Rhetorical questions

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guillermicro  #38134  Mon, 19 Jul 04 07:51 PM
I've been hearing lately expresisons such as "I don't want that... Or do I?" or "I am so mad... Or am I?".
This seems to confuse me, since it looks like the first part of the sentence can be both in affirmative or negative form.
Are both correct?
thanks in advance.
  
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haoqide  #38386  Tue, 20 Jul 04 09:00 PM
Yeah, you're right. Those statements are negative and affirmative, respectively. The purpose of a rhetorical question is really to prove a point or persuade someone that you are correct or that something is a certain way. I can't really think of an example of a rhetorical question right now...sorry!

Those questions above aren't really rhetorical questions...I mean, sure, they don't really require an answer, but they're more examples of people thinking out loud than anything else. Does that make sense?
  
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guillermicro  #38409  Tue, 20 Jul 04 11:31 PM
Thanks for replying.
Maybe rather than rhetorical questions they are more like question tags, but my point is: are those two sentences constructed correctly? I mean, I've heard them, but that doesn't make them correct. I was dubious because question tags are usually constructed in the opposite form of the main phrase (i.e: if the main clause is negative the question tag is positive, and vice versa) and in both of my examples the 'tag' was positive.
  
haoqide  #38464  Wed, 21 Jul 04 03:37 AM
Hmmm...this one's over my head. Sorry! Maybe one of our more qualified members can help you out with this one...
  
miriam  #38711  Thu, 22 Jul 04 07:11 AM
Hello, Gillermicro. Smile [:)]
There are four possibilities in English for question-tags: the verb in the main clause can be either affirmative and negative, and so can the verb in the 'tag', so you can have:

1- aff. main verb + aff. tag
2- aff. main verb + neg. tag
3- neg. main verb + aff. tag
4- neg. main verb + neg. tag

#2 and #3 are the ones that are usually taught to non-native speakers of English, but #1 and #4 are also widely used. Perhaps these last two are not taught at the same time as the other two because the meaning of #1 and #4 will vary according to the intonation used, and intonation is not something that -at least in my country- is taught in detail in schools of English in general, let alone in school.

Miriam
  
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Anonymous  #583060  Mon, 03 Nov 08 03:07 AM
Why are you so stupid?
Why me?
  
AlpheccaStars  #583063  Mon, 03 Nov 08 03:52 AM
 "I don't want that... or do I?"

"I am so mad... or am I?".

 It sounds like quotations from someone who is confused and thinking to themselves,  trying to decide what to do.

In the first situation, imagine a lovely lady named Mary who is a little bit overweight. She is at a restaurant and having lunch with friends. They finish the main course and the waiter brings a delicious dessert tray with selections of ice cream, chocolate cake, and cherry pie.

Mary looks at the delicious desserts. She says to herself, "I don't want that ... or do I?" 

 

 

 

  
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CalifJim  #583108  Mon, 03 Nov 08 07:30 AM
You do realize you're answering a question from July, 2004, don't you?  Smile 

The only reason this thread came up again is that someone was browsing old posts and thought that adding another example or two would be helpful -- even though the added examples have little or nothing to do with the original question!  Smile 

CJ 

  
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