Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[ElenaJ]

Hello, Dear teachers!! Hello everybody!

I am here for the first time and I just started to learn English so be, please, tolerant to my questions

Question 1
He sees this picture.

1) Does he see this picture?
2) Does not (doesn�t) he see this picture?
3) He sees this picture, does not (doesn�t) he?
4) He does not (doesn�t) see this picture, does he?

These 4 forms of questions one may see in any textbook.
But what about:

He sees this picture, does he?

The same thing

He is a strong man, is he?
I am happy, am I?
You know this very well, do you?
I think about it, do I?
I will do that, will I?

or

He does not see this picture, does not (doesn�t) he?
He is not a strong man, is not (isn�t) he?
I am not happy, am not I?
You do not (don�t) know this very well, do not (don�t) you?
I do not (don�t) think about it, do not (don�t) I?
I will not (won�t) do that, will not (won�t) I?

It seems to me it makes sense, but I did not see these forms of questions in textbooks.
Is it possible to use these expressions? Please make it clear.


Question 2.

Which of the questions below are correct? And why.

Is not (isn�t) he a strong man?
Is he not a strong man?

He is strong, is not (isn�t) he?
He is strong, is he not?

I am happy, am not I?
I am happy, am I not?

I think about it, do not (don�t) I?
I think about it, do not I?

I will do that, will not (won�t) I?
I will do that, will I not?

Thank you very much,

Elena
_________________
Elena

[pugachevV]

When you make a statement such as, "He's a strong man." and add to it the question, "Is he?" It has the effect of raising a doubt as to whether he is a strong man or not. Sometimes it's done for humorous effect.
Often, in English we will precede such a remark with, "Oh"...Like this...

Joe: "Bill's a strong man."

Fred: "Oh, he's a strong man, is he? So, why can't he lift that bag of cement?"

He sees this picture, does he?
Of course he does, he's looking right at it!

I am happy, am I?
Only the person speaking knows whether she is happy or not, so this structure might be used as a sort of challenge in the following way...

Bill: "You're happy today!"

Jill: "I'm happy, am I? "My dog died, my car broke down and I lost $10 "I'm happy all right!"

You know this very well, do you?
Jack: I know very well that John is stealing from the company.
Bill: You know this very well, do you?

I think about it, do I?
Susan: You think about last summer all the time
Ann: I think about it do I? (Usually followed by "No I don't or some other form of denial).

I will do that, will I?

Foreman: You will clean out the toilets!
Worker: "I will/ I'll do that, will I? "Maybe when pigs can fly!"


He does not see this picture, does not (doesn�t) he?
He is not a strong man, is not (isn�t) he?
I am not happy, am not I?
You do not (don�t) know this very well, do not (don�t) you?
I do not (don�t) think about it, do not (don�t) I?
I will not (won�t) do that, will not (won�t) I?

None of these work in English.
They are double negatives. (two "not"s in each sentence).
To correct them you must remove one of the negatives
e.g.
He does see this picture, doesn�t he?
He does not see this picture, does he?

N.B. Which negative you remove changes the meaning.
I am not happy am not I
I am not happy, am I? is correct.
I am happy am not I? is incorrect.
You would write it like this:
I am happy am I not? or
I'm happy, aren't I?


Question 2.

Which of the questions below are correct? And why.

Isn't he a strong man? Correct.
Use "isn't" you will rarely hear a native speaker say "Is not he."
Is he not a strong man. Is correct English, but a little dated and used mostly in literature, nowadays
He is strong, is not (isn�t) he?
He is strong, is he not?

I am happy, aren't I? is correct. "Am not I", is never used now.
I am happy, am I not?

I think about it, don�t I? OK
I think about it, do I not ? This form is rarely used, but is not incorrect.

I will do that, won�t I? OK
I will do that, will I not?

I hope this helps you, Elena. Please ask if anything uis not clear to you.
I guess in Novosibirsk it's pretty cold at this time of year. Stay warm!