|
ESL Forum:
Techniques and methods
in Language Teaching
Games, activities
and teaching ideas
Grammar and
Linguistics
Teaching material
Concerning
worksheets
Concerning
powerpoints
Concerning online
exercises
Make suggestions,
report errors
Ask for help
Message board
|
ESL forum >
Ask for help > Help pliz
Help pliz
|
Mini9
|
Help pliz
|
|
about question tags: Am I right, aren �t I? I am going to the beach, am not I or aren �t I? I am not going to the beach, am I / are I? Let �s not go there, shall not we? |
12 Sep 2013
|
|
|
|
korova-daisy
|
|
I am right, aren �t I?
I am going to the beach, aren �t I? I am not going to the beach, am I? Let �s not go there, shall we?
|
12 Sep 2013
|
|
|
MoodyMoody
|
|
The problem is that English doesn �t have a standard contraction of "am not." It would have been "ain �t," but that was so overused and abused that grammarians deemed it incorrect. So, there �s no good solution to the problem of tag questions for affirmative first person singular sentences. If the situation is more formal, go with "I am going to the beach, am I not?" If it is more casual, go with korova-daisy �s "aren �t I?" Better yet, avoid the construction if at all possible, and don �t use it for questions for your class. I do 100% agree with korova-daisy �s last two answers, though. |
13 Sep 2013
|
|
|
cunliffe
|
|
Aren �t I? doesn �t present any problems in England; that is the correct tag. Ain �t I isn �t English, it �s American and slang. Am I not? is rarely used. If it is used, then it �s maybe ironically, e.g. I am the best thing to happen to you in a long time, am I not???
Edit: Am I right, aren�t I? is odd. This is fine: I�m right, aren�t I? Am I right? is already a question. |
13 Sep 2013
|
|
|
manuelanunes3
|
|
Just a question
Are the forms: "shan �t I" and the word "thrice" still in use?
Thank you Best regards from sunny Portugal Manuela
|
13 Sep 2013
|
|
|
cunliffe
|
|
No Manuela - they aren �t. Thrice always brings to mind �Macbeth �, but I can �t remember the exact quote just now. Shall is used of course, but shan �t is old-fashioned and wouldn �t be used in a question. Shan �t! brings to mind a naughty little girl, stamping her foot, but once again, I don �t know why. Ah well, it is the end of a hard week! |
13 Sep 2013
|
|
|
MoodyMoody
|
|
I don �t know that "ain �t" is specifically American, Lynne, but it is certainly not standard English anywhere. "Aren �t I" just grates on my nerves. I understand that it �s acceptable in casual conversation, but I still don �t like it. "Am I not" is quite formal; I didn �t know about the ironic usage.
"Shan �t" is never used in the USA; most Americans would look at you blankly if you said it. But then, "shall" itself is becoming rarely used as well. "Thrice" is definitely on its way out, as well. Lynne, maybe your idea comes from The Secret Garden, by Francis Hodgson Burnett. I think Mary Lennox said "I shan �t" several times in that book. |
13 Sep 2013
|
|
|
|
|
Mini9
|
|
Thank you so much for your help |
14 Sep 2013
|
|
|
