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Viceidol Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Can I say "I can go, can I not?"

0Hi, I saw a question tag using "did he not?" in my grammar book, but I've never seen this structure before. Soon after that, I also thought of a similar structure:02br
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00I'm late, 01b00am I not02b00? 02br
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00While I know the above example is correct, I'm not sure if other question tags and questions could use this kind of structure as well. So I've made several sentences. Could you please see if the following sentences are acceptable? Thank you!02br
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00He used to smoke, 01b00did he not02b00? (=didn't he?) (This one is what I saw in my grammar book)02br
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00He broke the window, 01b00did he not02b00? (=didn't he?)02br
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00I can go, 01b00can I not02b00? (=can't I?)02br
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00Your mother is a teacher, 01b00is she not02b00? (=isn't she?)02br
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00All we want is peace,01b00 is it not02b00? (=isn't it?)02br
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01b00Is it not02b00 almost 2 o'clock? (=Isn't it...)02br
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00Why 01b00did you not02b00 come to lunch with us? (=Why didn't you...)02br
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01b00Are you not 02b00having a good time? (=Aren't you...)02br
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00Did you see that girl in red dress? 01b00Is she not02b00 Mary? (=Isn't she...)0-
  

Top answer

S. )02br 02br 00With the straight questions, the non-contracted form is also used for emphasis, or to show that it's a sincere question, not a random "small talk" thing to say. "Oh dear.

  • S.
  • )02br 02br 00With the straight questions, the non-contracted form is also used for emphasis, or to show that it's a sincere question, not a random "small talk" thing to say.
  • "Oh dear.
  • 0-
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5 Answers
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0With the tags, all of them are grammatical, and all of them will mark you as a non-native speaker, at least in the U.S. No one says it that way, except in cases where you really want to emphasize something: You DID remember to unplug the iron before we left, did you not??02br
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00(In other words, Lord help you if you didn't.)02br
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00With the straig
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0 I agree with Grammar Geek here with one exception.02br
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00I think the last example "Is she not Mary" would raise eyebrows among native speakers no matter what the situation was.0-
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1blockquote
01cite10Grammar Geek12cite10With the tags, all of them are grammatical, and all of them will mark you as a non-native speaker, at least in the U.S. No one says it that way, except in cases where you really want to emphasize something:12blockquote
10A good example of something that is perfectly ok, but is not common and sound
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1b00Viceidol,02br
02b
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00The writer has to define the tone and emotion in which the tag question was asked. Whether it’s negative or positive tag, the first part of the tag forms the part which you believe or in denial to believe, the second part validates it. The most common tags are Positive with negative tag, and negative with possitive tag. But they can
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0Thank you very much, everyone! Your opinions are valuable to me!0-

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