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Normally, tag questions end
with BE or an auxiliary verb and
a subject pronoun or there.
Sometimes, however, other ending
are used. We recently saw that "right?,"
"correct?," and
"don't
you
agree?" are often used as
tag endings, but there are other
words and phrases that are used in this way. One of them is
OK?.
When "OK?" is used
as a tag ending, the meaning is special.
It normally means something
like 'I know you don't
believe it,
but (statement)':
He's a nice person, OK?
(I know you don't believe
it, but I think he's a
nice person.)
She doesn't
like me, OK?
(I know you don't believe
it, but she doesn't like
me.)
We remembered
everything, OK?
(I know you don't believe
it, but we remembered
everything.)
He did a good
job when he fixed my car, OK?
(I know you don't believe
it, but he did a good
job
when he fixed my car.)
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Huh? is another unusual tag ending. It's
used in three
different
ways:
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With normal intonation, "huh?"
is used like
"right?"
or "correct?":
He isn't here, huh?
(He isn't here, right / correct?)
You come here
often, huh?
(You come here often, right
/ correct?)
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| 2. |
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"Huh?" is also frequently
used in a sarcastic or
challenging way. With this usage, the "challenged"
information
has very high pitch and both the
"challenged"
information and "huh?" are stressed:
He isn't hére, húh?
(You / someone said that he
isn't here,
but
I don't believe it.)
He's a níce guy, húh?
(You / someone said that he's
a nice guy,
but
I don't believe it.)
You understánd me, húh?
(You said that you understand
me,
but
I don't believe you.)
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| 3. |
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"Huh?" is also
used alone (and not as a tag
ending).
When used alone, "Huh?" is
used in two ways:
| a. |
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With rising intonation, it shows surprise
or shock:
A: Bob failed the test.
B: Huh? (Really? / That seems
impossible!)
With rising intonation, "Huh?"
can also mean
'I didn't hear you' or 'I didn't
understand you:
A: Ja nje znaju njich.
B: Huh? (What was that? /
What did you
say? / I didn't understand that.)
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| b. |
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With falling intonation, it shows mild interest:
A: Bob failed the test.
B: Huh. (That's interesting.
/ I didn't know that.)
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Special Note:
When "OK?" and "huh?"
are used like tag endings, they have
rising intonation.
When "Huh" is used alone, it can have either
rising
or falling intonation. The different intonations in this use
of "Huh?" show different meanings or reactions.
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