疑问附加语 isn’t it

"John is smart, isn’t it?"

这个疑问句里的附加语(question tag)对吗?如果是不对的话，错在哪里?

在公共场所或办公室里，只要稍为留心，不难听到“ isn’t it ? ”这个附加语。这种疑问句是英文几种疑问句中的一种，主要的用途在强制答话人提供问话人心目中的答案。

这个疑问句有一定的格式，即：

肯定叙述句(affirmative statement)+否定附加语(见例 ①及②)

否定叙述句(negative statement)+肯定附加语(见例③及 ④)

①Mary is happy, isn’t she?

②They will come, won’t they?

③Mary isn’t sad, is she?

④They won’t come, will they?

此外，附加语中的代名词(pronoun)和助动词(auxiliary verb)必须和叙述句中的相符。

这类疑问句看似简单，其实容易出差错。其中一个错误便是附加语的时态(tense)不对，如：

⑤You could hardly expect him to help you, can you?

⑥The minister will talk about regional cooperation, wouldn’t he ?

另外一种错误是助动词的错用，如：

⑦The clerks are working hard, don’t they?

⑧Betty won’t be a sportswoman, can she?

“isn’t it”的滥用

最常见的错误来自“isn’t it”的滥用，如：

⑨Jason likes this book very much , isn’t it?

⑩She can sing well, isn’t it?

11.Our team won, isn’t it?

12.Young Singaporeans have become achievement - oriented , isn’t it?

13.All our teachers are dedicated, isn’t it?

14.They will go shopping on Sunday, isn’t it?

这6个错误的附加语改正如下：

⑨Jason likes this book very much, doesn’t he?

⑩She can sing well, can’t she?

11.Our team won, didn’t it?

12.Young Singaporeans have become achievement - oriented, haven’t they?

13.All our teachers are dedicated, aren’t they?

14.They will go shopping on Sunday, won’t they?

" lsn’t it ? "在下列3个句子中才是正确的用法：

15.It is fine today, isn’t it?

16.That story book is interesting, isn’t it?

17.It is worthwhile learning a second language well, isn’t it?

现在再看看“John is smart , isn’t it ?”错在哪里。很明显的，错在附加语里的代名词：应该是“he ”，不是“it”，全句如下：

John is smart, isn’t he?