FlexiLingoIn one line
French has three registers, and the same sentence takes a different shape in each — not just different words, but a different question form and a different negative.
The table
| formal | neutral | colloquial | |
|---|---|---|---|
| question | Où habitez-vous ? /u a.bi.te.vu/ | Où est-ce que vous habitez ? /u ɛs kə vu.z‿a.bi.te/ | Tu habites où ? /ty a.bitz u/ |
| negative | Je ne sais pas. /ʒə nə sɛ pa/ | Je ne sais pas. /ʒə nə sɛ pa/ | Je sais pas. /ʒə sɛ pa/ |
| yes | Certainement. /sɛʁ.tɛn.mɑ̃/ | Oui. /wi/ | Ouais. /wɛ/ |
| car | une automobile /y.n‿o.to.mo.bil/ | une voiture /yn vwa.tyʁ/ | une bagnole /yn ba.ɲɔl/ |
| job | un emploi /œ̃.n‿ɑ̃p.lwa/ | un travail /œ̃ tʁa.vaj/ | un boulot /œ̃ bu.lo/ |
| money | de l'argent /də laʁ.ʒɑ̃/ | de l'argent /də laʁ.ʒɑ̃/ | du fric /dy fʁik/ |
| tired | épuisé /e.pɥi.ze/ | fatigué /fa.ti.ɡe/ | crevé /kʁə.ve/ |
| very | extrêmement /ɛks.tʁɛm.mɑ̃/ | très /tʁɛ/ | super /sy.pɛʁ/ hyper /i.pɛʁ/ |
English has registers too, and marks them almost entirely with vocabulary — "purchase" versus "buy", "commence" versus "start", "vehicle" versus "car". French changes the grammar as well. The question form, the negative and even the subject pronoun shift with the register, which means you cannot make a sentence formal simply by upgrading the nouns.
Four markers of colloquial speech
1. ne disappears
| Written | Spoken |
|---|---|
Je ne sais pas. /ʒə nə sɛ pa/ | Je sais pas. /ʒə sɛ pa/ |
Il n'est pas là. /il nɛ pa la/ | Il est pas là. /il ɛ pa la/ |
Je n'ai rien. /ʒə ne ʁjɛ̃/ | J'ai rien. /ʒe ʁjɛ̃/ |
In speech this is nearly universal, but in a written exam it counts as an error.
The nearest English analogue is dropping "not" — which English cannot do at all. So there is no instinct to borrow: this has to be a deliberate switch between listening and writing.
2. Questions without inversion
| Formal | Colloquial |
|---|---|
Où allez-vous ? /u a.le.vu/ | Vous allez où ? /vu.z‿a.le.z‿u/ |
Que fais-tu ? /kə fɛ ty/ | Tu fais quoi ? /ty fɛ kwa/ |
Qui est-ce ? /ki ɛs/ | C'est qui ? /sɛ ki/ |
The question word moves to the end and intonation carries the question.
English cannot do this either — "you're going where?" exists but sounds like an echo question, not a neutral one. In French it is the ordinary spoken form.
3. on instead of nous
| Written | Spoken |
|---|---|
Nous allons au cinéma. /nu.z‿a.lɔ̃.z‿o si.ne.ma/ | On va au cinéma. /ɔ̃ va o si.ne.ma/ |
Nous sommes prêts. /nu sɔm pʁɛ/ | On est prêts. /ɔ̃.n‿ɛ pʁɛ/ |
In everyday speech
nousis almost never the subject. In writing it is.
4. Vowels dropping
| Written | Said |
|---|---|
tu es | /tɛ/ |
il y a | /ja/ |
je suis | /ʃɥi/ |
celui-là | /sɥi.la/ |
qu'est-ce que | /kɛs.kə/ or /ksə/ |
English does the same — "going to" → /ɡənə/, "did you" → /dɪdʒə/ — and writes none of it either.
tu or vous
| With whom | Pronoun | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| family, friends, people your own age | tu | /ty/ |
| a child | tu | /ty/ |
| a close colleague | tu — once it has been offered | /ty/ |
| a stranger, someone older, someone in authority | vous | /vu/ |
| at work with people you don't know | vous | /vu/ |
| any group, always | vous | /vu/ |
The safe rule: start with
vous. The other person will sayOn peut se tutoyer ?if they want to switch.
tutoyer= to saytu·vouvoyer= to sayvous. These verbs genuinely exist.
English has no equivalent and lost the one it had. "Thou" was the
tuof English and disappeared four centuries ago, leaving "you" for everybody. So there is nothing to translate from, and no instinct to guide you — which is why English speakers reach fortutoo early. When in doubt,vous. Usingvouswith a friend is mildly odd; usingtuwith a stranger is rude.
In the exam — which register
| Section | Expected register | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| formal letter | formal — vous, inversion, full ne | /vu/ · /nə/ |
| email to a friend | neutral to colloquial — tu, est-ce que | /ty/ · /ɛs kə/ |
| essay or argument | formal — no on for nous, no colloquial words | /ɔ̃/ · /nu/ |
| spoken interaction | neutral — tu or vous depending on the situation | /ty/ · /vu/ |
| voice message to a friend | colloquial — that is natural |
Mixing registers lowers the mark: a formal letter containing
Je sais pas, or a friendly email endingVeuillez agréer…, are both wrong.
Formal letter formulas
| Situation | Phrase | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| opening | Madame, Monsieur, | /ma.dam mə.sjø/ |
| if you know the name | Madame Dupont, | /ma.dam dy.pɔ̃/ |
| making a request | Je vous serais reconnaissant de bien vouloir… | /ʒə vu sə.ʁɛ ʁə.kɔ.nɛ.sɑ̃ də bjɛ̃ vu.lwaʁ/ |
| attaching something | Veuillez trouver ci-joint… | /vœ.je tʁu.ve si.ʒwɛ̃/ |
| standard closing | Veuillez agréer, Madame, Monsieur, mes salutations distinguées. | /vœ.je.z‿a.ɡʁe.e ma.dam mə.sjø me sa.ly.ta.sjɔ̃ dis.tɛ̃.ɡe/ |
| shorter closing | Cordialement, | /kɔʁ.djal.mɑ̃/ |
| semi-formal closing | Bien à vous, | /bjɛ̃.n‿a vu/ |
And for a friendly letter:
| Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|
| opening | Salut Marie, Coucou, | /sa.ly ma.ʁi/ · /ku.ku/ |
| closing | Bises, À bientôt, Amicalement, | /biz/ · /a bjɛ̃.to/ · /a.mi.kal.mɑ̃/ |
French formal closings are far longer than English ones.
Veuillez agréer, Madame, Monsieur, mes salutations distinguéesis one sentence doing the job of "Yours faithfully" — and shortening it looks careless, not efficient. Learn one closing by heart and use it.
Vocabulary pairs that shift the register
| Formal | Neutral | Colloquial |
|---|---|---|
se restaurer /sə ʁɛs.to.ʁe/ | manger /mɑ̃.ʒe/ | bouffer /bu.fe/ |
demeurer /də.mø.ʁe/ | habiter /a.bi.te/ | — |
débuter /de.by.te/ | commencer /kɔ.mɑ̃.se/ | — |
désirer /de.zi.ʁe/ | vouloir /vu.lwaʁ/ | — |
un individu /œ̃.n‿ɛ̃.di.vi.dy/ | une personne /yn pɛʁ.sɔn/ | un type /œ̃ tip/ un mec /œ̃ mɛk/ |
une somme /yn sɔm/ | de l'argent /də laʁ.ʒɑ̃/ | du fric /dy fʁik/ |
s'exprimer /sɛks.pʁi.me/ | parler /paʁ.le/ | causer /ko.ze/ |
un enfant /œ̃.n‿ɑ̃.fɑ̃/ | un enfant /œ̃.n‿ɑ̃.fɑ̃/ | un gosse /œ̃ ɡɔs/ un môme /œ̃ mom/ |
Examples
| English | Formal | Colloquial |
|---|---|---|
| Where do you live? | Où habitez-vous ? /u a.bi.te.vu/ | Tu habites où ? /ty a.bitz u/ |
| I don't know. | Je ne sais pas. /ʒə nə sɛ pa/ | Je sais pas. /ʒə sɛ pa/ |
| We're going to the cinema. | Nous allons au cinéma. /nu.z‿a.lɔ̃.z‿o si.ne.ma/ | On va au ciné. /ɔ̃ va o si.ne/ |
| I'm exhausted. | Je suis épuisé. /ʒə sɥi e.pɥi.ze/ | Je suis crevé. /ʒə sɥi kʁə.ve/ |
| What do you do? | Quelle est votre profession ? /kɛl ɛ votʁ pʁo.fɛ.sjɔ̃/ | Tu fais quoi ? /ty fɛ kwa/ |
| I've got nothing. | Je n'ai rien. /ʒə ne ʁjɛ̃/ | J'ai rien. /ʒe ʁjɛ̃/ |
| Who's that? | Qui est-ce ? /ki ɛs/ | C'est qui ? /sɛ ki/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
Je sais pas. in writing | Je ne sais pas. | ne is compulsory in writing |
on for nous in a formal essay | nous | Wrong register |
tu to a stranger | vous | It reads as rude |
boulot in an official letter | emploi | Colloquial vocabulary |
Salut in a formal letter | Madame, Monsieur, | The same |
mixing vous and tu in one text | pick one | Inconsistency |
Why this matters so much
register is scored as a separate criterion
In the European assessment framework, "sociolinguistic appropriateness" is a separate axis — whether the language you use fits the situation.
And it is the only axis that correct grammar does not compensate for. A flawless text in the wrong register scores badly.
The specific point for an English speaker: French politeness is built differently.
English hedges with modals and extra words — "could you possibly", "I was wondering whether", "would you mind". French politeness comes mainly from two places: vous, and the conditional.
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| I'd like… | Je voudrais… instead of Je veux… | /ʒə vu.dʁɛ/ · /ʒə vø/ |
| Could you…? | Pourriez-vous…? instead of Pouvez-vous…? | /pu.ʁje.vu/ · /pu.ve.vu/ |
| Would you happen to have…? | Est-ce que vous auriez…? | /ɛs kə vu.z‿o.ʁje/ |
Note what is not there. French does not stack hedges the way English does; a piled-up French sentence built from translated English politeness sounds strange rather than polite. One conditional plus vous plus s'il vous plaît is the complete formula.
And note the reverse: a bare imperative that would sound blunt in English — Attendez — is perfectly normal in French once s'il vous plaît is attached. See conditionnel-present and imperatif.