I understand that “lorsque” and “quand” both mean “when” in English but when would you use lorsque and when would you use quand?
1 Answer
Quand and lorsque are interchangeable when they introduce a subordinate clause. The meaning is the same, but lorsque is a bit more formal than quand, and quand is more frequent in spoken French.
Quand je suis arrivé à la gare, le train était parti. (standard, common in spoken French)
Lorsque je suis arrivé à la gare, le train était parti. (more formal)
Only quand can be used for asking a question about time.
Quand viens-tu manger ?