melodixx._.

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[topaz moat]

Before I answer, do you know how questions are asked?

Not with quel and its friends, but just with like « que, pourquoi, comment, où, combien » ?

[latent mica]

Yeah, I somehow know, but I have an exam and I need help with quel etc.

[topaz moat]

The same principle for those work for « quel/quelle/quels/quelles »

The difference is that « quel/quelle/quels/quelles » is followed by a noun

For example, with a « que » question, what you're asking is the object of the sentence

Tu veux [quelque chose] => Tu veux quoi => Qu'est-ce que tu veux ?
The pronoun « que » moves to the start of the sentence, we add « est-ce que » to act in place of inversion, that's it

For « quel/quelle/quels/quelles », you already have an object; you're just asking which specific one.

(1) « Tu veux une voiture »
-> Okay, you want a car, what car? That's where « quel/quelle/quels/quelles » comes in, replacing the article.
(2) « Tu veux quelle voiture ? »
–> We replace the article with « quel/quelle/quels/quelles », making sure it agrees with the noun in gender and number. At this stage, it's a perfectly serviceable question though informal/oral. We can do like what we did with « que » before and move that to the front and add in « est-ce que ».
(3) « Quelle voiture est-ce que tu veux ? »
There. We've done that.

As you can see, the process and end result is the same as any other question which was why I asked you if you knew how to form questions or not because then you'd know that the interrogative word always comes first in an « est-ce que » situation

[latent mica]

So could I say:

Quels animaux est-ce que rouges?

And

Quels animaux don’t rouges?

[topaz moat]

There your structure is completely different

[wispy tartan]

That would be 'Which animals red?'

[topaz moat]

Because in your first sentence, « quels animaux » is acting as a subject

Which animal are red?
Quels animaux sont rouges ?

You only use est-ce que when the thing you're asking is an object

Hence why my original statement is « tu veux [quelque chose] » and not « [quelque chose] veut… »

[topaz moat]

Wait, were you also asking about the relative pronoun « dont » ?

as in, « je connais bien le mec dont tu parles » ?

that's a separate thing, we don't really have « dont » in interrogative questions

the relative pronouns don't really play a role here

[wispy tartan]

I hope you don't mind my interruption, but if that's how one says 'of which', does that mean 'Je connais bien le mec auquel tu parles ?' is wrong?

[latent mica]

No I just forgot the ‚

'

Sorry for the dumb question but how do I know what’s an object and what’s a subject in French?

[topaz moat]

No, that's right, it just means something different.

« je connais bien le mec dont tu parles »
-> I know the guy about whom you're talking.
(parler de quelque chose/quelqu'un = talk about something/someone)

« je connais bien le mec auquel tu parles »
-> I know the guy to whom you're talking.
(parler à quelqu'un = talk to someone)

[topaz moat]

the order

subjects go before verbs, objects after

[wispy tartan]

It's the same as in English: You need to ask yourself 'who' (the subject) is doing 'what' (the object)

[wispy tartan]

Thank you very much

[topaz moat]

Plus, since each conjugation is different, you can at least narrow things down a bit

and the pronoun forms are also different

if you see/hear « me connaissez-vous ? »
« me » is an object pronoun so you know it's going to be inversion but even then the verb form « connaissez » should be with « vous » and not « je » so you know it's also inversion

[latent mica]

So example:

Quel livre est -ce que tu lis?

And

Quel est le auteur pour ton livre?

[topaz moat]

yup

okay well for the second one it doesn't work as well

because « auteur » starts with a vowel so it should contract, « l'auteur »

otherwise, it's fine

[latent mica]

One more: Quelle Couleur est-ce que ton livre?

[topaz moat]

« est-ce que » is not a verb

so before you ask a question

make sure you start from the basics

your sentence in a normal declarative sentence would be like, « ton livre quelle couleur »

where's the verb?

Moreover, with « est-ce que », it should be followed by a subject and a verb

Your two examples earlier showed this perfectly:
« Quel livre est-ce que tu lis ? »
What is after « est-ce que » ? A subject (tu) and its verb (lis)

[latent mica]

Don‘t I only use est-ce que with an object?

[topaz moat]

Yes exactly

I don't know if « quelle couleur » is a subject or an object because your sentence is incomplete

[latent mica]

But isn’t tu an object?

[topaz moat]

Tu is a subject

the object form would be « te »

[latent mica]

So the correct way would be: Quelle Couleur est Ton livre?

[topaz moat]

exactly

[latent mica]

But it would need an est- ce que because it’s asking for an object

[topaz moat]

If it's asking for an object

it's not asking for one here

[latent mica]

So Couleur is a subject?

[topaz moat]

yeah

'What colour is your book?'

[latent mica]

So one example: Quel animal est- ce que ton animal?

Because it’s Which animal is your animal?

[topaz moat]

again, 'which animal' is clearly the subject there

and you're missing the verb again

[latent mica]

Quel Animal est ton animal?

[topaz moat]

that works

Quel animal, no capitalisation

but yes

Try to think of the original sentence first before turning it into a question so that you get a clearer understanding of the steps here

[latent mica]

I just can’t define what’s a subject and what’s an object

[topaz moat]

When you're dealing with être statements, you can think of it as an equals sign

Because of that, the subject/object thing changes a bit and what we have instead is closer to a subject/complement

The only thing that matters is that the left side of the verb is the subject, and the right side is the object/complement

[latent mica]

Quelle est ton ordinateur? Would that be right?

[topaz moat]

Let's look at a normal standard sentence.
(1) « Tu veux un livre. »
Here, we're being clear that we want a book but not which book. For that, that's where « quel » comes in. We replace the article with « quel ».
(2) « Tu veux quel livre ? »
The subject is defined as the thing doing the verb and the object is about the thing being done to by the verb. Here, the subject is the one doing the asking and the object is the one being asked about. The subject goes before the verb while the object goes after it. If you want to ask a question, you have to reverse the position. That either requires inversion or est-ce que.
(3) « Quel livre veux-tu / Quel livre est-ce que tu veux ? »

[topaz moat]

Quel*

but yes

I'm too sleepy to explain this sorry

[latent mica]

Ok, thank you and good night

[latent mica]

I have an additional question: How do I know when I don’t use etre or quest- ce que

[wispy tartan]

I hope I'm not misunderstanding you, but 'être' is the French equivalent of 'be'. You don't use it when you aren't trying to use 'be'.

Of course, there are exceptions, such as this unique structure of asking questions in a neutral way ('est-ce que') and when using certain tenses with certain verbs (passé composé with reflective verbs and verbs that are about movement, such as 'Je me suis blessé.')

[wispy tartan]

'Qu'est-ce que' is used if you want to know 'what': 'What do you do?' --> 'Qu'est-ce que tu fais ?'

You don't use it in sentences like 'What happened here?' ('Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé') since the thing you're asking for is the subject.

[latent mica]

For example Quelle Film tu regardes

That’s without the etre

[wispy tartan]

Oh, I see

Allow me to explain the three ways of asking questions in French:

1. Formally, through inversion: When asking someone whether they exist, you first make the sentence normally ('You exist.'), then swap the subject and the verb's places, leading you to a question like 'Exist you?' In French, that would be transitioning from 'Tu existes.' to 'Existes-tu ?' Notably, you must use a hyphen to connect the two

[wispy tartan]

This one is the informal way of asking someone which film they're watching. It's the third one. Sorry for mistaking it for the first one earlier

2. Neutrally, using the sentence 'est-ce que': You take the original statement 'You exist.' and add 'est-ce que' at the start, leading you to ask, 'Est-ce que you exist?' In French, from 'Tu existes.' to 'Est-ce que tu existes.' Question words must be added before 'est-ce que' and the 'que' needs to be replaced by 'qui' if you're asking for who/what did it instead, such as in the question 'Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé ?'

3. Informally, by not changing anything. This one doesn't always work, so I don't know if this example is correct, but something like, 'You play a lot?' meaning 'Tu joues beaucoup ?'

So, if you're writing or talking to an authority or stranger, you'll be more inclined to use the first way of asking a question, and if you're among friends, the other two ways are preferable.

Would you like me to expound on any of these? Feel free to ask if you're confused by something

[latent mica]

A quick overview, correct me if I am wrong: I only do Quel… est-ce que if I am asking for an object (what) I don’t use est-ce que if I’m asking for a subject, right?

[wispy tartan]

You can always use 'est-ce que'. Like I said, these are different ways of asking a question, all of which are correct

[wispy tartan]

Well, I'd say 'quel' is if you have two or more choices and you're asking what the choice is

[latent mica]

Does this look right?

[wispy tartan]

If you want this structure, you need to add a verb and change 'que' tu 'qui'.

[wispy tartan]

You could ask, 'Quel est-ce qui est l'endroit préféré de Kylium ?'

Or wait...

Now I'm confusing myself

I think you'd have to ask, 'Qu'est-ce qui est l'endroit préféré de Kylium ?'

But what you could do with 'quel' is 'Quel endroit est celui qui Kylium préfère ?'

But now I've changed the structure so that it's without the 'est-ce que'

[latent mica]

Sorry for asking so much, but could you explain again how I know if I’m asking for a subject or an object

[wispy tartan]

No worries.

It's about which (pro)noun of a phrase performs the action, which noun does it. In normal sentences (not questions), the subject is always the thing that comes before the first conjugated verb. For instance, in the sentence 'I like playing games.' the subject is 'I'.

As for finding out a sentence's object, it's all about figuring out to what or whom this action is done. It's the noun to which the first conjugated verb refers to in a normal sentence: 'I like playing games.' --> You like playing what? Games. So, 'games' is the object in that sentence

[latent mica]

So for example with endroit (place), the place would be an object because it’s not a who

[wispy tartan]

No, it depends on how it's used

'Cet endroit est une belle place'

In this case, 'endroit' is the subject, because 'endroit is'. It is. It performs the action 'to be'. And it comes before the first conjugated verb, which is once again 'is'

However, in a sentence like 'J'aime cet endroit.' it's the object, because what do I like? 'Endroit'. It comes after the verb, the verb refers to it, and it's the second (pro)noun in the sentence

So, it's all about where it's placed in the sentence

[topaz moat]

You absolutely cannot do that

[wispy tartan]

Yes, I realised

[topaz moat]

You can just go for, « Quel est l'endroit préféré de Kylian ? »

[wispy tartan]

Yes, but then you're not using 'est-ce que'

I wanted to show that it's possible to do both

[topaz moat]

In that case you'd have to switch the adjective to a verb and remove être

« Quel endroit est-ce que Kylian préfère ? »

[wispy tartan]

What about that?

[topaz moat]

Grammatically this is fine but I much prefer the one I just wrote above

[topaz moat]

That totally works but it asks for something that you don't know

Basically, using « que/qui » implies that you don't know what noun it's replacing whereas with « quel » you do know but you're just specifying

Qui est ton auteur préféré ?
–> I'm asking you about your favourite author

Quel est ton auteur préféré ?
–> I'm asking you about your which author is your favourite among a list

with quel, there's the implication that you're selecting one out of a lineup or a list

[wispy tartan]

I see

[topaz moat]

That's why for the third one, you absolutely have to use « est-ce que »

because « préfère » there is a verb

That's why I advocate for writing them normally first and then changing into a question because OP doesn't seem to get it so far

[wispy tartan]

I mean, you could also write 'Quelle idée préfères-tu ?'

[topaz moat]

Tu préfères cette idée –> Tu préfères quelle idée ? –> Quelle idée préfères-tu / Quelle idée est-ce que tu préfères ?

[topaz moat]

Sure but his questions thus far have been about est-ce que

[wispy tartan]

He did get confused over when to use 'est-ce que' and when not (since he saw there are other ways of posing questions), but yes, you're right

[topaz moat]

Thanks by the way for picking it up, you did well

I literally just woke up

[wispy tartan]

Thank you

[topaz moat]

By the way, @latent mica I just saw the other question you asked about « quand ». It functions absolutely the same way as before

Tu arrives à 16h –> Tu arrives quand ? –> Quand arrives-tu ? / Quand est-ce que tu arrives ?