|
type
clause clause
comments
-ing
clause
The documentary
is
following the parents’
the subject of following is the
built like fictional
anguish and the
documentary,
and its time
drama,
doctor’s anxiety through
reference is the same as is
the months of ups and
(present time)
downs.
-ing
clause
The London Stock
marking the company’s
the subject of marking is the
Market
welcomed
shares up 50 pence.
London Stock Market
, and its
the news of the deal,
time reference is the same as
welcomed
(past time)
-ing
clause
At ten o’clock every
walking up the stairs.
understood past time
Friday they
’d hear
references: ‘someone was
someone walking
up the stairs’
to-
infinitive
To help the people who there are multi-storey
the subject of help is multi-
clause
travel into the city
car parks around the
storey car parks
, and its
by car,
edge of the city centre.
time reference is the same as
there are
(present time)
-ed
clause
Helped by her
Sue
started out on the
the (passive) subject of helped
children’s
learning process she
is Sue, and its time reference is
schoolteacher,
should have begun
the same as started (past
30 years earlier.
time)
-ed
clause
You
should read the
highlighted in yellow.
understood present time
parts
reference: ‘which are/have
been highlighted in yellow’
546 | Clause types
Cambridge Grammar of English
TAGS
299
Tags are a type of clause without a lexical verb but which relate to the verb in the
main clause of a sentence.
Tags consist of auxiliary be, do, have, lexical verb be or a modal verb and a
subject (most typically a pronoun). They may have declarative or interrogative
word order and may have affirmative or negative polarity.
The four main types of tag are question tags, directive tags, statement tags (also
known as copy tags) and exclamation tags:
● Question tags:
She’s a teacher,
isn’t she?
I haven’t shown you this,
have I?
You’ve met David,
have you?
● Directive tags:
Shut the door,
will you.
Don’t stay out too late,
will you.
● Statement tags:
I’m hungry,
I am.
She was very kind,
Rita was.
He’s not so tall,
Jim isn’t.
● Exclamation tags:
How strange,
isn’t it!
What a laugh that was,
wasn’t it!
QUESTION TAGS
300
General
300a
Question tags are used to check or clarify information, or simply to involve the
listener in a more interactive way.
Question tags consist of an auxiliary or modal verb or lexical verb be + subject
pronoun. The subject pronoun repeats the subject of the main clause to which it
refers, and agrees in number, person and gender with the subject of the main
clause.
Where the main clause contains an auxiliary or modal verb or lexical verb be, it
is repeated in the tag.
Examples of question tags with repeated auxiliary
declarative clause
auxiliary/modal verb
subject pronoun
1 You’ve worked hard,
haven’t
you?
2 He didn’t get it,
did
he?
3 We had talked about it,
hadn’t
we?
4 I can do it now,
can
I?
5 Kate is Irish,
isn’t
she?
Û
539 Glossary for any unfamiliar terms
Clause types | 547
Where there is no auxiliary or modal verb in the main clause, auxiliary
do/does/did
is used in the tag.
Examples of question tags with added auxiliary verb
declarative clause
auxiliary verb
subject pronoun
6 He said it’s basically the same,
did
he?
7 Patsy lives in Lincoln,
doesn’t
she?
8 [lexical verb have]
They have one every year,
do
they?
Negative tags are normally contracted in informal styles (doesn’t he?, don’t they?,
weren’t we?, isn’t it?
, etc.). In more formal styles, uncontracted not may occur:
You changed servants at that time,
did you not?
So we’re left with three possibilities,
are we not?
Question tag polarity: affirmative or negative
300b
Polarity refers to whether a verb phrase is affirmative or negative. In examples 1,
2, 3, 5 and 7 in the tables in 300a, there is contrasting polarity between the main
clause and the tag:
affirmative negative
You |’
ve | worked hard, | haven’t | you?
negative
affirmative
He |
didn’t | get it, | did | he?
affirmative negative
We |
had | talked about it, | hadn’t | we?
In examples 4, 6 and 8, the polarity is affirmative in the main clause and the tag:
affirmative
affirmative
I |
can | do it now, | can | I?
The different patterns of polarity combine with intonation patterns to produce a
variety of different meanings.
Û
431 for a full account
Main clauses with am, may, used to, ought to
300c
Am
, may, used to and ought to do not follow the normal pattern of obligatory
repetition in the question tag. Typical usage is as follows.
Examples of tag questions with am, may, used to, ought to
declarative clause
tag auxiliary/modal
subject
am
I
’m crazy to even think about it,
aren’t I?
may
Jim
may be able to help,
mightn’t he?
used to
He
used to work with you,
did*
he?
ought to
We
ought to ring her now,
shouldn’t or (less frequent) oughtn’t
we?
* The form used (he) (or its negative usedn’t) is now very rare (
Û
400
).
548 | Clause types
Cambridge Grammar of English
Question tags in non-final position
300h
Although question tags normally occur after the main clause, they may sometimes
interrupt the clause, especially in clauses with anticipatory it:
It’s odd, isn’t it, that he should say that?
It was perhaps your team, was it, that was round there?
It’s true, isn’t it, what they said about him?
In reporting structures, the question tag may occur before the reported clause,
especially if the reported clause is felt to be unusually long. The early placement of
the tag can also serve to project or acknowledge a shared perspective with the
listener:
[commenting on the recipes of a famous cookery book writer]
You always know, don’t you, that what you make will be suitable, and light,
and that it will taste all right too.
Û
431 on question tags and intonation patterns
DIRECTIVE TAGS
301
Affirmative imperatives may be followed by tags involving will/would/can/could
you
. Such clauses typically function to issue directives:
Stop arguing, will you.
Hold this rope, would you.
Be back by five, please, could you.
Negative imperatives may be followed by will you:
Don’t forget my CD, will you.
Imperative clauses, in more formal styles, sometimes occur with the tag won’t you.
This softens a directive and the utterance may be heard more as a polite request:
Give Emma whatever she needs, won’t you, Hal.
‘I’d very much like a black coffee,’ Amy said. ‘Here’s the money.
Choose
something for yourself too,
won’t you?’
First person plural imperatives with let’s typically have shall we as a tag:
Let’s go home, shall we.
Let’s not discuss it now, shall we.
550 | Clause types
Cambridge Grammar of English
STATEMENT TAGS
302
Declarative clauses may be followed by a tag with the same polarity and subject –
verb word order. These are called statement tags or copy tags. Such sentences
typically make emphatic statements, frequently in evaluative contexts:
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: | 
