Tag question: I don't think he is serious, isn't he?

Question

Hi,Is this correct?I don't think he is serious, isn't he?I know the next sentence is correct.I think he is serious, isn't he?But I'm not sure about "I don't think he is serious, isn't he?"Thanks in advance

Mr Wordy · Accepted Answer

It should be "I don't think he is serious, is he?".

Usually (though there are exceptions), if the statement is negative then the tag is positive, and if the statement is positive then the tag is negative. "I don't think..." counts as a negative statement.

Avangi · Answer

I think the tag should apply to the statement.
"I don't think he is serious, do I?"

"He can't be serious, can he?"

He's not serious, is he?

He's serious, isn't he?

I'm probably wrong, but I don't think we can have two different subjects, unless we have two different sentences:
"I don't think he's serious. Do you?"

"I hope he's serious. Don't you?"

Mr Wordy · Answer

AvangiI think the tag should apply to the statement.

"I don't think he is serious, do I?"

This is grammatically feasible but pretty unlikely. You don't normally ask for confirmation that you think the way you say you do.

AvangiI'm probably wrong, but I don't think we can have two different subjects, unless we have two different sentences

The switch of subject in "I don't think he's serious, is he?" is idiomatically natural, but this is a special case and in general I think you're right. You can't, to choose a random example, say "I didn't see him take the money, did he?".

Avangi · Answer

Thanks, Wordy.
I know "I don't think he is serious, do I?" is absurd. I included it for the shock value in trying to make my point.

Yankee · Answer

AvangiI know "I don't think he is serious, do I?" is absurd.

I don't think that wording is absurd. You only need the proper context. Some types of tag questions simply have much more specialized usage (and therefore are also less fequently used). Not every tag question asks for a simple confirmation.

To me, your "absurd" example could be used by someone who is being sarcastic and who thinks it should already be quite obvious that "I don't think he is serious". In this case, the tag would not be used to encourage a response. The tag itself would be a rhetorical device that is not actually intended to be a question. Thus, the tag would not have the intonation of a question. Instead, the intonation would be that of a statement.

So, to me the only real question would be whether I should actually use the question mark.

Avangi · Answer

Got it, Amy!  Thanks for the redemption!.[A]

Yankee · Answer

Hehe.
Just an added thought: In the context I mentioned, I think your example might also be described as being used to "demand confirmation" rather than "request or ask for confirmation".

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, all.

Are these correct?

1. I don't guess he is serious, is he?
2. I don't know he is serious, is he?
3. I don't suppose he is serious, is he?
4. I don't reckon he is serious, is he?

5. You don't think he is serious, do you?
6. You don't know he is serious, do you?
7. You don't suppose he is serious, do you?
8. You don't reckon he is serious, do you?

Thanks in advance.

Mr Wordy · Answer

Anonymous
1. I don't guess he is serious, is he?

2. I don't know he is serious, is he?

3. I don't suppose he is serious, is he?

4. I don't reckon he is serious, is he?

5. You don't think he is serious, do you?

6. You don't know he is serious, do you?

7. You don't suppose he is serious, do you?

8. You don't reckon he is serious, do you?

I'm assuming in all cases that "serious" means "being serious in this matter", rather than "having a serious nature generally".

#1 is unnatural to me ("I don't guess..." is unnatural, irrespective of the tag question).

#2 and #4 are possible but not terribly natural to me. Even though "that" is normally optional in "I know (that)...", for some reason #2 seems more natural to me as "I don't know that he is serious, is he?". It could be just an idiosyncrasy of mine.

All the others seem OK. In everyday speech, "he is" is almost always contracted to "he's" (unless "is" is emphasised). Note that two different senses are possible here, and some of the examples seem to admit one sense more easily than the other:

a) The speaker is asking a genuine question.

b) The speaker is expecting a positive confirmation, up to the point where it ceases to be a question at all and becomes merely a rhetorical device used for emphasis or self-justification.

In speech the difference is apparent from the intonation.

Avangi · Answer

Mr Wordy #1 is unnatural to me ("I don't guess..." is unnatural, irrespective of the tag question).

Hi, Wordy.
This was common in the US (New England) as I was growing up, but considered lower register / casual- surely incorrect by our teachers. I can't recall the last time I heard it.

Tag question: I don't think he is serious, isn't he?

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