French Phrase
Tu joues avec qui ?
Meaning
Literally ‘You play with who?’, this sentence asks the listener to name the person or people they are playing with. It is informal and usually used among friends, family, or when speaking to children.
When to use
Use this phrase in casual conversation, especially when you want to know the playing partner of a child, a teammate, or a friend. It is not appropriate in formal settings; in those cases you would use the inverted form ‘Avec qui joues‑tu ?’
✦Grammar Breakdown
Tujouesavecqui?
Subject pronoun (Tu)
‘Tu’ is the informal second‑person singular pronoun used with friends, family, or children.
Verb conjugation (jouer)
‘Jouer’ is a regular -er verb; in the present tense with ‘tu’ it becomes ‘joues’ (you play).
Preposition (avec)
‘Avec’ means ‘with’ and is required before the person or thing you are playing with.
Interrogative pronoun (qui)
‘Qui’ means ‘who’. In informal spoken French it often appears at the end of the sentence rather than in front of the verb.
Word order in informal questions
Instead of inversion (‘Avec qui joues‑tu ?’) French speakers frequently keep the declarative order and add ‘qui’ at the end.
🗨In Conversation
Tu joues avec qui ?
Who are you playing with?
Je joue avec Marie et Lucas.
I'm playing with Marie and Lucas.
✕Common Mistakes
Qui tu joues avec ?
Placing ‘qui’ before the verb without inversion (e.g., ‘Qui tu joues avec ?’) is ungrammatical in French.
Tu joues qui ?
Omitting the preposition ‘avec’ changes the meaning; ‘Tu joues qui ?’ sounds like ‘You play who?’, which is incorrect.
Tu jouer avec qui ?
Using the infinitive ‘jouer’ instead of the conjugated form ‘joues’ is a common error for beginners.
↔Alternatives
Avec qui joues‑tu ?
With whom are you playing?
Tu joues avec qui, exactement ?
Who exactly are you playing with?
Tu joues avec qui, là ?
Who are you playing with, right now?
Cultural Tip
In everyday French, especially among younger speakers, the interrogative ‘qui’ often appears at the end of the sentence, mirroring English word order. This structure is considered informal; using inversion (‘Avec qui joues‑tu ?’) sounds more formal or literary. Also, French speakers rarely use ‘est‑ce que’ with ‘qui’ at the end, preferring the simple ‘Tu joues avec qui ?’ for quick, spoken queries.