244 Sentences 6. She is wearing her coat. 7. He could ask for a new assignment. 8. It might cause a real argument. 9. He fi lled the car up with gas. 10. You watched the game last night? 11. He is retiring next year. 12. She just bought a new car seat for Timmy. 13. He reminded everyone about the meeting on Monday. 14. You hate going on long trips these days. 15. They have already guessed what they are getting for Christmas. Question tags A tag is a word or phrase added onto an otherwise already complete sentence. Most languages have what is called a question tag. Question tags are not genuine requests for information where the speaker is seeking new information. Question tags are short phrases added to the ends of sen- tences by speakers to get confi rmation that their audience is following and/or agreeing with what the speakers are saying. A simple question tag is right. For example: You know how to fi ll out these forms, right? (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 244 3/16/09 12:34:25 PM Questions and Negatives 245 Often a question tag is a single fi xed phrase like right in English or nicht wahr in German. The most common and important question tag in English is unusually complex because the form of the question tag is not fi xed. It depends entirely on the grammar of the main sentence. Here is a pair of examples: You are coming tonight, aren’t you? You are not coming tonight, are you? The form of the question tag is determined by the grammar of the main sentence in four differ- ent ways: 1. Most obviously, there is a positive-negative reversal between the main sentence and the question tag. If the main sentence is positive, then the question tag must be negative. If the main sentence is negative, then the question tag must be positive. 2. The verb in the question tag is determined by the verb in the main sentence. If the verb in the main sentence is a modal auxiliary or helping verb, then the tag must be that same modal auxiliary or helping verb. For example: Modal They should go, shouldn’t they? We will be ready, won’t we? Alice can play the oboe, can’t she? Be We are going soon, aren’t we? The boss wasn’t upset, was he? Have Joan has fi nished the job, hasn’t she? The offi ce hadn’t closed early, had it? If the verb in the main sentence is be used as a main verb, then be is repeated in the question tag. For example: They were happy with our work, weren’t they? It isn’t a good time to meet, is it? (As you have doubtless noticed, these same verbs—modals, helping verb, and be used as a main verb—also fi gure prominently in forming questions and negatives without using do.) (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 245 3/16/09 12:34:25 PM 246 Sentences If the main sentence does not use a modal auxiliary, helping verb, or be as a main verb, then the question tag must use do. For example: Roger missed the bus again, didn’t he? I predicted the outcome of the game, didn’t I? Senator Blather speaks after dinner, doesn’t he? If do (usually in the negative) is used in the main sentence, then do must be repeated in the question tag. For example: He didn’t mean it, did he? I don’t know, do I? 3. The tense of the tag question must be the same as the tense in the main sentence. If the tense in the main sentence is past, then the tag must also be past. If the tense in the main is pres- ent, then the tag must also be present. For example, consider the following sentence: John and Mary are sailing to the island tomorrow, aren’t they? The question tag is in the present tense because the verb in the main sentence is in the present tense. If the tag were in a different tense, the sentence would be ungrammatical: X John and Mary are sailing to the island tomorrow, weren’t they? 4. The noun phrase in the question tag is based on the subject noun phrase in the main sen- tence. If the subject noun phrase is a pronoun, then that pronoun must be repeated in the ques- tion tag. For example: They are going to rewrite the letter, aren’t they? However, if the subject noun phrase in the main sentence is not a pronoun, the noun phrase in the question tag must be a pronoun that replaces the subject noun phrase in the main sentence. Here are some examples with various kinds of noun phrases in the main sentence: Proper noun: Barbara called again, didn’t she? Compound nouns: Tom and Barbara will be there, won’t they? Abstract noun: The confl icts in the Middle East are not a simple matter, are they? Gerund: Going to school takes a lot of money, doesn’t it? Infi nitive: To graduate this fall has always been his goal, hasn’t it? Noun clause: Where they should live has been an issue with them, hasn’t it? (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 246 3/16/09 12:34:25 PM Questions and Negatives 247 Exercise 13.16 Add a question tag to each of the following sentences. You need a pillow. You need a pillow, don’t you? 1. We won’t get over this easily. 2. The group can count on us. 3. What he said really made an impact on everyone. 4. The CEO and the Board issued a press release. 5. The new staff members are sadly lacking in experience. 6. The gate agent can’t change our seat assignments. 7. Working all the time really wears you down. 8. The fi re department couldn’t get there in time. 9. To run such a large operation requires a big support staff. 10. The article in the Times wasn’t very accurate. 11. The doctors might have to operate. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 247 3/16/09 12:34:25 PM 248 Sentences 12. This year’s graduates were all looking for jobs in fi nance. 13. The consultants don’t know what to suggest. 14. Who reports to Mrs. Johnston won’t be decided till later. 15. Trying your best is the important thing. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 248 3/16/09 12:34:25 PM 249 14 The Passive In most sentences, the subject of the sentence is also the agent or performer of the action of the verb. For example, consider the following sentence: Mary answered the phone. The subject, Mary, is also the agent, the person who performs the action of answering the phone. Sometimes, however, we want to use sentences in which the subject is not the agent. For example, consider the following sentence: Mary was promoted last week. Mary is still the nominal subject (the verb was is in the third-person singular to agree with the singular noun Mary), but Mary is not the agent. In other words, Mary is not the person doing the promoting. Instead, she is the recipient of the action of the verb promote. She did not promote anyone; somebody promoted her. Accordingly, the sentence is a passive sentence. Passive sentences in English have a unique grammatical structure: they must contain what we will call the passive helping verb be. There are actually two different helping verbs that use be in some form: one that is used to form the progressive, and one that is used to form the passive. How can we tell them apart? The answer is by looking at the form of the verb that immediately follows the helping verb be. Compare the following sentences: present participle be ϩ verb Progressive: We were cleaning out the garage yesterday. past participle be ϩ verb Passive: The garage was cleaned out yesterday. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 249 3/16/09 12:34:25 PM 250 Sentences As you can see, be ϩ present participle ϭ progressive be ϩ past participle ϭ passive A sentence can even be both progressive and passive so long as it meets the requirements: be ϩ present participle (Pres Part) for the progressive and be ϩ past participle (Past Part) for the passive. Here is an example of a sentence with both: The job is being contracted out to a fi rm in Singapore. be ϩ Pres Part be ϩ Past Part In order to have both a progressive and a passive, the sentence must contain two different be’s : one for the progressive, and one for the passive. What is tricky is that the verb being plays a role in both constructions: it is the present perfect tense form that is required for the progressive, and it is also the helping verb for the passive. Only sentences that contain the sequence be ϩ a past participle verb are passive. All other sentences are called active sentences. That is, by default, sentences that do not contain the sequence of be ϩ a past participle are automatically classifi ed as active. Here are some examples of passive sentences with the helping verb be and the past participle in bold. Note that the passive helping verb can be used in combination with other helping verbs (in italics), sometimes producing rather long and complicated verb sequences: The movie was fi lmed in Spain. I was reminded that we have to go to Chicago tomorrow. The contract will be signed Tuesd ay. Your car has been parked on the lower level. The meeting should have been fi nished by now. The accident is being reported to the insurance company. Exercise 14.1 Write active or passive above the verbs in the following sentences as appropriate. If the sentence is passive, confi rm your answer by underlining the verb be and the past participle. passive We should have been warned of the risk before we started. 1. Mrs. Johnston was appointed to the district court. 2. The present was wrapped in bright red paper. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 250 3/16/09 12:34:25 PM . past participle ϭ passive A sentence can even be both progressive and passive so long as it meets the requirements: be ϩ present participle (Pres Part) for the progressive and be ϩ past participle. in English or nicht wahr in German. The most common and important question tag in English is unusually complex because the form of the question tag is not fi xed. It depends entirely on the grammar. past participle (Past Part) for the passive. Here is an example of a sentence with both: The job is being contracted out to a fi rm in Singapore. be ϩ Pres Part be ϩ Past Part In order to have