Which one should you use?
qu'est-ce qui se passe ? is used for general situations, whereas qu'est-ce que tu fais ? is used when you want to ask "What are you doing?" regarding someone's specific actions. For informal greeting or inquiry, you might use Quoi de neuf ? to mean "What's new?" or the more idiomatic Qu'est-ce qui se trame ? to mean "What's brewing?"
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The default form qu'est-ce qui se passe ? is standard and suitable for most neutral to slightly informal situations. For formal contexts, you should use Que se passe-t-il ? In casual spoken French, you may hear the colloquial Il se passe quoi ?
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase qu'est-ce qui se passe ?, the component qu'est-ce qui is used because "what" serves as the subject of the verb se passe.
Did you know?
- The phrase Qu'est-ce qui se trame ? uses the verb tramer, which literally refers to the weaving of threads in a loom, implying something is being 'woven' or plotted in secret.
- The more formal version, Que se passe-t-il ?, introduces a 't' between the verb and the pronoun, which is a purely phonetic addition to avoid a vowel clash.
- The formal version que se passe-t-il ? uses an inverted structure and a dummy pronoun il that does not refer to any specific person or thing.
Examples in context
- Excusez-moi, mais que se passe-t-il ici ?Excuse me, but what is going on here?
- Dis-moi, qu'est-ce qui se passe ?Tell me, what is going on?
Example conversation
Chloé enters a room and sees Lucas looking confused.
- ChloéLucas, qu'est-ce qui se passe ?Lucas, what is going on?
- LucasJe ne comprends pas ce message.I don't understand this message.
- ChloéC'est un problème grave ?Is it a serious problem?
- LucasOui, c'est très bizarre.Yes, it is very strange.
