Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

We and other subject pronouns

We

and second and third person subject pronouns are less likely to be absent, but

may be if the referent is obvious (

but 

Û

it

in 94g

):

A: How’s Fiona?

B: Oh she’s fine. Works too hard, that’s her only problem.

I’ve never had a holiday like it in my life. 

Never spoke to me. He never spoke to

me all the time we were there.

(understood: He never spoke to me.)

A: My brother and his son built the patio for us. 

B: Really?

A: Yeah. Came here a couple of summers ago and did it.

Question tags

Subject pronouns are most typically absent in declarative questions when

accompanied by a question tag:

[brothers here refers to a religious order of teachers]

A: And did you ever, did you ever know any of the brothers down at the school

when Bernard went there?

B: No, I didn’t.

A: Never met any of them, did you?

B: No, no.

A: Got lost, did they? 

B: Yes, they did and it was not for the first time.

Need a ticket, do we?

Fooled you then, didn’t I?

184 | From utterance to discourse

Cambridge Grammar of English

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Not all cases of this kind are genuine ellipsis. The following may be seen simply as

a variation on typical word order:

Get 

the hang of it, did you?

(Not: You get the hang of it, did you?) 

(understood: Did you get the hang of it?)

Looking much better, he was.