Less Common Type of Tag Question
In English, there is a less common type of question tag where both the statement and the question are positive. This structure is often used to express inference, recall, or even sarcasm.
✧ Your car is outside, is it?
✧ You've had an accident, have you?
Inference and Sarcasm
The statement in this type of question tag is often preceded by oh or so, indicating that the speaker has arrived at a conclusion through inference or by recalling previous information. The tone can sometimes be sarcastic or suspicious:
✧ So that's your little game, is it?
Tone and Nuance
The tag in this type of question sometimes lacks a nucleus and is part of the preceding tone unit. Its effect can range from scolding to sarcastic or even sarcastically contradictory:
✧ Oh, you've had another accident, have you? [Scolding]
✧ So that's your game, is it? [Sarcastic]
✧ So your car is outside, is it? [Sarcastically Contradictory]
Negative + Negative Question Tags
Logically, we might expect an equivalent type of tag question where both the statement and the tag are negative. However, this structure is not commonly attested in actual use:
✧ So he doesn’t like his job, doesn’t he? [Rarely Used]
Key Notes
- This type of question tag is less common and often carries a tone of inference, sarcasm, or suspicion.
- The use of oh or so at the beginning of the statement adds nuance to the speaker's tone.
- Negative + Negative question tags are theoretically possible but rarely used in practice.
