Subject - Verb - Direct object - Indirect object

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If...

Si...

With present tense (le présent):

(1) Si + (le présent), (le futur simple)
Example: If you finish your homework, I'll give you some candies.
Si tu finis tes devoirs, je te donnerai des bonbons.

(2) Si + (le présent), (l'impératif)
Example: If you are cold, close the window.
Si tu as froid, ferme la fenêtre.

With imperfect (l'imparfait) past tense (to express hypothetical situations):

(3) Si + (l'imparfait), (le conditionnel)
Example: If I had a million dollars, I would buy a house.
Si j'avais un million de dollars, j'achèterais une maison.

With "plus-que-parfait" (also to express hypothetical situations):

(4) Si + (le plus-que-parfait), (le conditionnel passé)
Example: If I had known (or "had I known") computers were so useful, I would have taken a computer course.
Si j'avais su que les ordinateurs étaient si utiles, j'aurais suivi un cours de l'informatique.

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Interrogation

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Formation

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Intonation

As in English, raising the tone at the end of a sentence can turn it into a question.

Example:

Il aime les bonbons. He likes sweets.
Il aime les bonbons? Does he like sweets?

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Est-ce que...

To form a question with "Est-ce que...", attach "Est-ce que..." at the beginning of the sentence. Sometimes "que" has to be modified to "qu'" for elision.

Example: Il aime ce film. => Est-ce qu'il aime ce film ?
(He likes this film. => Does he like this film?)

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Inversion

This is considered to be the most formal way to ask a question out of the three.
(The indicative form of the following sentences will be placed in parentheses for comparison.)

To ask a question by inversion, simple invert the verb and the subject (the pronoun) and insert a hyphen (un trait d'union) in between.
Example: Do you like apples? (You like apples.)
Aimes-tu les pommes ? (Tu aimes les pommes.)

In the case where the verb ends in a vowel while the subject starts with one, a "t" needs to be inserted to avoid elision.
Example: Did she make the decision already? (She made the decision already.)
A-t-elle déjà pris la décision ? (Elle a déjà pris la décision.)

(Notice that for compound tense les temps composés, only the avoir or être part is interchanged with the subject.)

For third person plural (verbs ending in "ent"), there is no need to insert the "t".
Example: Are they buying a house? (They are buying a house.)
Achètent-ils une maison ? (Ils achètent une maison.)

If the subject is a noun instead of a pronoun, invert the verb and the pronoun that represents the subject.
Example: Did Marie choose this shirt? (Marie chose this shirt.)
Marie a-t-elle choisi cette chemise ? (Marie a choisi cette chemise.)

For negative such as "ne...pas", the verb should be inserted in between:
Example: Didn't you eat the whole pizza? (You didn't eat the whole pizza.)
N'as-tu pas mangé la pizza entière ? (Tu n'as pas mangé la pizza entière.)

If there is a direct or indirect object (complément d'objet indirect), it goes before the verb.
Example: Have you been there? (You have been there.)
Y es-tu allé(e) ?'' (Tu y es allé(e).)

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