We ain't lost, <tag question verb> we?

All,

Other than ", are we", what are the other possible tag question verb forms below?

We ain't lost, [tag question verb] We?

What if the sentence was:

We ain't seen anything like this before, [tag question verb] we?

Note: cross posted

Edit: cross posted as I ain't lost, am I! I forgot to edit that pronoun.

learner

Posted 2016-04-19T23:53:19.090

Reputation: 6 070

1I don't see how am I? fits either sentence as an optional tag question. – Alan Carmack – 2016-04-20T00:24:40.840

@AlanCarmack Thanks for the note. You could check the post to know why. – learner – 2016-04-20T00:38:09.230

2If you admit ain't, then whether are or is appears in the tag is going to be a minor concern. There are people in Appalachia or the South who might say we is — hence Cynthia Shearer, We ain't lost; we is exploring — and I might expect those people to say is we? in turn. – choster – 2016-04-20T03:10:31.840

Answers

For the first question, the answer depends on whether lost is a verb or an adjective. Ain't can either be short for have not or are not, and for this question, both possibilities work.

If your team is down 8-3 in the last inning of a baseball game, the right tag is

We ain't lost, have we?

If you are in the middle of some dense woods and have no idea which way to go to get out, the right tag is

We ain't lost, are we?

Peter Shor

Posted 2016-04-19T23:53:19.090

Reputation: 2 449

You can use 'are' for the first sentence:

"We ain't lost, [are] we?"

and 'have' for the second one:

We ain't seen anything like this before, [have] we?

Ksisky

Posted 2016-04-19T23:53:19.090

Reputation: 11

1Welcome to English Language Learners! Please [edit] to include an explanation of why this is correct; answers without explanation do not teach the patterns of the language well. – Nathan Tuggy – 2016-04-20T00:32:47.527

Thanks Ksisky. There was a slip in my post. As for your answer, are there any other answers to my question? I'm still asking because I already know what you pointed out. It was a mistake on my part that I didn't proof-read the post. – learner – 2016-04-20T00:44:07.010