10/03/2017
viii. Tag questions: (Confirmatory questions) tag is a small question that often comes at the end of a sentence to show confirmation. Question tags are used after affirmative and negative sentences, but not after questions. She is intelligent, isn’t she?
She isn’t intelligent, is she?
To check information or ask for agreement, we most often put negative tags after affirmative sentences, and non-negative tags after negative sentences. She is honest, isn’t she? He isn’t honest, is he?
Advanced points:
• The question tag for I am is aren’t I? I’m respectful, aren’t I?
• Imperatives After imperatives, won’t you? Is often used to invite people to do things, and will/would/ can/ can’t/ could you? To tell or ask people to do things. Shut up, can’t you?
• Let’s + verb After let’s + verb we use shall we?
Let’s eat something, shall we?
• There can be a subject in question tags. There is something amazing, isn’t there?
• Negative words
Non-negative tags are used after sentence containing negative words like never, no, nobody, hardly, scarely and little.
You never say what you like, do you?
• Reinforcement Tags: One reason for using tag is simply to emphasize that the idea of the main clause is by repeating it. You are really clever, you are?
• With May sentences doesn’t have any tag questions therefore that we normally can’t’ use may to make a question.
I may study hard. (Doesn’t have tag form)
4. Emphatic sentence: These sentences are used to emphasize or intensify on something. We often emphasize “strengthen” a particular word or expression. There are two main reasons for this:
a. We may wish to show that we feel strongly about what we are saying “emotive emphasize” You do look nice today.
b. We may wish to show a contrast between, for example true and false, or present and past or a rule and exception “Contrastive emphasize”.
Why you weren’t at the party?
I wasn’t at the meeting?
5. Exclamatory sentences: An exclamatory sentence shows sudden feeling or emotions. As following structures: How + adjective
Cookies! How nice.
How + adjective/ adverb + subject + verb
How beautiful she works!
How + subject + verb
How you have grown!
Exclamations with what
What + a/an + adjective + singular noun
What a bad car!
What + adjective + uncountable / plural noun
What intelligent student!
Exclamations with so
So + adjective
You are so kind!
Such + a/an + adjective + singular noun
He is such a nice boy!
6. Optative Sentence: A sentence that expresses a prayer, a wish or entreaty.
May God bless you! (Prayer)
Would that I were affluent! (Wish)
7. Aphoristic sentence: This structure is found in many proverbs. The common structural feature is the balancing of two equivalent constructions against each other.
Least said, soonest mended Easy come, easy go.
Like father, like son So far, so good.
Sentences according to structure
1. Simple sentence: It expresses one main idea. Thus it only has one main clause which may have word or phrase modifiers (adjectives or adverbs or prepositional phrase). The holy Quran gives guidance for success in both worlds.
2. Compound sentence: A sentence has two or more independent clauses without any dependent or subordinate clause. Sometimes a compound sentence is called a balanced sentence. The clauses of a compound sentence may be joined either by a semi colon or by a comma. The bus was crowded, so I had to stand all the way.
3. Complex sentence: A sentence is complex when it has one main or principle clause and the rest sub-coordinate clauses. The subordinate clause is in a complex sentence may be one or more than one. The student who works hard is intelligent.
4. Compound Complex sentence: It has a least two independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses. Many men and women are being trained on their jobs, and some of them later study at colleges where they improve their skills.
