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A friend of mine and I was discussing around the difference between “Vous êtes” and “Êtes-vous” – and I couldn't conclude nothing.
So, are “Vous êtes” and “Êtes-vous” the same thing? If not, what is the difference? Is “Êtes-vous” for questions? And, can I say the following?
Vous êtes beau/belle.
Êtes-vous beau/belle.
In formal language, affirmations have subject – verb – object complements order and yes/no questions have verb – subject – object complements order. So,
Vous êtes beau is an affirmation.
Êtes-vous beau ? is a yes/no question.
(If the subject is not already a pronoun, it comes first and a pronoun is added after the verb to form questions. E.g. Pierre est-il beau ?)
In casual language you'll find two more ways to ask a question:
Est-ce que vous êtes beau ?
Here, the subject–verb inversion is limited (internal) to the universal “Est-ce que” question introducer.
Vous êtes beau ? …with the appropriate intonation.
In this case only the intonation (or the question mark in writing) allows one to understand it's a question.
The second form is missing a question mark so should be:
Êtes-vous beau/belle ?
i.e.
Are you handsome?
and cannot be but a question, the first one is just a statement (or a lazy/casual style question).
You are handsome[?]
