quand

When with Quand

Level 1

Quand = When.
Use it to ask about time in general (days, months, years). For specific clock time, use à quelle heure.

How It Works

The word quand is a fundamental question word in French. While it translates directly to 'when', there are specific rules for its use:

1. Broad vs. Specific Time: Use quand for general timeframes like 'tomorrow', 'next week', or 'in 1990'. If you need a specific clock time (e.g., 3:00 PM), use à quelle heure instead.

2. Sentence Structure:

  • Standard: Quand est-ce que tu pars ? (When are you leaving?)
  • Formal: Quand pars-tu ? (When do you leave?)
  • Casual: Tu pars quand ? (You're leaving when?)

3. The [t] Liaison: When quand is followed by a word starting with a vowel (like est-ce que, il, or on), the final 'd' is pronounced as a [t] sound. This is a critical part of liaison in French.

4. Prepositions: You can combine it with prepositions like depuis (since) to ask depuis quand (since when).

Examples (4)

  1. Quand est-ce que tu vas au cinéma ?

    When are you going to the cinema?

    Word by Word: When is it that you go to the cinema?

    This uses the standard 'est-ce que' structure, which is the safest and most common way to ask a question.

  2. C'est quand, ton anniversaire ?

    When is your birthday?

    Word by Word: It is when, your birthday?

    A very common casual way to ask 'when' in spoken French by placing 'quand' after the verb.

  3. Quand finit le cours ?

    When does the class end?

    Word by Word: When finishes the class?

    A more formal structure using simple inversion of the subject and verb.

  4. Depuis quand habites-tu ici ?

    Since when have you lived here?

    Word by Word: Since when live you here?

    Using 'quand' with the preposition 'depuis' to ask about the starting point of an action.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'lorsque' to ask a question.

    Lorsque pars-tu ?
    Quand pars-tu ?

    While 'lorsque' also means 'when', it is a conjunction used to join two parts of a sentence. It can never be used as a question word.

  • Using 'quand' to ask for a clock time.

    Different MeaningQuand est le rendez-vous ?
    À quelle heure est le rendez-vous ?

    'Quand est le rendez-vous ?' is correct, but it asks about the day or moment (Monday, tomorrow). To ask for the exact clock time, say 'À quelle heure est le rendez-vous ?'.

  • Pronouncing the 'd' as a [d] in liaison.

    Quand [d] est-ce que...
    Quand [t] est-ce que...

    In French liaison, the 'd' at the end of 'quand' must be pronounced as a 't' sound when followed by a vowel.

How It Connects

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quandLevel 1When with Quand

Learn This First

To use 'quand' (when) effectively, you need to understand the basic structure of French sentences and the different ways to form questions, such as using 'est-ce que' or subject-verb inversion.

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quand