Comment first, topic after
In right dislocation (dislocation à droite) the sentence starts with a pronoun. What it stands for only comes at the end, after a comma. The tacked-on element is already known or obvious from the situation. What is new and important is the comment before it.
Je prends toujours le café au bar.
I always have my coffee at the counter.
Unmarked.
Je le prends toujours au bar, le café.
I always have it at the counter, my coffee.
Right-dislocated.
Elle est belle, ta robe.
It's lovely, your dress.
Evaluation first.
In speech the voice drops after the comma. The tag sounds low and flat, with no new stress. The melody of the sentence is over before the comma.
Left or right?
Both kinds of dislocation pick up a topic with a pronoun. But they distribute the weight differently.
Same topic, two positions
Left
You introduce the topic or set it against another one.
Ce film, je l'ai trouvé long.
That film, I found it long.
Right
The topic is already there. You say straight away what you think and only clarify what you mean.
Je l'ai trouvé long, ce film.
I found it long, that film.
Typical uses
Opinion and feeling: praise, annoyance or surprise comes first, the topic follows.
Questions in conversation: the question comes first, the topic after.
Clarifying: the pronoun alone could be unclear, the tag settles it.
Ça m'énerve, ces bouchons.
They drive me mad, these traffic jams.
Annoyance.
Elle commence quand, la réunion ?
When does it start, the meeting?
Question.
Tu l'as vu, le dernier Audiard ?
Have you seen it, the new Audiard?
Question.
With y and en, the preposition stays
When the sentence contains y or en, the tag usually keeps its preposition: à after y, de after en. That way the listener hears its role at once.
Je n'y vais jamais, à la piscine.
I never go there, to the pool.
J'y pense souvent, à ce voyage.
I often think about it, that trip.
J'en ai marre, de ce boulot.
I'm sick of it, this job.
c'est + adjective before the tag
With c'est you judge the thing in general, and the adjective stays masculine singular. With il or elle you talk about a specific thing, and the adjective agrees.
C'est cher, la vie à Paris.
It's expensive, life in Paris.
In general.
Elle est chère, ta voiture.
It's expensive, your car.
A specific thing.
Where right dislocation belongs
Right dislocation is even more spoken than left dislocation. You hear it all the time in everyday talk, in dialogue in novels and films, in chats. In reports, applications or official emails you use the unmarked sentence.
Casual English has the same pattern (It's lovely, your dress), and the translations above use it. In French it is far more frequent and perfectly normal in everyday conversation.
