Forming Yes/No Questions via Intonation (La question par intonation)

In writing, the question mark is the only visual signal that distinguishes a question from a statement. Word order is identical, and no auxiliary verb is added.

In speech, the question mark is silent. The rising pitch carries all the information. A reader who sees a question mark must still deliver it with rising pitch when reading aloud. A speaker who uses the right pitch does not need any written punctuation to be understood.

The two signals work together. Writing Tu parles français ?Écouter l'audio with a question mark but reading it with flat intonation confuses the listener. Reading it with falling pitch and no question mark confuses the listener in the same way.

Intonation questions are not informal or casual. They are the standard spoken form for yes/no questions across all registers of modern French.

• Tu parles français ?Écouter l'audio — informal register, between friends
• Vous parlez français ?Écouter l'audio — formal register, with a stranger or superior
• Both use the same intonation pattern.

The choice between tuÉcouter l'audio and vousÉcouter l'audio carries the formality, while the question form itself stays neutral. Intonation questions are equally at home in a shop, a classroom, a job interview, or a conversation with a friend.