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Ask for help > Help needed!
Help needed!
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vcjr
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Help needed!
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Tag question doubt! Can anyone help with this sentence? Someone is outside, ______________? What tag ending should I use? Thanks! |
21 Jun 2015
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valleryshans
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I think "Someone is outside, isnt he?"
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21 Jun 2015
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korova-daisy
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If you add "there", it will be easier. The meaning is the same.
There is someone outside, isn�t there?
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21 Jun 2015
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SVieira
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What about "are they?"
The problem is that if you use "is he?" or "is she?" you will be referring to a specific gender, which "someone" doesn �t. And if you go for the male option, you might be seen as disregarding the female gender, which nowadays is not a safe path to tread... So going for the plural "they" saves you that type of trouble.
Anyway, if I were you, I �d probably wait for a native speaker �s opinion. |
21 Jun 2015
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Liligirl
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Aren �t they? We use they to refer to nobody, somebody, and everybody ( and no one etc) Eg: Nobody phoned , did they? Somebody wanted a drink , didn�t they? who was it ? source: Pratical English Usage - Michael Swan
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21 Jun 2015
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stiofan
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someone is outside, who could it be? |
21 Jun 2015
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vcjr
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Thanks guys for your wonderful explanation!
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21 Jun 2015
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SVieira
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"Aren �t they?", of course... I �m sorry for my lack of attention in my previous intervention; I was so concentrated in suggesting the right person (and explaining why I considered that to be the best option) that I didn �t even notice I was skipping the word "not" (both in the question tag I suggested and in the question tags that I commented).
To make it all short - sorry! |
21 Jun 2015
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