Tag Questions
There are three types of intonation patterns: a question, statement, and a command.
When we ask questions we tend to end the sentence with a rising tone. For example, “You’re going to the store, aren’t you?” This indicates an uncertainty on the part of the person asking the question, as well as the expectation of an answer. If we were to say the same statement flatly, without changing the inflection, this might be considered a statement.
By dropping our tone at the end of the sentence we can make a command. Tag questions make this a little easier to execute. Some tag question examples are as follows: isn’t it, aren’t you, don’t you agree, won’t it, and so on.
Practice the following sentences which use tag questions, using all three type of intonation on each one. Make sure you say them out loud to yourself.
“You’ve begun to recognize all of the possibilities, haven’t you?”
“Once you’ve purchased your own home, it will be satisfying knowing you’re investing in yourself, won’t it?”
“You’ve accomplished quite a bit here, haven’t you?”
“It’s nice knowing how far you’ve progressed , isn’t it?”
“You want to do that, don’t you?”
“Many people make powerful leaps in their lives with this material, don’t they?”
“This will be very easy to do, don’t you agree?”
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admin :: Jun.28.2007 :: advanced language patterns :: No Comments »