Grammar: Clause: Using clauses to interact

Tag questions Back

The form of tag questions: Student problems

Some students think there is only one form of question tag and use isn't it? even if the Subject, verb or tense in the Statement is different:

There is a serious crime problem in Boston, isn't it?
There is a serious crime problem in Boston, isn't there?

It was a really horrible experience, isn't it?
It was a really horrible experience, wasn't it?

The soup is not hot enough, isn't it?
 The soup is not hot enough, is it?

This is probably because in Cantonese there is just one invariable form for a tag question: hai m hai.

Note that the terms Statement and Subject are written with a capital to remind us that they are functional terms.

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