?
Imperatives
Open the door,
will you
?
Don't speak like that,
will you
?
Suggestions
Let's dance,
shall we
?
THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE
This is great,
isn't it
?
That's a nice dress,
isn't it
?
These pancakes are delicious,
aren't they
?
Those are quite fresh,
aren't they
?
EVERYBODY, SOMEBODY, NOBODY, ANYBODY
Everybody likes her,
don't they
?
Nobody knew the answer,
did they
?
(negative statement with affirmative tag)
Anybody could do that,
couldn't they
?
Somebody should do something about this,
shouldn't they
?
EVERYTHING, SOMETHING, NOTHING, ANYTHING
Nothing could disturb her,
could it
?
AREN'T I?
I'm late,
aren't I
?
THERE IS / THERE ARE
There is something you want to say,
isn't there
?
There weren't any policemen at the demonstration,
were there
?
Subject-auxiliary inversion in echo tags
Echo tags are used in reaction to an affirmative or negative statement. They are formed in the same way as question tags (with the inversion of the subject and auxiliary), but an affirmative statement is followed by an affirmative tag and a negative statement is followed by a negative tag:
"I'm so hungry!" "Oh,
are you
?"
"I'm sorry, I can't stay any longer." "
Can't you
?"
"They always have lunch at 12." "
Do they
really?"
"My sister has just passed her driving test." "
Has she
?"
Rising intonation in the tag can express interest, while falling intonation can show indifference.
Subject-auxiliary inversion with SO and NEITHER / NOR to express agreement
So + auxiliary + subject is added to a positive statement to express agreement, and neither/nor + auxiliary + subject is added to a negative statement for the same purpose:
I suggested that he should take the job, and
so did all his friends
.
(his friends also suggested that he should take the job)
Everybody knows that, and
so should you
.
(you should know that, too)
"I love South Korean films." "Really?
So do I
."
(I also love South Korean films)
"I am not going to Andy's party tonight." "
Neither/nor is Susan
."
(Susan isn't going either)
"My family have never been on a holiday abroad." "
Neither/nor have mine
."
(my family haven't been either)
If we want to express disagreement, there is no inversion:
"I love South Korean films." "
I don't
."
"I am not going to Andy's party tonight." "
Susan is
."
Revision questions: inversion
What is the difference between subject-verb and subject-auxiliary inversion?
Why is the following sentence incorrect? *There goes she.
Why do we use the past perfect tense with hardly, barely, scarcely and no sooner?
Is no sooner followed by when, then or than? Why?
When is there no inversion in a sentence starting with only?
Which type of inversion is used in questions?
Exercises: inversion
Inversion - Exercise 1
Fill in the gaps with so or neither/nor + auxiliary + subject to express agreement. The subjects are given in brackets.
"We were laughing all throughout the movie." "..." (we)
"My children don't like vegetables." "..." (mine)
Everyone agreed that we should walk on, and ... (Andrei)
"I've never eaten sushi before." "..." (I)
I can't drive, and ... (my husband)
"I'm really curious what he's going to do!" "..." (I)
"I have flu." "..." (my aunt)
"Helen wouldn't come even if we invited her." "..." (Harry)
More city dwellers should collect waste selectively, and ... (you)
"Ted is still single." "..." (most of his colleagues)
Inversion - Exercise 2
Complete each sentence with a suitable question tag or echo tag.
Stop talking, ... ?
A: "I'm terribly hungry."
B: " ... ?"
This is not very useful, ... ?
Nothing compares to a good bath after a hard day, ... ?
A: "You are funny."
B: " ... ?"
Let's take a taxi, ... ?
Your camera has no internal autofocus motor, ... ?
It's been ages, ... ?
You won't be late, ... ?
This parrot has beautiful plumage, ... ?
Inversion - Exercise 3
Match the two halves of each sentence.
Hardly had the lecture begun ...
Away into the distance ...
No sooner had I pressed Send ...
Not only did he write the lyrics, ...
Under no circumstances ...
Hardly had they walked a mile ...
In no way ...
No sooner had we dried off ...
Only if you work hard ...
Not only can she speak English and French fluently, ...
than it started raining again.