Questions with 辞書形　and raising tone and 辞書形＋の？


I was tonight with japanese friends and I noticed they rather used a simple
辞書形 form along with a raising tone to ask a question, although we learned in
class that "non-polite" questions were formed with 辞書形+の. Is there a
difference between the two ? From this topic "[Is ending question sentences
with の really
feminine?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/11914/is-ending-
question-sentences-with-%E3%81%AE-really-feminine)" I gathered that の might
have a feminine touch when used along with statements, but what about
questions in general ? Can I use の without sounding like a weirdo ? I also
heard the two, along with no-verb questions in an anime I'm currently
watching, Ergo Proxy, but I guess these are used whenever the verb and/or
subject are well defined by the context... To summarize with examples :

  * どこへ行くの？
  * どこへ行く？
  * どこへ？

What's the difference between the above examples ? Can I use any of those in
any given situation ? Thanks, ウルカン




> Can I use の without sounding like a weirdo ?

Yes.

> Is there a difference between the two ?

Yes. A question with の is usually asking about a reason, or following up on a
piece of information. For example, 勉強しているの？ means "are you studying?", and
might have undertones of "is _that_ why (e.g.) you can't come out tonight?",
whereas 勉強している？ is a straightforward yes/no question. Compare 勉強している ("I am
studying") with 勉強しているのだ ("(it's because) I am studying").




> Can I use の without sounding like a weirdo ?

Yes.

> Is there a difference between the two ?

Yes. A question with の is usually asking about a reason, or following up on a
piece of information. For example, 勉強しているの？ means "are you studying?", and
might have undertones of "is _that_ why (e.g.) you can't come out tonight?",
whereas 勉強している？ is a straightforward yes/no question. Compare 勉強している ("I am
studying") with 勉強しているのだ ("(it's because) I am studying").

