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Normally, tag questions end
with BE or an auxiliary verb
and
a subject pronoun or there. Sometimes,
however, other endings
are used. The most common one is probably
right?. It can be
used with
both affirmative ( + ) and negative
( - ) sentences:
He's a nice person, right?
He isn't
a nice person, right?
She's coming with us, right? She isn't coming
with us, right?
There were at the party, right? They weren't at the
party, right?
She likes me, right? She doesn't like
me, right?
We remembered everything,
right? We
didn't forget anything, right?
She's been here before, right? She's never been
here before, right?
You'd seen the movie before,
right? You
hadn't seen the movie before, right?
He can fix my car, right? He can't fix my car,
right?
etc.
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Sometimes correct? is also used in the same way, but it's considerably more formal than
"right?":
He's a nice person, correct? He isn't a nice person,
correct?
She's coming with us, correct? She isn't coming
with us, correct?
There were at the party, correct? They weren't at the
party, correct?
She likes me, correct? She doesn't like
me, correct?
We remembered everything,
correct? We
didn't forget anything, correct?
She's been here before, correct? She's never been
here before, correct?
You'd seen the movie before,
correct? You
hadn't seen the movie before, correct?
He can fix my car, correct? He can't fix my car,
correct?
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In addition, don't you agree? is sometimes also used like a
tag ending (though it's rather formal and is appropriate only when an opinion
or judgment given):
He's a nice person, don't
you agree? He
isn't a nice person, don't you agree?
She likes me, don't you agree? She doesn't like
me, don't you agree?
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Special Notes:
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In
all the examples above, the endings ("right?," "correct?,"
"don't you agree?")
have rising intonation. |
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| 2. |
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There
are other words and phrases which can be used like tag endings. Later Hints will
give more information on some of them. |
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