Answers
Jul 19, 2012 - 06:42 PM
When you are writing a paper or speaking properly, you use the for "est-ce que" for a question. when speaking to other people, such as friends, you can use the conjugated verb then the subject such as voulez-vous. it is like saying "do you want to go to the mall" compared to "want to go to the mall" in english. both are correct, one is just more formal than the other. hope this helped. this is how it was explained and understood to me in both montreal and france
Jul 19, 2012 - 07:30 PM
I understand, but my point is, why not emphasize the vernacular as well as the formal? Based on French 1, someone with no prior knowledge of the language would be unaware of a second, more common way of asking a question. I think it would be better for Sonia to discuss both approaches early on, and provide lessons covering each approach. After all, the ABBA song is "Voulez-vous", not "Est-ce que vous voulez" !!!
Jul 20, 2012 - 12:52 PM
It was a conscious decision not to introduce the inverted questions in the first few levels. The inverted-type question structure is perfectly correct, but nowadays it's seldom used orally. It's mostly used in written language, or in very formal contexts.
We emphasize using the est-ce in the first level mainly to make sure that you are understood when you speak. Starting out in French one is bound to have an accent, and when speaking, probably some hesitation. By using est-ce you ensure that the person listening knows right away that you are asking a question even if you don't get the intonation right. As the levels
progress we introduce asking questions without the est-ce que.I hope this clears up things a bit.
We emphasize using the est-ce in the first level mainly to make sure that you are understood when you speak. Starting out in French one is bound to have an accent, and when speaking, probably some hesitation. By using est-ce you ensure that the person listening knows right away that you are asking a question even if you don't get the intonation right. As the levels
progress we introduce asking questions without the est-ce que.I hope this clears up things a bit.