A2BeginnerSpoken Quebec French · Point 24 / 40
verbe + -tu
In spoken Quebec French, people often add “-tu” after the verb to ask a question.
| Form | Pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| verbe | + -tu | casual spoken way of asking “do you want a coffee?” |
| verbe | + -tu | casual spoken way of asking if it works |
| verbe | + -tu | casual spoken way of asking if someone is coming |
This “-tu” does not mean “you”: it does the job of “est-ce que”. Do not confuse it with standard inversion “Veux-tu ?”, where “tu” really is the subject.
In context
Examples from our dialogues
Lines taken from our dialogues. Listen to them, then open the full dialogue to hear them in a real situation.
Tu veux-tu un café ?
Do you want a coffee?
Ça marche-tu pour toi, jeudi ?
Does Thursday work for you?
Il vient-tu, ton frère ?
Is your brother coming?
Watch out
Common mistakes
Mistakes you will often hear, and the right way to say it.
Vous avez-tu reçu mon courriel ?Avez-vous reçu mon courriel ? / Est-ce que vous avez reçu mon courriel ?
The “-tu” question is heard, not written. In an email or with an employee, use “est-ce que” or inversion.
« Ça marche-tu ? » — Moi ? Non, ce n’est pas moi qui marche.« Ça marche-tu ? » — Oui, ça marche !
Hearing “-tu” and thinking they are talking about you is the classic slip. The subject is “ça”, not “tu”: the question means “est-ce que ça marche ?”.
Read
Related readings
Short texts where this point comes up. Read them to see it inside a story.
In real life
Guides where this comes up
Spot this point while reading a guide about a real task in Quebec.