Teacher Discussion Forums

[Metamorfose]

Taken from another forum. What is the tag for the given sentence?

He must be rich, __________ he?

Is it can't? Any other (formal) alternative?

Thanks

José

[fluffyhamster]

How could it be can't? Surely the only acceptable standard choice is must'nt or must, or some sort of lexical tag (right etc).

[Metamorfose]

Hey Fluffy..even when it's logical conclusion/deduction.

You must be tired (after working all day long).
You can't be tired (you slept for 8 hours and have just woken up).

http://www.englishforums.com/English/MustInTagQuestion/hphrb/post.htm

There I came across: you must be tired, aren't you?

José

[Maciek]

"He must be rich" is our logical assumption, based probably on somebody's observation, and therefore "isn't he?" is to me the ideal question tag to this particular sentence.

[fluffyhamster]

Hmm, I'm not sure where you guys are getting your rules from. I mean, about the only snippet I could find on anything like this (in grammars published in English-speaking countries and aimed at native-speaker teachers), and that made any sense at all to me, was this:

[jotham]

[jotham]

Let me back up on that. I was thinking about this and realized "isn't he" isn't exactly parallel. I suppose in the U.S., we wouldn't deign a "must" clause with a nifty little tag, maybe "don't you think so?"

[fluffyhamster]

Well, I did write:

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

This is the type of place where Canadians use eh (often changed to hey in the prairie provinces).

[fluffyhamster]

Hi GBBB! I'm quite a fan of eh, which I like to contrast with right? (latter best with a question mark, whilst I usually present the former without, to help convey its flattish-slightly falling, or sometimes exclamatory intonation [depending on the speaker's excitedness or personality] that "seeks confirmation of just-stated belief") whenever I teach (primarily lexical) tags. It's sometimes hard to tell quite what would be the appropriate tag though, because intonation is usually given scant regard or representation in any presentation of tags. But some contexts are familiar enough that we can reasonably confidently assign a particular lexical ("fixed/invariable-enough intonation"?) tag, or not: for example, You must be tired, ___ is probably be more suited to eh(!) than right? (, right? ), whilst statements with the strength of modal (and/or negative) force of You can't be tired (to return to an example that Metamorfose/José introduced) likely never have a tag (certainly, not a lexical one).

[LarryLatham]

Hi All,

Just dropped in for a moment, as I occasionally do when I'm in the mood.

I'd say, gents, listen to your master, the fluffy one. I think he has his finger on the right elements, as usual. But I'll suggest one more thing: Does this sentence require or even suggest a tag? One might say: "He must be rich, don't you think?", but that would only indicate that the speaker is somewhat unsure of his own judgement of the subject's financial wherewithal. "He must....." involves a personal evaluation of the situation by the speaker, and then asserted by himself. A tag would simply invite comments, implying that he is perhaps not as sure as his original assertion would normally indicate. Perhaps the most likely sentence would simply be: "He must be rich."

A logical conclusion would more likely be indicated by, "He has to be rich." This is not a personal assertion, but rather a conclusion based on the facts as the speaker sees them. He does not personally insist the subject is rich ("He is rich because I say he is rich."), but rather states that the facts speak for themselves.

Enjoy!

Larry Latham