Isn't It? Intonation, Question Tags and Rhetorical Conditionals – Social Interactions (Senior 6 English (Languages)) | Ganzaa

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Senior 6 · English (Languages)

Social Interactions

4 lessons

Lesson 4 of 4

Isn't It? Intonation, Question Tags and Rhetorical Conditionals

35 min

Let's begin

The same words can be a question, a statement, a complaint or a joke, depending on the music of the voice. This final lesson studies that music, called intonation, and two structures in which it matters most: question tags, which can ask or merely invite agreement, and rhetorical conditionals, if-sentences that are not really about conditions at all.

Reading: Student council, Tuesday

A dialogue written for this lesson. Read it aloud in groups of four, paying attention to the tags in bold and the if-sentences in italics.

CHAIR (KAMANZI): Right, let's begin, shall we? We're all here, aren't we?

MUTONI: Ingabire's not here yet. She's coming, isn't she?

KAMANZI: She said so. Item one: the library hours. Nobody wants the library to close at five, do they?

BIRASA: If anyone needs the library in the evening, it's the S6 students. We have exams in three months.

MUTONI: And the librarian has agreed to stay until seven, hasn't she?

KAMANZI: On Tuesdays and Thursdays only.

BIRASA: Two evenings a week? If that's a solution, I'm a giraffe.

(Laughter.)

KAMANZI: If you think two evenings is bad, try last year: there were none. Look, it's a start, isn't it? If I may say so, we can ask for more next term.

MUTONI: If you're worried about the cost, the parents' committee has offered to help.

KAMANZI: Good. Write that down, would you, Mutoni? I'm the one who has to report to the head teacher, aren't I?

Definition

Key terms

intonation (n): the rise and fall of the pitch of the voice in speech.
tone unit (n): a stretch of speech with one main pitch movement. The syllable where the movement happens is the nucleus (or tonic syllable).
question tag (n): a short question added to the end of a statement: "We're all here, aren't we?"
rhetorical conditional (n): an if-sentence used not to state a real condition but to make a point: to emphasise, challenge, deny or be polite.
contrastive stress (n): stress placed on a word to contrast it with another: "I said TUESDAY, not Thursday."

Intonation: four tones

Tone	Typical uses	Example (nucleus in capitals)
Fall	Statements, wh-questions, commands, certainty	The library closes at FIVE. / Where's INgabire?
Rise	Yes/no questions; uncertainty; items in an unfinished list	Is she COMing? / Tuesdays, THURSdays …
Fall-rise	Reservation, contrast, something left unsaid	It's a START … (but it isn't enough)
Rise-fall	Strong feeling: being impressed, shocked or sarcastic	Two EVenings!

Where you put the nucleus changes the meaning. "I didn't say SHE took the book" (someone else did); "I didn't say she TOOK the book" (perhaps she borrowed it); "I didn't SAY she took the book" (but I may have thought it).

Question tags

Rule	Example
Positive statement → negative tag; negative statement → positive tag	She's coming, isn't she? / Nobody wants that, do they?
Use the statement's auxiliary; if there is none, use do / does / did	The librarian has agreed, hasn't she? / You live in Huye, don't you?
Use a pronoun in the tag	Kamanzi is the chair, isn't he?
I am → aren't I	I'm the one who reports, aren't I?
Let's → shall we	Let's begin, shall we?
Imperatives → will you, would you, can you (requests); won't you (invitations)	Write that down, would you? Have some tea, won't you?
Nobody, everyone, somebody → they; nothing, everything → it	Everyone's here, aren't they? Nothing happened, did it?
There is / are → there in the tag	There's a meeting today, isn't there?
Negative words such as never, hardly, seldom make the statement negative	You hardly ever come to the library, do you?
Same-polarity tags (positive + positive) show interest, surprise or suspicion	So you're the new chair, are you?

Rhetorical conditionals

Type	Example from the dialogue	What it really means
Emphatic identification	If anyone needs the library in the evening, it's the S6 students.	The S6 students need it most.
Absurd consequence (denial)	If that's a solution, I'm a giraffe.	That is not a solution.
Challenge or comparison	If you think two evenings is bad, try last year.	Last year was worse.
Politeness formula	If I may say so, …	A softener before an opinion.
Relevance conditional	If you're worried about the cost, the parents' committee has offered to help.	The help exists anyway; the if-clause says why it is relevant.

Others are common in speech: "If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times" (exasperated repetition), and the concessive "If he's clever, he's also lazy" (= although he is clever).

Worked example

Analysing a rhetorical conditional

"If that's a solution, I'm a giraffe."

Logic: an if-sentence says that if the first part is true, the second is true.
The trick: the second part is obviously false; Birasa is not a giraffe.
So the first part must be false too: two evenings is not a solution. The sentence denies, with humour, without saying "no".
Effect on the meeting: laughter, which lowers the tension; the chair then answers with a rhetorical conditional of his own.

Warning

Do not use isn't it? as a tag for every sentence, as some speakers do: "You are coming, aren't you?", not "isn't it?".
Match the auxiliary and tense: "She went home, didn't she?", not "isn't she?".
A falling tag is not really a question. Use a rising tag when you need information.
Rhetorical conditionals belong to speech and informal writing. In a formal essay, say plainly "This is not a solution."

✦

Practice

Add the tags: (a) You've finished the report, ___? (b) Let's take a break, ___? (c) Nobody saw the accident, ___? (d) I'm late, ___? (e) There isn't any water, ___? (f) Close the door, ___?
Say each tag in Question 1 twice, once with a falling tone and once with a rising tone. Explain the difference in meaning.
Correct the tags: (a) "She went to Musanze, isn't it?" (b) "You never eat meat, don't you?" (c) "Everyone has paid, hasn't he?"
Explain what each rhetorical conditional really means: (a) "If he's a doctor, I'm the President." (b) "If anyone can solve it, Uwase can." (c) "If you're cold, there's a blanket on the bed."
Mark the nucleus to give each meaning: "We meet on Tuesday" (a) not Wednesday; (b) we, not the teachers; (c) it is certain.
Write a short dialogue (10 to 12 lines) set at a school meeting. Include four different question tags and three different rhetorical conditionals.
Perform your dialogue. Your audience notes each tag and says whether its tone was falling or rising.

Show answersHide answers

(a) haven't you? (b) shall we? (c) did they? (d) aren't I? (e) is there? (f) will you? (or would you? / can you?)
Falling: the speaker expects agreement; it is almost a statement. Rising: the speaker is unsure and wants a real answer.
(a) "She went to Musanze, didn't she?" (b) "You never eat meat, do you?" (never makes the statement negative) (c) "Everyone has paid, haven't they?"
(a) He is certainly not a doctor. (b) Uwase is the most likely person to solve it. (c) There is a blanket on the bed, which is useful to know if you are cold.
(a) We meet on TUESday. (b) WE meet on Tuesday. (c) We DO meet on Tuesday (or a fall on TUESday with a firm, final tone).
Answers will vary.
Answers will vary.

1Reading: Student council, Tuesday

2Intonation: four tones

3Question tags

4Rhetorical conditionals

Reading: Student council, Tuesday

Intonation: four tones

Question tags

Rhetorical conditionals