French Phrase
Qu'est-ce que tes parents ont fait ?
Meaning
This phrase is used to ask about the past actions, jobs, or activities of someone's parents. It utilizes the passé composé tense, which is the most common way to talk about completed actions in the past in French. The construction 'Qu'est-ce que' is the standard way to start a 'what' question.
When to use
Use this phrase when catching up with a friend about their family or inquiring about a specific event in the past involving their parents. It is suitable for casual and semi-formal social situations.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Qu'est-ce quetesparentsont fait
Qu'est-ce que
This is a fixed expression used to ask 'What...?' at the beginning of a question.
Passé Composé
The verb 'faire' (to do) is conjugated here with 'avoir' (ont) and the past participle 'fait' to indicate a past action.
🗨In Conversation
Qu'est-ce que tes parents ont fait pendant les vacances ?
What did your parents do during the holidays?
Ils ont visité le sud de la France.
They visited the south of France.
✕Common Mistakes
Qu'est-ce que tes parents fait ?
The passé composé requires the auxiliary verb 'ont' before the past participle 'fait'.
Qu'est-ce que tes parents ont faire ?
You must use the past participle 'fait' instead of the infinitive 'faire' after the auxiliary verb.
↔Alternatives
Tes parents ont fait quoi ?
Your parents did what? (Informal)
Qu'ont fait tes parents ?
What did your parents do? (Formal)
Cultural Tip
In French culture, asking about family is a common way to build rapport, though asking about specific salaries or costs is usually avoided. Using 'Qu'est-ce que' is very common in spoken French and sounds more natural than the formal inversion in everyday conversation.