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A-t-il, vient-il, prend-il: French inversion spelling quiz

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Ten questions on inversion hyphens and inserted t. Practise a-t-elle, prend-il, auxiliary placement and questions with a named subject.

In short

Join an inverted verb and subject pronoun with a hyphen: vient-il, prend-elle. Add -t- before singular il, elle or on when the verb needs the linking consonant: a-t-il, arrive-t-elle, va-t-on. An existing written t or d stays as it is: vient-il, prend-il.

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A guest room prepared for arriving visitors.
Les invités arrivent-ils demain ? asks about their arrival. Illustration: Atelier
Study first: keep or add the consonant?
Statement formInverted groupSpelling check
il aa-t-iladd t between two hyphens
elle arrivearrive-t-elleadd t between two hyphens
on vava-t-onadd t between two hyphens
il vientvient-ilkeep existing t; one hyphen
elle prendprend-ellekeep existing d; one hyphen
vous pouvezpouvez-vousone hyphen; no added t

This is the subject-pronoun join, so inspect the verb next to il, elle or on. In a compound tense, that is the auxiliary: A-t-il compris ? The participle follows the inverted group. An object pronoun stays before the auxiliary: L’a-t-il compris ? Here the apostrophe belongs to l’, while the two hyphens surround the inserted t.

  1. Question 1No account needed
    Choose the inversion with a and elle.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    A-t-elle compris ?. A takes inserted -t- before elle. Write two hyphens and no apostrophe around the t.

  2. Question 2No account needed
    Keep the ordinary third-person form of venir.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Vient-il demain ?. The verb form is vient, already ending in t. Keep it intact and add one hyphen before il.

  3. Question 3No account needed
    Keep the ordinary third-person form of prendre.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Prend-il son temps ?. Prend already has written d. In inversion it takes one hyphen; no extra t is added.

  4. Question 4No account needed
    Choose the inversion with aller and on.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Va-t-on commencer ?. The statement form on va becomes va-t-on. The inserted t needs a hyphen on each side.

  5. Question 5No account needed
    Put inversion on the finite auxiliary.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    A-t-il compris ?. The auxiliary a is the finite verb. It carries inversion; the participle compris follows.

  6. Question 6No account needed
    Choose the plural auxiliary form.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Ont-elles répondu ?. Ont already ends in t. Keep that verb form and add one hyphen before plural elles.

  7. Question 7No account needed
    Keep an object pronoun before the auxiliary.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    L’a-t-il compris ?. Le elides to l’ before a. Inversion still attaches to the auxiliary: l’a-t-il compris.

  8. Question 8No account needed
    Ask with vous.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Pouvez-vous m’aider ?. Join pouvez and vous with one hyphen. The inserted -t- pattern belongs to il, elle, on.

  9. Question 9No account needed
    Keep the named subject and its pronoun.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Nora arrive-t-elle demain ?. The name stays separate. The inverted group is arrive-t-elle, with elle referring back to Nora.

  10. Question 10No account needed
    Choose one complete question frame.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Est-ce qu’il vient demain ?. After est-ce que, use normal subject–verb order: il vient. Do not add subject inversion to that frame.

Why is there a t in a-t-il?

Les invités arrivent-ils demain ?

Are the guests arriving tomorrow?

The noun phrase stays before the verb, and ils refers back to it. Arrivent already has its plural ending -ent; add one hyphen before ils.

Compare Arrive-t-il demain ? with Arrivent-ils demain ? The first starts from singular arrive and adds a linking t. The second starts from plural arrivent and keeps that ending. Check the full conjugated form before choosing the join.

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