Questions tagged [inversion]
Figure de style consistant à changer l'ordre habituel des mots / A stylistic device consisting in changing the normal word order
7
questions
8
votes
3answers
449 views
Extra vowel before inverted “je”
Somehow I didn't notice the following phenomenon till recently.
Normal inversion:
Je dors.
Dors-je ?
New phenomenon for me:
Je parle des trois mousquetaires.
Parlé-je des trois ...
6
votes
2answers
599 views
What is this inversion called, and is it formal or normal?
There's a certain type of interrogative phrasing I often stumble over, which I have always called complex inversion but which I am not sure of the real name for. I don't know why I thought it was ...
3
votes
2answers
285 views
Word order in questions [duplicate]
Depuis quand ce magasin est-il ouvert ?
Is it correct if you rephrase this question to:
Depuis quand est ce magasin ouvert ?
or
Depuis quand il est ouvert ?
7
votes
3answers
142 views
How else can l'inversion be used in French, other than to ask questions?
I was reading this article from Le Monde and I don't understand how this sentence makes sense:
"...dans le cadre de l’enquête en cours sur l’attentat du jeudi 14
juillet à Nice, a-t-on appris de ...
5
votes
1answer
228 views
Simple inversion with “je”
I think that for reasons of sound, the inversion of je, as in aimé-je? prends-je?, etc. is fairly rare and the est-ce que construction is being preferred in speech and writing alike.
But I also think ...
3
votes
2answers
222 views
Reason for inversion in “peut-être es-tu une dinde !”
I saw it in the tale Le Vilain Caneton. I don't understand how come there's an inversion "es-tu" if it isn't a question?
The whole sentence:
Tu n'es pas comme les autres, peut-être es-tu une ...
2
votes
2answers
265 views
Why does the part after “que” need to be expressed in inversion?
« Tu as dû bien t'en tirer, vu le souvenir qu'en ont gardé les hommes du président. »
Translation:
"You must have pulled out of the situation just fine, considering how the President’s men ...
