Why You Should Never Say "As-tu ?" in Spoken French

There are many ways of asking questions in French, some more formal than others. When learning French in school, you were probably told that one of the easiest ways to ask questions is to simply invert the sentence by the subject pronoun after the verb.
But did you know that using this in everyday spoken French is an easy giveaway that you’re not a native speaker, or even that you probably haven’t had much opportunity to speak French in a non-formal setting? I’ll explain why in this lesson, and what you can do instead to instantly sound more fluent in your everyday conversations.
0:00 - Intro
0:54 - “Correct French” grammar: inversion
2:39 - Everyday spoken French: never say “As-tu”
4:43 - Four Questions: Practice and exceptions
10:06 - Between formal and informal: “Est-ce que”
13:02 - Practice: Cathedral
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At Comme une Française, we specialize in everyday spoken French. We focus on three unique aspects that are different from school French, self-study books, Duolingo, etc:
1. We focus only on the specifics of speaking/understanding/being understood in everyday French and have unique ways to help you learn it properly & faster.
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Take care and stay safe.
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Géraldine

Пікірлер: 210

  • @Mimix476
    @Mimix4767 ай бұрын

    Really silly to say “never say this”. As a French person this really annoys me. Yes, it is a bit formal but it’s not as if people never use this way of asking questions depending on the context. So learners of French, do continue to say “parlez-vous anglais ?” and “où es-tu ?”, or if easier for you the other ways are fine too.

  • @anitawallace2166

    @anitawallace2166

    6 ай бұрын

    Thank you for your comment. May I ask, do you also tend to use “on” instead of “nous”?

  • @Mimix476

    @Mimix476

    6 ай бұрын

    @@anitawallace2166 It depends on the context and who I am talking to. In writing it could be the difference between an official letter, and a text message. Arriving at a restaurant for example I would say to the waiter “Nous avons réservé une table”. I use “on” most of the time with familiar people, but sometimes I use “nous” deliberately for emphasis and because French is a beautiful language (“Nous avons adoré!”). When you hear people being interviewed on French TV sometimes they use “nous”, I think when they make an effort to speak properly, or because they’re a bit posh. A politician, or anyone making a speech would say “Tous ensemble, nous…”. So even if people learning French can stick to “on” for ease and flexibility, they need to understand when they hear the “nous” form, which hasn’t completely disappeared.

  • @LaFranceDTC

    @LaFranceDTC

    6 ай бұрын

    @@anitawallace2166It depends on the context. “nous” is used when “adults talk to adults” in more or less a formal context. “on” is for everyday French.

  • @nicolaspabloangellegros430

    @nicolaspabloangellegros430

    6 ай бұрын

    Not saying she's wrong, but I think French learners should be mindful of who they're talking to. Most of her examples would sound a bit rude if you were talking to someone you don't know very well. Also I find it interesting that French people always think of Canadians for "regional" idiosyncrasies, but never address Belgian, swiss and African variations. A lot of people in the south of Belgium would keep the subject-verb inversion, even in an informal context.

  • @wagabondpickles6183

    @wagabondpickles6183

    6 ай бұрын

    I am ok with with this opinion- never say never. Je suis tout à fait d'accord de jamais dire jamais 😂 mais en vrai!!

  • @goodull
    @goodull7 ай бұрын

    The "real" Quebec version: - T'as-tu faim? - Y'est-tu venu? - Je t'ai-tu vu hier? - On est-tu prêtes?

  • @nawimal

    @nawimal

    7 ай бұрын

    Merci pour cette information.

  • @Kate-qq3ez
    @Kate-qq3ez6 ай бұрын

    i am French myself and I use « as-tu » all day long. To my daughter : as-tu fais tes devoirs ? To m’y colleague at work : as-tu terminé cette proposition, etc … what else do you want to say…

  • @demedhel

    @demedhel

    6 ай бұрын

    Watch the video and learn what else people say... Most people would say "Est-ce que t'as terminé tes devoirs ?" Or "T'as fini tes devoirs ?" when speaking to their kid.

  • @KolorfulDreamsArtKda

    @KolorfulDreamsArtKda

    6 ай бұрын

    Same! Je ne comprends pas pourquoi on ne devrait pas utiliser ce genre de vocabulaire/grammaire...je le fais tout le temps.

  • @DoktorFrankenstein
    @DoktorFrankenstein6 ай бұрын

    As mentioned at some point in the video, « As-tu…? » is much more common in Canadian French than « Tu as…? » (the latter is very rare in that dialect).

  • @richardvoogd705
    @richardvoogd7057 ай бұрын

    "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" reminded me of learning French in school 50 years ago. ❤

  • @euansb7752
    @euansb77527 ай бұрын

    I love your maxims: Always Complain, Never Wear Athleisure and Never Eat Alone. Very Parisian principles to live by.

  • @DavidGetling
    @DavidGetling7 ай бұрын

    To be honest, as long as I can understand what someone else is saying in French, and they can understand me, Je suis content.

  • @Beirut27

    @Beirut27

    6 ай бұрын

    That's what is called "survival French" or any other language but when you reach a certain level you want to speak it properly.

  • @sasha71001
    @sasha710016 ай бұрын

    Pourquoi "never"? L’inversion vous semble peut-être trop formelle dans le langage "courant" mais nous l’utilisons tous les jours. Nos enfants aussi. L’inversion du verbe et du sujet est de loin la structure grammaticale la plus facile à construire. Parler couramment français (or to sound more French) n’implique pas de parler un français au rabais.

  • @spadaacca

    @spadaacca

    6 ай бұрын

    Moi aussi.

  • @KolorfulDreamsArtKda

    @KolorfulDreamsArtKda

    6 ай бұрын

    Tout à fait d'accord, madame.

  • @StagArmslower

    @StagArmslower

    24 күн бұрын

    Yes, but Geraldine explains all the possibilities for her students.

  • @jeff__w
    @jeff__w7 ай бұрын

    _La cathédrale a été construite quand?”_ is nearly identical, of course, to “The cathedral was built when?” which is a valid question in English but a bit more restricted-we’d use it if the topic of the time of the construction of the cathedral was already mentioned but we were asking for confirmation, repetition or maybe clarification. It’s really interesting that French uses that construction informally as the standard question.

  • @Beirut27

    @Beirut27

    6 ай бұрын

    That sentence is wrong, at the very least, very slack.

  • @Allan_son
    @Allan_son7 ай бұрын

    That is a bit strong, but there is some reason behind it. My former French teacher taught us variations on textbook French like this, so we would know them in case we encountered them. She then told us to never use them. It is even more complicated in Canada because we might encounter both non-standard Canadian French and non-standard metropolitan French. A second language speaker has too many traps with social context! "Chuis-tu correk?" would be a risky choice for an English speaker in a Paris business meeting.

  • @Xerxes2005
    @Xerxes20056 ай бұрын

    I would say the inversion is used in Québec only when you are addressing someone (with tu or vous) and usually with the auxiliaries "avoir" and "être" (to have and to be). As-tu faim? : Are you hungry? Avez-vous bien dormi? : Did you sleep well? Es-tu malade? : Are you sick / Are you mad? Dors-tu? : Are you sleeping? But you would never say "Ai-je bien fermé la porte?" (Did I close the door?) but "Est-ce que j'ai bien fermé la porte", or "Est-elle belle?" (Is she beautiful), but "Est-ce qu'elle est belle?" or "Vont-ils à Montréal?" (Are they going to Montreal), but "Est-ce qu'ils vont à Montréal?" Which brings me to another way we ask questions in Québec: the interrogative "tu". This "tu" has nothing to do with the personal pronoun. It's just a question marker used for closed questions (which are answered with yes or no). The French has something similar (ti), but not only would it be considered informal, it will be considered "provincial". You'll sound like a "plouc" (yokel) as a Parisian would say... But in Québec, I would say it's the usual way to ask a closed question. The principle is simply to add "tu" after the verb. For exemple, instead of saying "Est-ce qu'elle est belle?", we would say "Elle est-tu belle?" Instead of saying "Est-ce qu'ils vont à Montréal", you could say "Ils vont-tu à Montréal?" "J'ai-tu bien fermé la porte?", instead of "Est-ce que j'ai bien fermé la porte?" I'm skipping pronunciation to keep it short. Note: That way of asking a question is only used in the informal and familiar registers. It's not to be used with the pronoun "vous", especially if it's the polite singular "vous".

  • @Misabolt

    @Misabolt

    11 күн бұрын

    Mejor sigo hablando español or English for that matter

  • @fruitfullyava2709
    @fruitfullyava27097 ай бұрын

    This was very helpful. It also helped me understand why francophones say things in English the way they do sometimes (She is built when, the cathedral?).

  • @alistairthomson8710
    @alistairthomson87107 ай бұрын

    Very helpful lesson, but may I ask why is there no liaison between "est" and "où" in "il est où"?

  • @gillesmeura3416
    @gillesmeura34167 ай бұрын

    French-speaking Belgian guy here. Looking at the video title I thought "Comme une Française" was wrong. But no: she is spot on. The key is the difference between formal (written) French and spoken everyday French, which indeed follows another set of rules. Looking at the examples she gives for questions, I could immediately see that there was indeed a problem with the use of formal French rules in an informal context, and I instantly knew what the everyday version of the question would be. Now, if you use formal rules (eg subject / verb inversion) you would be understood; you would simply sound foreign, and not at ease with familiar language. Mastering the familiar form would make you "blend in" more smoothly, no question about that.

  • @chicagocarless

    @chicagocarless

    7 ай бұрын

    No one really needed you to mansplain her content. She already explained it perfectly well on her own. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  • @user-lq9mw1sb8d

    @user-lq9mw1sb8d

    6 ай бұрын

    ​@@chicagocarlessNo reason to be a cock sucker.

  • @tgilfeth
    @tgilfeth7 ай бұрын

    Very clear and enjoyable explanation. I was reminded of my French professor's explanation, many, many years ago of "les niveaux de langue."

  • @chrisbeale100
    @chrisbeale1006 ай бұрын

    This is an incredibly helpful summary of how to ask questions! Merci mille fois ! 😀

  • @LeCrenn
    @LeCrenn7 ай бұрын

    This is a very helpful lesson. Thank you.

  • @suninmoon4601
    @suninmoon46017 ай бұрын

    C'est très pratique. Merci Geraldine!

  • @bryan143
    @bryan1437 ай бұрын

    C'est parfait, merci !

  • @irmawoods715
    @irmawoods7156 ай бұрын

    Your explanations are so very helpful. I can’t say thank you enough for all your hard work.

  • @MrPeterjba
    @MrPeterjba7 ай бұрын

    I Love your approach!

  • @stephenogier7499
    @stephenogier74997 ай бұрын

    Merci beaucoup ! Ce lecon est tres genial.

  • @joshuaharper372
    @joshuaharper3727 ай бұрын

    I would not have guessed that spoken French would use a right-dislocation construction like: "Elle a été construit quand, la cathédral?" Most of the languages I am familiar with would use a left-dislocation like: "The cathedral--it was built when?" with a topic-comment sort of structure. Fascinating!

  • @cufflink44

    @cufflink44

    7 ай бұрын

    French loves right dislocation!

  • @thierryf67
    @thierryf677 ай бұрын

    in not inverted question structure, the intonation is very important. without it, the sentence is affirmative.

  • @blackalien6873
    @blackalien68736 ай бұрын

    C'était vraiment intéressant! Merci!

  • @spadaacca
    @spadaacca6 ай бұрын

    I don't entirely agree - it really depends. We'd more often say t'as, a bit slower tu as, but we also say (even young people) as-tu very regularly here in Paris, albeit less regularly than the others. Same with ou es/est. It might be tied to education/socio-economic background etc. - I'm actually not too sure. But it's not uncommon at all.

  • @josephstevano5905
    @josephstevano59055 ай бұрын

    This lesson was SO useful! Thank you so much!

  • @mcfrosty8739
    @mcfrosty87397 ай бұрын

    Thank you for this, I've been learning on Duolingo which uses the more day to day structure but I always assumed saying 'tu as faim' was very basic and infantile instead of being completely normal and expected!

  • @user-jb4nv5tx2m

    @user-jb4nv5tx2m

    6 ай бұрын

    For sure ! We preferably say "t'as faim ?" or, even better, "t'as pas faim" ? Not to mention "t'as pas la dalle", which is ... slang. So no worries. Speak as you learnt at school and as you feel. As a french, this is what I (try to) do when I speak English. I guess I'd better say "Hello everybody" or why not "how do you do" than "Hi U all" with me so lovely french accent !

  • @mcfrosty8739

    @mcfrosty8739

    6 ай бұрын

    @@user-jb4nv5tx2m Thanks for the reply, yeah it's hard to fully understand French as I don't feel like it's always as literal as English. But I'm just building up my vocabulary et puis, dans le avenir, j'espere parler un beaucoup de Francais dans le pays avec des personnes Francais's. But yes, keep at it with your English you're much further ahead than I am with French :) There are a LOT of greetings in English but most are slang and used depending on where in the country you are. They'll sound very strange to someone who's native language is English but not from the UK, nevermind for someone learning English!

  • @jonathanwalsh3314
    @jonathanwalsh33142 ай бұрын

    Super helpful and practical. Wish I had seen this before getting so good with the future simple and my inversions ...

  • @Commeunefrancaise

    @Commeunefrancaise

    Ай бұрын

    We’re so glad this lesson helped, @jonathanwalsh3314! If you’re interested in more lessons like this, please join our mailing list to get a new lesson each week: www.commeunefrancaise.com/youtube-welcome?&source=youtubecom -Lyndsie Comme une Française Team

  • @nawimal
    @nawimal7 ай бұрын

    Merci encore.

  • @jt4jt4
    @jt4jt46 ай бұрын

    You explain things extraordinarily well--you've just gained a subscriber. 😉

  • @sa21g22g23
    @sa21g22g236 ай бұрын

    Très splendide et très magnifique explication du jour de cette superbe leçon du debut de journée pour pouvoir comprendre et apprendre plus la grammaire française

  • @gofieldsandsay
    @gofieldsandsay7 ай бұрын

    Je dis "As-tu ..." régulièrement 😉... (et je suis un parisien) ...

  • @michaelcrummy8397

    @michaelcrummy8397

    7 ай бұрын

    Êtes-vous sérieux?

  • @gofieldsandsay

    @gofieldsandsay

    7 ай бұрын

    @@michaelcrummy8397 Bien joué 👌!

  • @andros1000

    @andros1000

    6 ай бұрын

    @@michaelcrummy8397Tout à fait, évidemment. J’ai vécu à Paris, et je vous assure, il est complètement normal d’utiliser l’inversion dans pas mal de cas différents qui n’ont rien à voir avec la formalité.

  • @michaelcrummy8397

    @michaelcrummy8397

    6 ай бұрын

    Je suis content de lire votre commentaire. Je suis américain, et j’ai étudié le français au lycée, où on a appris à poser les questions par inversion ou utilisant est-ce-que. C’est un peu satisfaisant d’entendre que ça marche toujours, même dans la capitale de la France. En somme, depuis 1978, j’ai passé approximativement un mois à Paris en plusieurs occasions, plus récemment ce juillet. J’espère y retourner en vacances en deux ans pour utiliser la langue, et parce que j’aime visiter cette grande ville. J’irai aussi à New York en deux semaines, quand je fais des vacances brèves. J’attends avec impatience les Jeux Olympiques le prochain juillet à Paris. J’ai vu les préparations quand j’étais là cet été. Attention aux équipes américaines féminine de gymnastiques, et aux équipes de baskets américaines masculin et féminines. 🤓. Plus sérieusement, je sais que les Français jouent très bien au basket aussi, surtout les hommes. Il y a un jeune Français de 19 ans qui va jouer dans le NBA aux États-Unis cette année. Le NBA est la meilleure ligue professionnelle de basket aux États-Unis. Je sais aussi que l’équipe française masculin de natation est aussi très forte. Je hâte aussi de regarder l’américain qui est devenue champion du monde cet été des 100 mètres et 200 cent mètres en athlétisme. Finalement, j’espère que ces jeux seront paisibles et une expérience merveilleuse pour tous les athlètes qui participent, et qu’ils contribuent un peu à l’unité de toutes nations.

  • @gofieldsandsay

    @gofieldsandsay

    6 ай бұрын

    @@michaelcrummy8397 Merci pour votre partage de choses que vous aimez et votre très bon français 👌 !

  • @hrenes
    @hrenes7 ай бұрын

    Un grand merci. My fav movie about France is 'Bienvenu chez les Ch'tis'. Greetings from Holland :)

  • @gilguillermo5741
    @gilguillermo57415 ай бұрын

    Géraldine -- So many answers to so many questions I've had! Mil gracias!! :-)

  • @paulthomas281
    @paulthomas2817 ай бұрын

    Votre chaîne est superbe! Je vous salue depuis Toronto.

  • @roberttradd1224
    @roberttradd12247 ай бұрын

    Thank you so very much for your wonderful lessons. You make learning French extremely easy, besides the language instructions you also brighten our day with your positive attitude, we appreciate your content and how you present it

  • @ultramet
    @ultramet7 ай бұрын

    You are the French instructor I always needed. I just threw away most of my books and just watch your videos to really learn how to speak French. Merci!

  • @micade2518

    @micade2518

    7 ай бұрын

    Except it's bad colloquial French. You should have kept your books ...

  • @ericredbear425

    @ericredbear425

    7 ай бұрын

    @@micade2518 just because it's colloquial doesn't make it bad. As she said she's teaching Parisian French and it's still great to learn the right and proper French as well but whether you live in France or Quebec or Senegal or Haiti every dialect is going to have its colloquialisms.

  • @micade2518

    @micade2518

    7 ай бұрын

    @@ericredbear425 Yes, but what gets me is when she "teaches" (!) to NEVER speak proper French!!! My beloved beautiful language is being battered enough as it is without foreigners adding to it.

  • @camembertdalembert6323

    @camembertdalembert6323

    6 ай бұрын

    in a formal situation, you will just sound uneducated. Educated french people knows how to balance between the two versions depending on the situation. And I tell you that as an employee in a big french company. I will only speak colloquial french with my closest colleagues or trainees, and avoid it at all cost in any written messages.

  • @Rik77
    @Rik776 ай бұрын

    Really interesting. Ive just realised we do this in casual english too. I often might say "youre going where?!" But in english we use it more as an exclamation and surprise, or if you are checkingbyou understood correctly.

  • @LaFranceDTC

    @LaFranceDTC

    6 ай бұрын

    Read other comments. She’s teaching street level French, not proper French.

  • @maxdorey6713
    @maxdorey67137 ай бұрын

    This is great - so would it be fair to say that in the majority of situations, one could think of most questions as a statement that you turn into a question with intonation or adding the question word at the end? It makes it much simpler. I've been learning French and they say one should use "vous" most of the time rather than "Tu". Is that correct?

  • @giorgiodifrancesco4590
    @giorgiodifrancesco45906 ай бұрын

    La forme inverse est la plus simple pour les Italiens du Nord, car dans de nombreux dialectes néo-latins de cette macro-zone, elle est pratiquée exactement comme dans le français écrit formel. En piémontais, par exemple, "as-tu fait ça ?" se dit "l'ass-tu fàitt çon ?". Le vénitien a la même forme inversée, bien que les mots soient différents.

  • @DanielHowardIRE
    @DanielHowardIRE6 ай бұрын

    In Canadian French inversion is very common though. I think it's because it's closer to older French that was spoken some centuries ago in France.

  • @annettecuaz1939
    @annettecuaz19392 ай бұрын

    Je prends un cours de français auprès d'un parisienne et la semaine dernière elle nous a conseillé d'utiliser cette construction pour le français parlé de tous les jours (après avoir posé une question en utilisant l"inversion). Alors, c'est peut-être un discours régional.

  • @LyngJohn205
    @LyngJohn2057 ай бұрын

    What about “Puis-je vous aider? “

  • @LaFranceDTC

    @LaFranceDTC

    6 ай бұрын

    Very formal, but very polite too and nice to hear. Not to a friend, but definitely good in a working environment.

  • @KolorfulDreamsArtKda

    @KolorfulDreamsArtKda

    6 ай бұрын

    Yes, you can use it if you want to be polite/refined.

  • @uptoncriddington6939
    @uptoncriddington69397 ай бұрын

    The real reason, of course, is that if one asks: “As-tu….” this will lead to people saying, “A tes souhaits”, because they’ll think you just sneezed.😅

  • @78SR

    @78SR

    6 ай бұрын

    I’m trying to learn French and am happy to find puns on some tedious days. This is good on one to raise my spirits even if I simply consider the formal option. When I’m doing speaking drills I love to adjust the sound of the sentences to different situations.

  • @uptoncriddington6939

    @uptoncriddington6939

    6 ай бұрын

    @@78SR Glad to have given you a lift uplift in the midst of the slog of learning the language. It’s well worth the struggle. On aime les jeux de mots.

  • @jamesforrest8371
    @jamesforrest83716 ай бұрын

    Wow, that was great. Too bad spoken French is not more studied and practiced in schools. Merci bien.

  • @fsinjin60
    @fsinjin606 ай бұрын

    You will find that Francophones use the uptick after a statement when they speak in English. That is the sign of her accuracy. “You are hungry (uptick?)[, no?] is not used in American English. It is always inverted “Are you hungry?”. But the closer you get to Canada, the uptick becomes a part of speech

  • @ilanl.9818
    @ilanl.98187 ай бұрын

    "Quand la cathédrale a-t-elle été construite? " , c'est possible aussi, non? (Bien que super formel). Une autre question: quand utilise-t-on "il est" et "c'est" avec "où"? Ex. Il est/C'est où, ce restaurant? Il est/C'est où, mon stylo? Il est/C'est où, Lyon?

  • @altralinguamusica
    @altralinguamusica7 ай бұрын

    This is *the* video I've always needed! I struggled for so many years and even panicked when I had to ask a question in French! Merci mille fois !!!

  • @danielpincus221
    @danielpincus2217 ай бұрын

    Mon cadeau a toi: "question mark," not "interrogation point." J'aime votres videos!

  • @maxotat

    @maxotat

    7 ай бұрын

    Je pense qu’il est importante savoir le phrase “interrogation point” (since I’m learning French). Merci.

  • @maxroberts7393
    @maxroberts73937 ай бұрын

    I don't mind not sounding exactly French, I am neither French nor a foreign spy. Maybe I can slow French speakers down when they talk to me.

  • @paulthomas281

    @paulthomas281

    7 ай бұрын

    @maxroberts7393 I agree. I like it when the French speak English while not being hellbent on sounding British or American. I am the same way: I speak French but without the intention of sounding like a local.

  • @joshuaharper372

    @joshuaharper372

    7 ай бұрын

    On the other hand, it is nice sometimes not to sound like a formal robot all the time. A german friend of mine once complained to me,"Du sprichst wie Dichter!" (You speak like a poet) because I had picked up too many mannerisms from 18th and 19th century German poetry--and I kept accidentally using the simple past (as in English) rather than the typical perfect. Next time I am in Paris, I will probably use the Est-ce que form as a compromise between formal and informal.

  • @paulthomas281

    @paulthomas281

    7 ай бұрын

    One should be using the German preterite instead of the PERFEKT for static verbs ... even Germans should be employing the preterite more often certain verbs in the spoken language.@@joshuaharper372

  • @maxroberts7393

    @maxroberts7393

    7 ай бұрын

    I got it. I use the more direct German simple past too, because it is like English. And often I do the same in French. Why ignore such simple ways of speaking? God only knows! Both languages' many rules especially French's more numerous exceptions to exceptions, make keeping the languages as simple as possible my best way to cope. Foreigners to me, they compliment me that my pronunciation is very correct and clear. So they know that for me it is like lifting a huge load. The crux is they understand I am a foreigner really striving to do his best. Knowing they talk to a slow one makes most natives slow down, while also cutting the slang and their very up-to-date ways of speaking.

  • @paulthomas281

    @paulthomas281

    7 ай бұрын

    I like your attitude and philosophy. Like yourself, I speak French and German regularly. An example of something I was mentioning with respect to the much more appropriate use (in my view) of the preterite instead of the perfekt ... is the verb "schmecken". I would use the simple past tense "Das schmeckte gut" instead of "Das hat gut geschmeckt" ... and the one thing I am relentless about is using the perfekt for "Sind Sie schon einmal in Spanien gewesen" and not the preterite "Waren Sie schon einmal in Spanien". The latter just sounds too odd to me, about apparently not to germanophones. My English bias is screaming here.@@maxroberts7393

  • @user-xs6od1bh2w
    @user-xs6od1bh2w7 ай бұрын

    Do these rules apply to workplace spoken French as well? I would think workplace French is closer to the "too formal" version rather than the "real Parisian" version and your colleagues and the management will make faces if you say somehting like that even among friendly colleagues.

  • @Tharkun35

    @Tharkun35

    6 ай бұрын

    It depends on the "workplace". Its not the same between workers in a factory and in a top managers meeting.

  • @tuxedojunction9422
    @tuxedojunction94227 ай бұрын

    Although I find "Est-ce que" a bit of a head scratcher to write (because Est-ce seems like a lot of letters and one too many punctuation mark to be pronounced "Es"), I find that it's my go-to construction when the questions get more complicated with adverbs and prepositional phrases. Keeping the word order the same as the declarative sentences makes my life easier. "Qu'est-ce que" became easier for me when I realized that I routinely use the same construction in English, even though I only use it in certain contexts or for certain emphasis. "What it it that Bob is trying to tell us?" connotes some confusion about Bob's meaning, possibly some hidden meaning in Bob's words. Or if I go to a meeting where lots of options are discussed and I'm trying to get clarity: "So what is it that we are doing?"

  • @rickyanthony

    @rickyanthony

    7 ай бұрын

    Est-ce is technically absolutely pronounced as 'Eh suh'. It's just contracted when strung together. You'll hear old people or people being angry or condescending seperate the syllables and make it Eh Suh que again. Which might make more sense to you.

  • @tuxedojunction9422

    @tuxedojunction9422

    7 ай бұрын

    @@rickyanthony The amount of "uh" given to a final e (for almost everything, not just "est-ce") seems to vary quite a lot regionally and with context. My American ears generally don't hear it in "Est-ce," but I do appreciate the the "ce" is there for a reason and has meaning, even if I can't hear it.

  • @rickyanthony

    @rickyanthony

    6 ай бұрын

    @@tuxedojunction9422 It is literally like saying 'Is it that...? ' French is just the English of 200 years ago, pronounced wrong haha

  • @Beirut27

    @Beirut27

    6 ай бұрын

    Strangely enough "as-tu" is more formal than "est-ce que tu as", while "tu as" is slack.

  • @rickyanthony

    @rickyanthony

    6 ай бұрын

    @@Beirut27 Yes. I don't think est-ce que is even used with Tu forms in real life, unless for emphasis by a mum shouting at their kid or something, it's just too clunky for tu. As-tu would never be heard except for satire. And est-ce que in spoken french would be reserved for diplomacy and professional comms, like customer service on the phone or such. But add a Que to est-ce que and suddenly that's everywhere. Ques'tu fais, Ques'quis passe..

  • @adrianapunti6939
    @adrianapunti69396 ай бұрын

    What about a more formal conversation? In a business context would you still use "on"?

  • @LaFranceDTC

    @LaFranceDTC

    6 ай бұрын

    It depends. Usually not for big companies, but it might be yes for marketing/creative people.

  • @markscott554
    @markscott5547 ай бұрын

    Can you answer me something? 'Bijoux' means jewellery, yet I first came across the word in a phrase on a TV advert (done by Fry & Laurey) when Fry says about a tiny apartment in London - Compact and bijoux. Is this a different word, or does it mean it's a little 'gem'?

  • @micaelat3734

    @micaelat3734

    6 ай бұрын

    Small but elegant

  • @edwardsaulnier892
    @edwardsaulnier8925 ай бұрын

    How popular is the 'est-ce que' construction for interrogatives. Another thing, the way they speak in Paris is quite different from the way it is spoken in Canada (especially in Quebec).

  • @daniele.3361
    @daniele.33616 ай бұрын

    Nous allâmes 4 la cathédrale=on est allés à la cathédrale Quand est-ce que la cathédrale fut construite=quand est-ce que l'on construisit la cathédrale

  • @maxi7261
    @maxi72617 ай бұрын

    Can you ask a question using an affirmative form, only changing the intonation? When I do noone understands that it is a question.!

  • @johnclayden1670
    @johnclayden16707 ай бұрын

    Yeah, I was taught that 'tu' was taboo. That said, when working in Algeria in 1979 and entering a lift the lift attendant (yes, really) said 'Quelle etage to veux?' I quickly learnt the second person singular forms.

  • @patberning
    @patberning7 ай бұрын

    Thank you. I appreciate your teaching a lot. On the video side the jump cuts in the editing are really irritating.

  • @antejl7925
    @antejl79257 ай бұрын

    My girlfriend wants to know what brand and colour of lipstick you wear Geraldine. She thinks like your lessons are wonderful.

  • @Flutesrock8900
    @Flutesrock89006 ай бұрын

    Would a sentence structure such as "Quand est-ce que la cathédrale a-t-elle été construite?" be an other everyday way of constructing such a sentence? Up until my early teens, I was in the French school system due to my mother being employed in a small country's ministry of foreign affairs, and my father being French. So I've mostly learned "proper" French. I've been trying to train both my academic and everyday French, and hope you would be willing to help me figure this out.

  • @sgrant9814
    @sgrant98147 ай бұрын

    I learned french in Québec and the same inversion rules apply...t'es ou? Or...t'as faim? For example

  • @ninjaraph
    @ninjaraph7 ай бұрын

    So difficult learning the formal rules by heart, only to have them become unusable to speak in real life. Pourquoi me détestez-vous, français? 💔

  • @Mimix476

    @Mimix476

    7 ай бұрын

    Not unusable at all!

  • @VeraDonna

    @VeraDonna

    6 ай бұрын

    *Pourquoi vous me détestez 😅

  • @camembertdalembert6323
    @camembertdalembert63236 ай бұрын

    As a french, let me tell you this is bad french. Maybe it works on a conversation with your mates, but in a more formal situation you will sound at least "rural" or uneducated. Educated french people know how to balance formal french and familiar french, depending on the situation.

  • @JeDindk
    @JeDindk7 ай бұрын

    Merci pour une bonne leçon. J'ai un question: est-ce possible de dire: "La cathédrale, elle a été construite quand ?"

  • @michaelcrummy8397

    @michaelcrummy8397

    7 ай бұрын

    Je pense que oui, mais Géraldine est la professeur.

  • @joshuaharper372

    @joshuaharper372

    7 ай бұрын

    If the noun phrase can be right-dislocated, I suspect it could be left-dislocated, too (as in your question), though it might sound weird. We need a native speaker to tell us for sure. Consider the English questions: "The cathedral--it was built when?" and "It was built when--the cathedral?" Given a suitable context either could be uttered and understood, but the left-dislocation (starting with "the cathedral") is much less awkward sounding to me. Maybe French is exactly the opposite to English on this?

  • @Robob0027

    @Robob0027

    7 ай бұрын

    @@michaelcrummy8397 professeuse

  • @michaelcrummy8397
    @michaelcrummy83977 ай бұрын

    Quel est le meilleur film sur Paris? Je n’étais pas sûr si “sur” s’utilise métaphoriquement ou seulement littéralement. Je croyais,par exemple, qu’il vaudrait mieux dire, “Quel est le meilleur film au sujet de Paris”? Maintenant, je sais qu’on peut l’utiliser d’une manière figurative aussi. Merci Géraldine.

  • @Cor6196

    @Cor6196

    7 ай бұрын

    I had the same problem for a related reason: while watching French videos on KZread (True Crime!😂), I seem to hear "sur Paris" instead of "à Paris" all the time now - "J'habite sur Paris" for example. I was wondering if it was slang, but I could be hearing wrong.

  • @briansunday7099
    @briansunday70995 ай бұрын

    There are exceptions, of course, like the expression “As-tu dejeuner Jacko?” (Which I understand to be the French equivalent of “Polly want a cracker?”

  • @npe1
    @npe16 ай бұрын

    Does this only happen with the informal 2nd person singular - Tu? Or can we still invert the 2nd person plural/formal - Vous? So if it's no longer current to say "As-tu?" or "veux-tu?" can we still say "Avez-vous?" and "Voulez-vous?"

  • @Commeunefrancaise

    @Commeunefrancaise

    6 ай бұрын

    Bonjour @npe1, oui, en effet, it is possible.

  • @user-jr6fz9oj5t
    @user-jr6fz9oj5t7 ай бұрын

    I am a student I would say Est-ce que tu as...? insted of "as tu..?" And I would say "on est" and "on a" instead of "nous sommes" and "nous avons" Is this correct?

  • @KolorfulDreamsArtKda

    @KolorfulDreamsArtKda

    6 ай бұрын

    We say all of those all the time, both "tu as..." and "as-tu..." or "nous..." and "on...". Pretty much no one will judge you for that.

  • @domroyutuber
    @domroyutuber6 ай бұрын

    Je ne vois pas en quoi ne pas pratiquer l'inversion donnerait l'impression d'une meilleure maîtrise de la langue. Les deux s'entendent et l'inversion est la forme correcte et polie de s'exprimer.

  • @mattybrunolucaszeneresalas9072
    @mattybrunolucaszeneresalas90727 ай бұрын

    3:42 of all the films, you had to choose THAT one? And are you saying you wouldn’t say this?

  • @seanmeaney8220
    @seanmeaney82206 ай бұрын

    I can see that tu as? and as-tu? qu'est-ce que tu fais? Tu fais quoi and que fais-tu? will all get thrown into the mix. If you use one formula all the time my guess is that it could get a bit robotic.

  • @jamesarthurkimbell
    @jamesarthurkimbell7 ай бұрын

    Coincidence, surely, that the first two words of this video are "have you"

  • @BassComb
    @BassComb6 ай бұрын

    It is true that, if you use inversion, you will be considered as a person who expresses himself with refinement. Nowadays, speaking with refinement and, more generally, being educated and cultured is seen as a fault. In my opinion, if the French speakers around you have a good intellectual level, use inversion. If the French speakers around you have trouble spelling their own name, do not use inversion. I sometimes make grammatical mistakes on purpose to maintain good relations with idiots and thus make my life easier.

  • @oorweehoose9603
    @oorweehoose96036 ай бұрын

    Is it alright to begin a question with the words "pouvez-vous...?", for example "Je prendrai XYZ, s'il vous plait. Pouvez-vous me le preparer sans œuf?" I wasn't raised speaking French, but there was a period of some months (in my twenties) when I spoke French every day. Asking "pouvez-vous...?" sounds alright.

  • @Commeunefrancaise

    @Commeunefrancaise

    6 ай бұрын

    @oorweehoose9603, oui, en effet, it is possible!

  • @lisabarrett6320
    @lisabarrett63207 ай бұрын

    Et si on dit 'quand est-ce que la cathédrale a-t-elle été construite?

  • @LaFranceDTC

    @LaFranceDTC

    6 ай бұрын

    Ce n’est pas correct. On ne peut pas mélanger l’interrogation avec “est-ce que” et l’interrogation avec inversion du sujet.

  • @NotSettlingForSecondBest
    @NotSettlingForSecondBest6 ай бұрын

    I use inversion all the time when speaking French and no one has said anything. It is grammatically correct. I also use the expression "ne ... point" when speaking even though I am told it is not use verbally. Il n'y a point de problème !

  • @LaFranceDTC

    @LaFranceDTC

    6 ай бұрын

    “Ne…point” is a bit too much though. I haven’t heard it in my whole life (and I’m French).

  • @pablodescamisado

    @pablodescamisado

    6 ай бұрын

    sur les blessures point de suture

  • @NotSettlingForSecondBest

    @NotSettlingForSecondBest

    6 ай бұрын

    @@LaFranceDTC Il y a une expression française très connue: "Il n'y a point de crime sans intention."

  • @NotSettlingForSecondBest

    @NotSettlingForSecondBest

    6 ай бұрын

    @@LaFranceDTC Have you read a list of French expressions used in English? Many of these are grammatically correct but no longer used in French. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_French_words_and_expressions_in_English#Not_used_as_such_in_French

  • @pablodescamisado
    @pablodescamisado6 ай бұрын

    Quand la cathédrale a-t-elle été construite ?

  • @marcmalet4306
    @marcmalet4306Ай бұрын

    6:39 qu'est qu’on fait? Est aussi très employé isn’t it?

  • @veroniquepeltier3631
    @veroniquepeltier36317 ай бұрын

    I use the inversion everyday. To my way of thinking, "As-tu mangé ?" is more pretty than "Est-ce que tu as mangé ?" or, worse, "T'as mangé ?" I use it in daily conversations. It's tied to education and habits, I guess. Another point is "sur Paris", "sur Marseille". It's not correct. We must say "à Paris", "à Marseille". Languages are changing, certainly, but some ways aren't correct. What do you think about "Un peu près"? "donc du coup, voilà quoi !" "Je te partage cette info." "Je fais un disclaimer." French young people use that. Is it correct? No! Do foreign learners want to speak this way? No. Do they want to understand that? Yes. But these sentences are wrong regarding to correct French.

  • @KolorfulDreamsArtKda

    @KolorfulDreamsArtKda

    6 ай бұрын

    Avec moi c'est le chaos, mdr! Je dis "as-tu...", "est-ce que..." et "t'as..." mais aussi "Sur Paris" et " à Paris" 😂

  • @fayito9970
    @fayito99707 ай бұрын

    Heuuuu... on dit tres couramment 'As-tu...?' au Québec. Et de notre côté on n' admire pas particulièrement tous les anglicismes qu'on entend en France. Autres pays...

  • @richardwagner02
    @richardwagner027 ай бұрын

    On fait aussi la même chose en français québécois …

  • @gilguillermo5741
    @gilguillermo57415 ай бұрын

    Est-ce q'on peut dire: La cathédrale, quand est-ce qu'elle a été construite?

  • @micade2518
    @micade25187 ай бұрын

    Stop spreading low level misuse of the French, and advising NEVER SAY THIS OR THAT! Yes, there are still many FRENCH people who speak correctly.

  • @TiagoHillesheim
    @TiagoHillesheim6 ай бұрын

    j'aime apprendre le français e j'aime que la langue est très pareil au portuguais .... plus facile de comprendre

  • @lucev7497
    @lucev74977 ай бұрын

    Et “Du coup” c’est mieux?

  • @kelcben
    @kelcben7 ай бұрын

    Sorry, but French is one booby-trap after another. How is someone supposed to know what "sounds formal" or "sounds weird" or "sounds more natural" or "sounds better" etc.? To say that is why something is or is not said, is not helpful. You put a "T" in arrive-t-on and say that "we add it for aesthetic reasons because without it it would sound weird, explaining that the word ending in a vowel followed by the word starting with a vowel sounds better when you insert the "T". And then you say "Martin est ou" with no consonant sound between the "est" and the "ou." Ridiculous! This sounds too formal, this sounds too informal, this sounds too poetic, this sounds like you are upset. Give me a break.

  • @78SR

    @78SR

    6 ай бұрын

    I would kinda like to sound like I was born and raised in Neuilly! 😂

  • @canneberegerouge1
    @canneberegerouge16 ай бұрын

    In Quebec, you should Always say "As-tu ?" ... you could even say "T'as tu?" ....

  • @PijanitsaVode
    @PijanitsaVode6 ай бұрын

    Unable to construct "Quand la cathédrale a-t-elle été construite ?"

  • @elizabethwoolnough4358
    @elizabethwoolnough43587 ай бұрын

    Do we not say "T'as faim?"

  • @KolorfulDreamsArtKda

    @KolorfulDreamsArtKda

    6 ай бұрын

    You can say it. It's very informal but people say it all the time.

  • @BangFarang1
    @BangFarang17 ай бұрын

    "It's me" is bad english? The correct sentence is "I am" or "I do" (depending of the question).

  • @tenniswilliam
    @tenniswilliam6 ай бұрын

    Tabernab c'est compliqué au but.

  • @richardpoulain7422
    @richardpoulain74227 ай бұрын

    Lamentable ! Le nivellement par le bas c’ est ca !

  • @seanrowshandel1680
    @seanrowshandel16806 ай бұрын

    sublime

  • @IdnaSired
    @IdnaSired6 ай бұрын

    Very funny to watch as a native French-speaking person because it’s absolutely right but I had never realised it before

  • @dammar117
    @dammar1176 ай бұрын

    Où es-tu? Où tu es? Tu es où? T'es où?

  • @nawimal
    @nawimal7 ай бұрын

    🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

  • @2adamast
    @2adamast6 ай бұрын

    As-tu ton Tuc?

  • @yuriyonlanguage
    @yuriyonlanguage6 ай бұрын

    I hear "as-tu" all the time from my French friends. Very silly to formulate something as "never say X".

  • @christopherdieudonne

    @christopherdieudonne

    6 ай бұрын

    She does it all the time. For each one of her videos with titles like, "Never Say this" or "French people don't do that", I have heard French people say this and I have seen French people do that.

  • @yuriyonlanguage

    @yuriyonlanguage

    6 ай бұрын

    @@christopherdieudonne right... Just out of curiosity: is there a video saying "never say [nous V-ons]"? I bet there is! In reality, French people DO use the subject pronoun "nous". Maybe not all the time, but they do. I mean, if she said, "Never use imparfait du subjonctif" in casual speech, I would understand. Because it really almost never (almost!) appears in actual spoken French. But things like "nous avons" or "as-tu X?" are completely normal, even if they have a slightly more formal connotation. Formal is not the same as "never used".

  • @christopherdieudonne

    @christopherdieudonne

    6 ай бұрын

    @@yuriyonlanguage Exactly. "Formal is not the same as never used". Excellent point !!

  • @KolorfulDreamsArtKda

    @KolorfulDreamsArtKda

    6 ай бұрын

    Yup, my husband and I say it all the time.