/ɛs/
Translation
is it (interrogative particle, used in est-ce que and est-ce qui)
Word origin
An interrogative formed by inverting c'est ('it is'). Est is a form of etre, from Latin esse ('to be'); ce is from Latin ecce hoc ('behold this').
- Origin
- Latin
- Root
- esse + ecce hoc
- English cognates
- essence
Examples
- ?
Are you coming to the meeting tomorrow?
- ' ?
Is there still room?
'- ?
What do you want to drink?
- ?
Do you want a tea or a coffee?
- ?
Is it really necessary to leave so early?
Where this fits
Used in
Grammar articles
(13)French Advanced Grammar (C1-C2): The Constructions That Sound Native
French Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
French Conditionnel: Polite Requests, Hypothetical 'Would', and the Same Irregular Stems as the Future
Conjugating French -re Verbs in the Present Tense
Reported Speech in French: Tense Backshift (dit que, a dit que)
French Impersonal Verbs: il y a, il faut, il fait and the Dummy Subject 'il'
French Interrogatives: qui, que, où, quand, comment, pourquoi, combien, quel
French quel and lequel: Which and Which One
French Question Words: qui, que, quand, où, comment, pourquoi and the Three Ways to Ask
Reported Questions and Commands in French
French si Clauses: The Three Types of Conditional Sentence
The French Subjunctive After Doubt, Emotion and Opinion
French Word Order: SVO, the Object Pronoun Inversion, and Six Rules That Cover 90% of Sentences
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueFrench · Free printables
est-ce: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the French word "est-ce" (is it (interrogative particle, used in est-ce que and est-ce qui)): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 2.