Choosing Between Intonation/Est-ce que/Inversion Question Forms?

Question

Bonjour à tous!I'm a bit confused when it comes to choosing how to word a question in French. Like most, if not all of you, I learned that there are 3 ways to ask questions: 1. Intonation: just raise the pitch of your voice at the end of the question 2. Est-ce que: add est-ce que to the beginning of the question 3. Inversion: ask the question in verb-subject order instead of subject-verbHowever, despite understanding how to *construct* questions, I'm often unsure as to which form is most appropriate in which situations. Through schooling, I currently think of each question form in the following ways: 1. Intonation: reserved strictly for oral communication, informal setting 2. Est-ce que: the safest bet; just about always appropriate 3. Inversion: the most formal/polite question formWith that being said, here are some experiences that have contradicted what I learned in school: - I once asked my French friend, "Il est gentil?" (intonation) in person, but he told me that what I should've asked was "Est-il gentil?" (inversion). Confusion: why must I use inversion here if I'm talking to a friend? Is the difference comparable to a "He's nice?" (confirming what the asker thinks before having his/her question answered) vs. "Is he nice?" (asking because the asker really does not know)? - My friend recently asked me "As-tu lu l'article que je t'ai envoyé?" over text. Why is there inversion here? Is it a question of oral vs. written communication? Is this something friends would ask each other in person, or would they go with "Tu as lu l'article que je t'ai envoyé?" (intonation)? - I said "tu pourrais bouger un peu s'il te plaît?" to an acquaintance once and was told that it's "pourrais-tu." Is this just particular to pouvoir in the conditional? - I've been noticing more and more that inversion is used when question words like "pourquoi", "comment", "que" are used. Is this the case for all questions words like these, in all cases (formal/informal, written/oral)?Thanks in advance for any input. Really curious to hear what you have to say :)

Answer 1

My Parisian friends will tell you that inversion is more "classy".

Answer 2

Bonjour! What a great question! It definitely seems like you have the right idea when it comes to the formality of the three different types of questions. I will say that in one of my French classes, it was mentioned that "est-ce que" is actually more formal than inversion. Why, I can't say I remember but I remember that being mentioned because I, too, had always learned that inversion was more formal. I've been living in rural France for the past 6 months and I feel that I default to "est-ce que" more than anything. I've not really been corrected but when I hear native French speakers, it seems like they default to inversion or intonation if it is a casual chat between friends.

For your more specific examples, I can see why you would have been instructed to use inversion rather than intonation. Especially with your example of asking someone to move over a bit. Using intonation, if you think about it in English, would be like asking a complete stranger, "You could move over a bit?" I feel like asking in this way, the rudeness would be more prominent with an "eh?" at the end. Can you hear how that would sound? Not exactly polite.

You seem to have the right idea with your "Il est gentil?" example as well. In English, would we be more likely to ask, "He is nice?" or "Is he nice?" Most likely the second one, just because it sounds a little nicer and is just more natural. I think you friend was trying to help you adjust your usage in order that you speak more like a native, not because your usage was incorrect.

Really, you have the right idea when it comes to in which circumstances to use the different types of questions but I would say that native speakers use the inversion method much more than anything else. Thus, if you want to speak French more like a native, try making the inversion method come a little more naturally. I think I'll try to do the same!