When the sentence hangs in the air
A falling voice closes things off: what you said stands. If instead you let the voice rise slightly at the end and stretch the last syllable, the sentence sounds unfinished. The listener fills in the missing mais themselves. This is how French expresses doubt, hesitation or half-hearted agreement without saying it. English does this with a fall-rise, as in a doubtful “I suppose…”. French usually skips the dip: the voice simply rises a little and holds.
Closure versus reservation
Bon.
[bɔ̃ ↘]
Right, that's settled.
Short and falling, the decision is made.
Bon…
[bɔ̃ː ↗]
Well…
Stretched and slightly rising, nobody is convinced here.
Pourquoi pas !
[puʁ·kwa·pa ↘]
Why not, sure!
Genuine agreement.
Pourquoi pas…
[puʁ·kwa·paː ↗]
I suppose we could… (hesitant)
Hesitation instead of enthusiasm.
Half-hearted agreement
The reservation melody most often lands on short sentences of agreement or praise. The words say yes, the melody says “yes, but”.
Yes with second thoughts
Si tu le dis…
[si·ty·lə·diː ↗]
If you say so…
Polite doubt about what the other person claims.
Peut-être…
[pø·tɛːtʁ ↗]
Maybe… probably not.
C'est pas mal…
[sɛ·pa·maːl ↗]
It's not bad… but that's all.
Praise with a catch.
En principe…
[ɑ̃·pʁɛ̃·siːp ↗]
In principle…
The exception is already in the air.
Leaving the sentence open
You can also start an explicit mais and then break off. The rising, stretched last syllable shows that the rest is left unsaid on purpose. This sounds more polite than a flat no.
Broken-off sentences
J'aurais bien aimé, mais…
[ʒɔ·ʁɛ·bjɛ̃·ne·me mɛː ↗]
I'd have loved to, but…
Polite refusal.
C'est une idée…
[sɛ·ty·ni·deː ↗]
That's one idea… (whether a good one is left open)
En théorie, oui…
[ɑ̃·te·ɔ·ʁi wiː ↗]
In theory, yes…
Reservation or question?
A question also rises at the end. The difference is the range: a question rises steeply and high and asks for an answer. A reservation rises only a little, the syllable is stretched, and then there is silence.
Same word, two curves
Question
Demain ?
[də·mɛ̃ ↗↗]
Tomorrow? (a genuine question)
Short, steep and high.
Reservation
Demain…
[də·mɛ̃ː ↗]
Tomorrow… (that'll be tight)
Stretched, only slightly rising, then a pause.
Responding to a reservation
When you hear the reservation melody, feel free to ask rather than filing it as a yes. That brings the unspoken mais out into the open.
Probing gently
Il y a un mais ?
[il·ja·œ̃·mɛ ↗]
Is there a but?
Tu n'as pas l'air convaincu.
[ty·na·pa·lɛʁ·kɔ̃·vɛ̃·ky ↘]
You don't look convinced.
Qu'est-ce qui te gêne ?
[kɛs·ki·tə·ʒɛn ↘]
What's bothering you about it?
Question-word question, so falling.
