que sont
The French phrase for "what are" is que sont.
Que sont is a question used to ask for the identity or definition of multiple people or things.
Which one should you use?
While que sont is grammatically correct for asking "what are" multiple things, the phrase qu'est-ce que c'est is much more common in spoken French to ask "what are they".
Did you know?
- While que sont is the literal translation of 'what are', French speakers often use the singular qu'est-ce que c'est even when asking about a plural group of objects.
- While que sont is grammatically perfect, using it in a casual conversation might make you sound like a character from a 19th-century philosophy book.
- When asking 'what are they' in spoken French, the phrase c'est quoi is frequently used, which literally translates to 'it is what'.
Examples in context
- Que sont ceux-ci ?What are those?This example shows how to use que sont to ask about the identity of objects.Tatoeba #1997531 by sacredceltic, translation #1886819 by CK
- Que sont toutes ces ecchymoses ?What are all those bruises?This example shows how to use que sont when asking about multiple bruises.Tatoeba #4869143 by sacredceltic, translation #2653242 by Hybrid
- Que sont-ils en train d'attendre ?What are they waiting for?This example shows how to use que sont in a question about what a group is doing.Tatoeba #7124919 by Aiji, translation #4015833 by CK
- Quels sont les avantages de cette méthode ?What are the advantages of this method?
- Quelles sont les compétences requises pour ce poste ?What are the skills required for this position?
- C'est quoi tes projets ce soir ?What are your plans tonight?
- C'est quoi ton sport préféré ?What's your favorite sport?
- Quelles sont les caractéristiques de votre produit ?What are the characteristics of your product?
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan and Léa are looking at old documents in an archive.
- NathanQue sont ces documents anciens ?What are these old documents?
- LéaCe sont des lettres de famille.They are family letters.
- NathanEt que sont ces petits symboles ici ?And what are these little symbols here?
- LéaJe ne sais pas, Nathan.I don't know, Nathan.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
