A French question word comment is among the most commonly used in the language, and it has more than one meaning.
It can be used as an interrogative or exclamatory adverb and means “how” or “what”. You can use comment in questions from ” What’s your name ?” to ” Sorry? Could you repeat that ?”
Today, we’ll provide you with tons of examples to comprehend the question word “Comment.”
What means Comment?
The French question word comment is incredibly ubiquitous. It’s usually used to mean ‘how’ or ‘in what way’.
As an example :
- Comment ca va? → ‘How are you ?
- Comment as-tu fait ce gâteau? → ‘How did you make this cake ?’
It can also mean, ‘what’, ‘sorry’, ‘excuse me’ and ‘pardon’.
Comment?Pouvez-vous répéter? Je n’ai pas bien comprise. → Sorry? Could you repeat that? I didn’t quite understand.
Usage
Comment is the French equivalent to “how.” This question word is used in numerous everyday questions. Here are some examples:
- How are you?
Comment vas-tu?
How are you? (Literally, “how are you going?”)
Comment as-tu fait ça?
How did you do that?
- “What is ___ like?” used with the verb être.
Comment est-il?
What’s he like?
Comment est ta maison?
What is your house like?
- What’s your name?
Comment t’appelles-tu?
What’s your name?
Comment s’appelle-t-elle?
What is her name?
- Expressing disbelief, or when you haven’t heard right the first time.
Philippe est mort. Philippe is dead.
Comment? What?
It is found in a few simple exclamation constructions:
Comment donc!
Of course! By all means!
To learn about other question words in French, read the article Question Words in French : Qui, Quand, Que, Où, Comment ?
Formal and informal questions with Comment
As you know, asking questions in French can be formal and informal. Usually, when the question is asked with an inversion or with the est-ce que, it means the question is formal.
Questions, with Comment, can be both formal and informal.
Question word Comment can be placed at the beginning, or at the end of a question.
In most cases, it is placed at the beginning.
When placed at the end of the question, it turns the question into the informal one.
See the difference between the formal and informal questions.
- Comment est-ce que vous faites un gateau au chocolate? (formal) → How do you make a chocolate cake ?
- Vous faites un gateau au chocolate comment? (informal) → You make a chocolate cake, how ?
Questions with inversions or est-ce que
- Comment est-elle arriveé ici ? (formal ) or Comment est-ce que’elle est arrivée ici? (formal) → How did she arrive here?
- Elle est arrivée ici comment? (informal)
When English “How” isn’t the equivalent of “Comment”
- How about (we do something)? > Et si (on fait quelque chose)?
- How about you? > Et toi?
- How big/long/tall is it/he? > Combien mesure-t-il?
- How come? > Pourquoi ? (or Comment ça se fait?)
- How much/many? > Combien?
- How much is it / does it cost? > Combien ça coûte?
The Art of Asking Questions
Once you master the art of asking questions in French, you’ll be able to immerse yourself in the conversation more deeply.
You can expand further with our article How to ask questions in French.