ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: Tag questions with indefinit pronouns

Clive — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:19:05 GMT

Hi,

Nobody was expecting that, were they? Nobody was expecting that, weren't they?

I believe either "were" or "weren't" can be used? Am I correct?

No, it sounds very wrong with nobody.

Similarly, say 'They weren't expecting that, were they?' rather than 'They weren't expecting that, weren't they?'.

ie With a negative main part, use a positive tag.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: Tag questions with indefinit pronouns

Yoong Liat — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:04:17 GMT

Hi Clive

Nobody was expecting that, were they? Nobody was expecting that, weren't they?

I believe either "were" or "weren't" can be used? Am I correct?

Many thanks.

Re: Tag questions with indefinit pronouns

Espeland — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:51:33 GMT

Ok, thank you !

Re: Tag questions with indefinit pronouns

Clive — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:49:19 GMT

Hi again,

So I have to say in the same pattern Somebody is behind the door, aren't they ?, have I ?

Yes. But I think a lot of native speakers would instinctively feel that this particular example sounds a little awkward. Thus, they'd be more likely to reword it to something like this. There is somebody behind the door, isn't there?

Best wishes, Clive

Re: Tag questions with indefinit pronouns

Espeland — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:32:12 GMT

Clive wrote:
1. Questions with negative words like nobody or nothing use positive tags.
2. Although words like nobody and somebody use a singular verb ('was' in your example), a plural pronoun is commonly used to refer to them.

Thus, what we say as a tag is this. Nobody was expecting that, were they?

Thank you very much, Clive !
So I have to say in the same pattern Somebody is behind the door, aren't they ?, have I ?

Re: Tag questions with indefinit pronouns

Clive — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:16:46 GMT

Hi,

Welcome to the Forum.

I've got a question about tag questions.
A tag question is for ex. "You don't go home, do you ?" or "It is strange, isn't it ?"

How do you form a tag question if the subject is a pronoun like nobody or somebody ?
Nobody was expecting that, wasn't ______ ....? ...he ? it ?

First, a couple of comments.

1. Questions with negative words like nobody or nothing use positive tags.

2. Although words like nobody and somebody use a singular verb ('was' in your example), a plural pronoun is commonly used to refer to them.

Thus, what we say as a tag is this. Nobody was expecting that, were they?

Best wishes, Clive

Tag questions with indefinit pronouns

Espeland — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:52:28 GMT

Hello everybody !

I've got a question about tag questions.
A tag question is for ex. "You don't go home, do you ?" or "It is strange, isn't it ?"

How do you form a tag question if the subject is a pronoun like nobody or somebody ?
Nobody was expecting that, wasn't ______ ....? ...he ? it ?

Thank you in advance for any help.