types of questions in English:

Yes/No Questions:

These questions typically start with an auxiliary verb (be, have, do) or a modal verb, followed
by the subject and the main verb. If there is no auxiliary or modal verb in the statement form,
the auxiliary verb "do" is added to form the question.

Example1 : He is going on holiday / Is he going on holiday?

Example 2 : You like chocolate/ Do you like chocolate?

Wh-Questions:

Wh-questions begin with a question word (who, what, where, when, why, how) followed by
the auxiliary verb, the subject, and the main verb.

Example: She is writing a short story / What is she writing?

If the question is in the past tense and contains the auxiliary verb "did", the word order may
change. In these cases, the main verb is used in its base form
Example: They cooked spaghetti. / Did they cook spaghetti? / What did they cook?

PROSODY IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH QUESTIONS

In both English and French, intonation is essential for distinguishing between questions and

statements, particularly in spoken language. Tonality contributes to the interrogative quality

of a sentence, even though word order is one method of creating questions.

ENGLISH

Rising Intonation:

In English, yes-no questions often have a rising intonation toward the end of the sentence.
The pitch of the voice goes up, indicating that a response is expected.

Example: “Are you going to eat that”? (the tone rises on “that”)

Falling Intonation:

Wh-questions (questions beginning with who, what, where, etc.) typically have a falling
intonation at the end of the sentence.

Example: “Where do you live?”

FRENCH
Rising Intonation:

In French, yes-no questions often have a rising intonation, similar to English. The pitch rises
towards the end of the sentence.

Example: “Tu vas aller demain en cours?” - The pitch rises on "cours."

Falling Intonation:

Wh-questions in French may also have a falling intonation, especially if the question is
declarative in word order (without inversion).

Example: "Tu fais quoi ?" (What are you doing?) - The pitch falls on "quoi."

Neutral Intonation:
Some questions in both English and French may have a neutral or unchanged intonation,
especially in more formal contexts or when seeking confirmation.

Example (English): "You have the report?" - The pitch may remain steady.

Intonation with "Est-ce que":

When using "est-ce que" in French, the rising intonation often occurs at the end of the phrase
containing "est-ce que."

Example: "Est-ce que tu viens à la fête ?" - The pitch rises on "fête."

It is important to note that intonation patterns can vary depending on regional accents,
personal speaking style, and situational factors
Furthermore, these explanations are most appropriate in the context of spoken language, since
intonation is not expressed in written language

CONCLUSION

From this written project we can extrapolate many important differences between the
syntactic forms of English and French interrogative clauses.

We can see that even with no variations in syntax, a statement can differ thanks to the form of
expression used (oral/written) or the context (intonation). Another important highlight is the
creation of fixed expressions that each language has to form enquiries (“est-ce que” forms
and “do you” forms). From the similarities in both language's structure we have to highlight
the “subject-verb-object form” that both have in declarative statements. And the use of
question words in both languages that depend on the type of answer wanted (wh’ questions
and qu’ questions). We also found that intonation in a language is of great importance,
especially regarding interrogative clauses. This showed us the relevance that oral expressions
have when talking about questions.

Finally, in this study we have found the main differences between the two languages, using
examples to support our claims. We have created a contrast by examining the different
utensils used to create interrogative clauses which sometimes have the same purpose. This
makes us realize that even having different etymological origins (Romance / Anglo-Saxon
languages) humans always had to express their inquiries using similar structures.
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https://francais.lingolia.com/en/grammar/sentence-structure/questions

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/7594/english-questions-and-negation-with-do-i
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https://apprendre.tv5monde.com/fr/aides/grammaire-poser-une-question-0

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrogative#:~:text=An%20interrogative%20clause%20is%20a
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