Subject repetition

[Robert]

In this statement, the subject "guerre" is repeated as "elle":
Quels changements la seconde guerre mondiale a-t-elle apportés à la vie des civils en France ?

Are there rules or customs that determine when, and how, to repeat the subject?

Are these each better or worse than the other?
Pourquoi M. Dexter Morgan, le policier mystérieuse, portait-il beaucoup des bagages sur son dos?
Pourquoi M. Dexter Morgan, le policier mystérieuse, portait beaucoup des bagages sur son dos?

Merci.
Robert

[George Hunt]

In your 2 examples it seems to me that the first is a simple question whereas the first is not a question but rather is missing an introductory phrase such as " Je lui ai demandé...." 

So that would give something like  " Je lui ai demandé pourquoi M. Dexter Morgan, le policier mystérieuse x, portait beaucoup des bagages sur son le dos." 

The inversion of the verb and the pronoun (eg "est-il?") is a way of forming a question  -as is "est-ce que" followed by a statement but you cannot ,as far as I know, invert the verb with a subject such as " M. Dexter Morgan"  in order to make a question.

So "Est  M. Dexter Morgan en retard?" cannot be used to say "Is  M. Dexter Morgan late?" for example .

You have to say "M. Dexter Morgan, est-il  en retard?"  or "Est-ce que M. Dexter Morgan est  en retard ?" .

Otherwise ""Je me demande pourqoi M. Dexter Morgan en retard" means "I wonder why M. Dexter Morgan is late" - which is not  a question as such.

[Vedas]

Hello,

Pourquoi M. Dexter Morgan, le policier mystérieux, portait-il beaucoup de bagages sur son dos?
Pourquoi M. Dexter Morgan, le policier mystérieux, portait beaucoup de bagages sur son dos?

The first sentence is a stylistic way to render the situation more mysterious. The use of a double  subject here  enhances the sense of riddle about something you can't make sense of. It expresses the involvement of the puzzled speaker too and makes people understand that there  is something central about this action.

The second sounds more neutral/ less emotional/  and there might be a rational or down to earth answer to that question.

so both are good  it's just a question of style. Interpretations will vary according to context and circumstances.

[George Hunt]

Ok  so I seem to have been wrong in the main.

[Robert]

So the 2nd one, even with no subject-verb inversion, can still be understood as a question ?
Maybe only when you choose to see it as a question, like this: Elle est belle ?

[Vedas]

Hello,

yes you know that unlike English you don't need a subject-verb inversion to form a question, the simple fact that you have "pourquoi " implies that it is a question.

In you example the intonation (rising inflection for a question) would suggest whether it is a question or not.

As a whole the subject-verb inversion is quite formal in French nowadays.

[Richard Last]

Quels changements a-t-elle apportes la seconde guerre mondiale a la vie des civils en France ?