sweetwing_

[edgy kestrel]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

Pro tip: you can rename the thread title with `.tr <thread name>`

Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[uneven pagoda]

Marie Laure at ~25:10 insists they're about the same.

https://www.learner.org/series/french-in-action/kinship/

AFAIK, the meaning is the same,

est-ce is less formal than subject inversion.

est-ce is very common in spoken in language, less common in writing (as the writing becomes more formal).

More available online searching for things like "inversion vs. est-ce" or "inversion vs. intonation"

[distant mulch]

Thx

[sand scroll]

Not « est-ce » but « est-ce QUE ». « est-ce » on its own can be inversion which is formal.

French has three ways of asking a question, inversion (formal), est-ce que (neutral), and intonation (informal).
(1) Inversion [formal]: You invert the verb and the subject, inserting a -t- if it's in the third person singular and the ending is a vowel and/or repeating the subject if it's a noun.
Le professeur a raison ===> Le professeur a-t-il raison ?
(2) Est-ce que [neutral]: You add « est-ce que » before the subject.
Le professeur a raison ===> Est-ce que le professeur a raison ?
(3) Intonation [informal]: You just repeat the sentence with a rising intonation.
Le professeur a raison ===> Le professeur a raison ?

You can refer to this article for more details.

[uneven pagoda]

Thanks for clarifying!