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

affirmative  

affirmative

She

’s lovely, she is.

negative

negative

It’s 

not very good, that one isn’t.

They were pathetic-looking things, 

they were.

I’m fed up with it, 

I am.

The principle of same polarity operates with reduced (ellipted) clauses too:

[speakers are at a nature conservation area]

A: I don’t think we’ll see much wildlife today.

B: Not without binoculars we won’t.

[speakers are joking and engaging in word play]

A: D’you know the definition of a secret?

B: No.

A: A secret is something only one person knows.

B: Not where I work it isn’t.

Û

also 434–447 Negation

Both it and that may occur as subjects in tags following main clauses with it. Main

clauses with that normally have that as the subject of the tag:

It’s about this big, it is.

Ah, 

it was beautiful, that was.

That was the second time, that was.