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Tails. Question Tags.

This document discusses two grammatical structures in English: tails and question tags. Tails are phrases added to the end of a sentence to emphasize or clarify what was just said. They usually have a rising tone. Question tags are short questions added to the end of statements, usually to elicit a response. Question tags can have either a rising or falling tone depending on whether the speaker expects agreement or disagreement. The document provides examples of tails and question tags and discusses when rising or falling tones would be used.

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Анастасия
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254 views

Tails. Question Tags.

This document discusses two grammatical structures in English: tails and question tags. Tails are phrases added to the end of a sentence to emphasize or clarify what was just said. They usually have a rising tone. Question tags are short questions added to the end of statements, usually to elicit a response. Question tags can have either a rising or falling tone depending on whether the speaker expects agreement or disagreement. The document provides examples of tails and question tags and discusses when rising or falling tones would be used.

Uploaded by

Анастасия
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Tails. Question tags.

подготовила Федкевич Анастасия.


Tails
In informal spoken English, tails are sometimes used at the
end of a sentence to emphasise or make clearer what we
have just said. For example:
She's a judge, my aunt.

Tails consist of a noun or a noun phrase. They usually have


a rising tone because they are referring to or expanding on
something that has been said before.
Another type of tail, also with a rising tone, repeats the subject +
verb in order to reinforce what we have just said. It is similar to a
tag, and is used mainly in very informal speech:

A: Maybe you could borrow the money from your


brother?
B: No, he's incredibly MEAN, HE is .

Some other tails usually have a falling tone; for example, a


tail added to a wh- question in order to clarify who or what
the question refers to

What time's it ON, this SHOW ?


Question tags
Question tags are short questions added to the end of a statement, usually to
produce a response from a hearer. We use a falling tone for question tags when we
expect the hearer to acknowledge that what we have just said is correct, for
example, when we are giving our opinion:

GREAT FILM, WASn't it ?

Question tags usually have a falling tone when the statement is obviously correct
We also use a falling tone when we want the hearer to admit that something they
may not have accepted before is, in fact, correct.

TOLD you I was RIGHT, DIDn't I ?


We use a rising tone when we invite the hearer to say whether what we have just said is
correct or not, for example, when we are not certain that something is true:

JapanESE, ISn't it ?

When both the statement and the question tag are positive, the question tag usually has
a rising tone:

Came by CAR, DID you ?

Question tags (usually will you, can't you, won't you, would you, or shall we) can be
added to imperative sentences. These tags usually have a rising tone and are often
used to soften a request or command

TAKE care of THESE, WOULD you ?


Exercises

Do you think the tails in these sentences are likely to have a rising tone (put in the
box) or a falling tone ( )?

EXAMPLE: They're all over the kitchen, those beetles .

1. Where's it being held, Friday's concert?


2. What's it like, this cheese ?
3. It can be dangerous, skiing.
4. It's made from Thai silk, Vicky's dress.
5. When are they coming, Frank and Gill?
6. How much did you pay for them, these tickets?
7. It's not a great day for us to meet, Sunday.

Now listen and check your predictions. Then say the sentences aloud.

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