Who / When to use inversion to form a question?

Caroline A.A2Kwiziq community member

Who / When to use inversion to form a question?

Hi, I have heard that the inversion is not used often, and rarely used among young people.  Maybe it is used more often with an older generation? Which of the 3 forms is the most used in everyday conversational French? And my second question is: What is the tone or feeling behind each form? (casual, friendly, condescending, written versus conversation, unnatural, etc).  Thank you in advance for your time and your answer!  :)

Asked 5 years ago
Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Generally speaking, the inverted form is the most formal way to ask a question. Used in a familiar setting, where you'd normally use intonation only, it sounds stilted. However there are certain phrases where it is commonly used, even in a less formal context, e.g., comment vas-tu?

Asking with "est-ce que" or "qu'est-ce que" falls somewhere in the middle. But again, it depends and that rule should be taken only as a rough guideline.

Who / When to use inversion to form a question?

Hi, I have heard that the inversion is not used often, and rarely used among young people.  Maybe it is used more often with an older generation? Which of the 3 forms is the most used in everyday conversational French? And my second question is: What is the tone or feeling behind each form? (casual, friendly, condescending, written versus conversation, unnatural, etc).  Thank you in advance for your time and your answer!  :)

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Let me take a look at that...