Intonation in question tags- no rights on info

English pronunciation

Intonation in tag questions

Objectives

At the end of this class, students will be able to: Understand how voice rises and falls in tag questions. Practice intonation in question tags.

Agenda

1. Falling tags2. Rising tags 3. Positive positive tags 4. Imperative tags 5. American vs. Bfitish usage

Falling tags

A falling tag like “↘isn’t it?” “↘don’t you?” and “↘won’t they?” indicates that the speaker is not really asking, more telling the listener that their statement is correct. They’re very common at the end of any statement.

Also...

Rising tags

A rising tag is really a question, the listener is being urged to respond with their input. Using the same examples, notice the difference in meaning.

Examples

Positive-positive tags

In falling and rising tags we saw opposite polarity for the statement and tag, so a positive statement has a negative tag and vice versa. A positive statement followed by a positive rising tag is also possible, and is often used to convey sarcasm.

Examples

Imperative tags

An imperative statement can be followed by a rising tag question. Many modal verbs can be used here for varying levels of politeness.

Examples

American vs. british

Tag questions are not as common in American English. A more general usage of ‘right?’ is often seen where a tag question may more likely appear in British English.

Examples:

of Tag questions

Intonation

Thanks!