Dear Team,
could you tell me, please , why we must say- only ( ??) - ''I'm good at this, aren't I ?'' and not
''I'm good at this, am I not?'', which is more logical than the first one?
I'm afraid that is just the way native speakers have come to use the language over time. There may well be a more satisfying explanation for this and I would explain it to you if I were familiar with it, but I'm afraid I'm not. In any case, the alternative form you suggest also sounds fine to me. I'm sure some would deem it incorrect, but I doubt it would cause any confusion.
Hi everyone,
I haven't realized how to answer the tag questions yet! If I do smoke for instance, then how to answer someone who asked '' you don't smoke, do you? ''
1. Yes, I do.
or
2. No, I do.
I can see how that is confusing. I'd say the best answer is 'Yes, I do' (which refers to whether you smoke or not). But some people might say 'No, I do' (which refers to their wrong assumption about you). I'd recommend 'Yes, I do', however.
There are a lot of different question tags, since they are formed from auxiliary verbs. You can find an explanation on our Question tags page and also on this Cambridge Dictionary page.
Hello nikoslado
I'm afraid that is just the way native speakers have come to use the language over time. There may well be a more satisfying explanation for this and I would explain it to you if I were familiar with it, but I'm afraid I'm not. In any case, the alternative form you suggest also sounds fine to me. I'm sure some would deem it incorrect, but I doubt it would cause any confusion.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello sina_amerian,
I can see how that is confusing. I'd say the best answer is 'Yes, I do' (which refers to whether you smoke or not). But some people might say 'No, I do' (which refers to their wrong assumption about you). I'd recommend 'Yes, I do', however.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Nguyen thi Hai Huyen,
There are a lot of different question tags, since they are formed from auxiliary verbs. You can find an explanation on our Question tags page and also on this Cambridge Dictionary page.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team