In France people will often ask questions using the negative

form . For example, instead of saying “do you have a cigarette? “ they will ask “ don’t you have a cigarette? “ ( t’as pas une cigarette ?” ) or instead of asking “do you want to go to the restaurant ? “ they will ask “ don’t you want to go to the restaurant ? “ ( tu veux pas aller restaurant ? ) . The first time I noticed this was when my French Canadian friend asked me “why do you always ask questions in the negative form ?” , even though french was her native language. I don’t know what is the reason but I can’t help thinking it might be linked to the fact the french are the most pessimistic people on earth according to some studies .