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What are some alternative ways of confirming a point, situation, etc. apart from saying “…, right?” at the end of a sentence to make it a question? (e.g. You are going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, right?)
What are some good similar ways to ask the same question (in a way that we are confirming our point and it is not all unknown to us)
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Here are some options:
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, right?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, is that right?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, correct?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, aren’t you?
Here are a couple subtleties:
Phrasing the last question in the negative indicates that you expect a positive answer (confirmation). That is, “aren’t you?” implies that you expect that the person is going on the 11:30 flight. However, this doesn’t apply to questions that are just forms of “right?”.
In “Is that right?”, stress indicates whether you expect a positive or negative answer. “Is that right?” indicates that you expect a positive answer. “Is that right?” and “Is that right?” indicate surprise or doubt.
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, yes?
This works, but can make you sound like a foreigner:
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, no?
Here are some more options, which might be perceived as more formal or in some way accusing or challenging the other person, though they can also be used neutrally, depending on your intonation. (Even the very typical options above can be made to sound challenging with the right intonation.)
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, is that not right?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, is that not correct?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, is that so?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, is that not so?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, are you?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, true?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, is that not true?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, is this right?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, is this not right?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, is this so?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, is this not so?
And here are some other ways to ask for expected confirmation, which are familiar and commonplace but convey a distinctive emotional attitude toward the expectation:
You're not going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, are you?
You're really going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight?
Are you really going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight—are you kidding?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight—are you joking?
You're going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight—are you serious?
To get a feeling for how all the various alternative forms affect the tone, you’ll just have to notice the contexts and intonation when people use them. If you're a beginner and want to play it completely safe, just use the four at the top of this message.
Notice that “that” is the most ordinary way to refer to the proposition. “This” also refers to the proposition but sounds formal. However, “it” would normally refer to something else, and it sounds clumsy or mistaken to use it to refer to the proposition in question (“You’re going on the 11:30 flight, is it right?”), at least in American English.
Ben Kovitz
Posted 2014-08-01T04:17:50.133
Reputation: 25 752
11
You are going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight, aren't you?
user3169
Posted 2014-08-01T04:17:50.133
Reputation: 29 679
1+1, btw this construct is called a question tag. – Dennis – 2014-08-01T05:50:52.523
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They are called question tags and are generally used with declarative questions.
I've been told by native speakers not to use it the way I used to and the way you think! In India, the commonest way to make a question tag is to add no!
You like it, no? -This is incorrect.
Now,
You like it, right? may be okay but not a proper way to form a question tag.
The proper way to form it is...
You like it, don't you? OR You don't like it, do you?
Your example, as stated by user3169
You are going tomorrow on [sic] the 1130 flight, aren't you?
Maulik V
Posted 2014-08-01T04:17:50.133
Reputation: 66 188
7, no? is grammatically correct English and makes perfect sense. It's just not a common construction and can sound a little pretentious or maybe old-timey to native English speakers. That said, it can also sound fine depending on who says it and how. I recommend avoiding it while you're learning. – user428517 – 2014-08-01T18:04:34.437
2very uncommon. I've only heard non-English speaking people use statements like "You like it, no?" grammatically correct or not, it's at least not a common American English idiom, possible common in other English speaking countries. It sounds the opposite of pretentious, like a French exchange student with limited English knowledge. – stephenbayer – 2014-08-01T19:17:53.583
@stephenbayer You don't think French exchange students are pretentious? Seriously though, I do think it makes many native English speakers think of the French "non?" question tag, which may be why it's sometimes thought of as pretentious. – Kyle Strand – 2014-08-01T22:18:00.647
no, I was thinking of someone more like the French exchange student from the movie Better Off Dead. But I was trying to convey that specifically to Americans, that particular statement sounds foreign and not properly formed, even though, according to sgroves, it is grammatically correct. – stephenbayer – 2014-08-01T22:32:26.437
It doesn't sound foreign to me, an American. – Lily Chung – 2014-08-02T00:03:48.687
@sgroves Grammatical? Any reference? I learn English from many sources, Hollywood movies being one of them. Question tags are far too common there and in NO movie, I've heard question tag formed with no. – Maulik V – 2014-08-02T04:52:54.593
1If you ask most Americans what is a "question tag" and what is a "declarative question", I think they won't know. – Ben Kovitz – 2015-02-16T06:08:46.740
@BenKovitz that's surprising! I just called a spade a spade! – Maulik V – 2015-02-16T07:38:17.370
(Native AmE) BTW, here's an example from an email I wrote: "I thought you had found that Clojure made a lot of things more natural, and after getting good with Clojure, Python started to seem more like you had to twist your brain into a knot. No?" You are right that "No?" is somewhat unusual and often sounds foreign in style, though. I think I went for it in this case because the preceding statement was so long and "No?" is brief. It would be more ordinary to say "Is that not right?" – Ben Kovitz – 2015-02-16T09:14:43.153
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- Are you going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight?
- Is it that you are going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight?
- If you won't mind telling me, are you going tomorrow on the 11:30 flight?
ʇolɐǝz ǝɥʇ qoq
Posted 2014-08-01T04:17:50.133
Reputation: 2 202
1Re #3: Better to use a gerund than an infinitive in the initial clause, as this usage of mind takes an object (you could also use nakedly, leaving the object understood): *if you won't mind telling me*. – Esoteric Screen Name – 2014-08-01T04:35:28.490
@EsotericScreenName Bingo! :) +1 – Maulik V – 2014-08-01T10:06:25.703
1in a way that we are confirming our point and it is not all unknown to us These all have the connotation that you actually don't know, rather than just confirming. – Cruncher – 2014-08-01T12:44:53.007
@Cruncher I am confirming but I am not certain. That's why I wrote "...it is not all unknown.." – None – 2014-08-01T13:35:27.817
(#2) This only seems correct English if you are talking about something since "that" is relative – Sammaye – 2014-08-01T15:09:09.803
None of these ask for confirmation. They ask for information where the speaker has no strong expectation about the answer. – Ben Kovitz – 2015-02-16T06:23:29.543
5
I tend to use 'correct' instead of right. It's is still used at the end of the sentence, but sounds a little more refined.
Your flight is at 11:30, correct?
L1nks
Posted 2014-08-01T04:17:50.133
Reputation: 51
2
It came to my attention that you are going on the 11:30 flight tomorrow. Could you please confirm that?
or
I heard that you are going on the 11:30 flight tomorrow. It better be true!
OutFall
Posted 2014-08-01T04:17:50.133
Reputation: 133
1Why don't you like right? – Dangph – 2014-08-01T04:48:12.250
3@Dangph I use it, but I think that always using this structure is kind of stupid. So I thought I should know of some similar ways of saying it. – None – 2014-08-01T04:53:58.517
1I think it sounds fine. You might like to use an introductory phrase with it: Just to confirm / Just to be clear, you are going on the 11:30 flight, right? – Dangph – 2014-08-01T05:11:37.863
I've heard people borrow n'est-ce pas? from French, but it's used in a slightly different way. – Schism – 2014-08-01T16:10:26.687
If you're in Canada (or speaking to a Canadian), use, "..., eh?" – Scott – 2014-08-01T21:37:12.170
Some people, especially from Eastern Europe, like to use '..., yes?' – Vlad – 2014-08-02T02:02:20.827
People from India '..., no' :) – Maulik V – 2014-08-02T04:54:09.950
@Scott I am in Canada and no one says 'eh' more than in the US anywhere or time. It's just a stereotype. – Pyraminx – 2015-02-05T02:11:33.953
Why is it marked as question-tag? – ʇolɐǝz ǝɥʇ qoq – 2015-02-15T05:12:12.160