Affirmative - affirmative tag questions: confirmation, etc

Affirmative - affirmative tag questions with a rising tone sometimes ask for confirmation of something the speaker already knows, expressing friendly interest, etc. (i.e. Tell me more'): So she's getting married, is she?(= Tell me more!)

- Yes, she's got engaged to a doctor The wedding s in June etc

However, with a falling tone, affirmative - affirmative tags are often used to express one's disappointment:

You sold that lovely bracelet, did you?{= I'm sorry you did.)

Affirmative - affirmative tags can also express less friendly feelings like suspicion, disapproval and even threat. The tone falls at the end of the statement and rises only on the tag. No answer is required: You call this a day's work, do you?(= I certainly don't!) /'// get my money back, will I?(= I don't believe it!) So you thought you'd fooled me, did you?

Statement-questions and Yes/No answers

Statement-questions

Statement-questions are questions which have the same basic grammatical structure as statements but which are expressed by using a rising tone:

You're coming with us? You aren't hungry? It isn't 4 o'clock?

Echo tags

Surely can be added for emphasis:

He's finished, surely? Surely he hasn't gone home already? This is the standard way of asking Yes/No questions in many languages, but it is not common in English.

Statement-questions are used to seek confirmation, expecting the answer Yes if they are affirmative and No if they are negative. They ask for confirmation of what the speaker assumes to be true, or thinks he has misheard or imperfectly recalled:

You're out of work? You aren't hungry?

- Yes, I am, I'm afraid - No, I had a big breakfast The assumption made by the questioner may also be contradicted: You turned the lights off? ~ No, I didn't.

We also use statement-questions to echo statements. In doing so, we may express surprise, pleasure, etc. or confirm what we have just heard, or we may be asking for a statement to be explained: / forgot the milk - You forgot the milk?(= Please explain!)

Echo tags

Form of echo tags

be/have: [> 10.6, 10.27]	affirmative He's resigning - I s he? He is? - He is isn't he? - He is is he?	negative He isn't resigning - Isn't he? He isn't? - He isn't, is he?
do/does/did [> 10.41]	I work all night - Do you? You do? - You do, don't you? - You do, do you?	I don't work all night - Don't you? You don t? - You don't do you?
modals: [> 11.5]	' can wait till tomorrow - Can you? You can? You can can't you? - You can, can you?	I can't wait till tomorrow - Can t you? You can't? - You can't, can you?