Abstract: The analysis of morphosyntacic changes in contemporary French depends on the documentation of systemic variations, because variation necessarily precedes change. The first part of this paper examines challenges raised by these studies of variation and change: selection of relevant data, understanding of the way changes appear, and so on. This is illustrated in the second part which investigates the use of comment (‘how’) in exclamation and in interrogation relating to degree or quantity. The study compares data between the French of France and Quebec French. Variations are described in a microsystemic context focusing on comme, comment and combien.
