Discourse analysis

Activity 3 Look at the following conversations.
What do you observe about the order of words in the tails?
How do they compare with tag questions, e.g. She does, doesn't she? in (d)?

1. 
   A. Did David make it on time?
   

B: No, he was late. He was very cross, David.

2. 
   A. She's a very good tennis player, is Hiroko.
   

B : I know. She always beats me easily

3. 
   A: Did Max help you?
   

B: Yes, he was very helpful, was Max

4. 
   A: Have you heard her sing?
   

B: Yes, she sings beautifully, Laura does
A: She does, doesn't she?

5. 
   A: Have you ever been in Singapore?
   

B: Yes but it is far too hot for me, Singapore.
A: It’s not just hot, it’s humid as well

• 
  The word order of tails is more flexible than that of the standard tag-questions you may have learned. In a tag-question, the auxiliary verb comes before the noun and the verb is made negative or positive in opposition to the rest of the clause:
  

'She doesn't, does she?

• 
  Tails are often used when a speaker wants to emphasize information or ideas using word order
  
• 
  Tails can occur with tag questions and can be placed either before or after the tag (e.g. She's a good player, Hiroko is, isn't she?, It's not easy to eat, is it, spaghetti?).
  
• 
  When the tail repeats a verb which is not the verb to be or an auxiliary/modal verb then a do verb is used (e.g. 'She sings very well, she does'; 'they complain all the time, they do').
  
• 
  Tails always agree with the phrase to which they refer (e.g. 'It's not a good wine, that isn't'; 'She'll never pass the exam, won't Toni'|. Negative adverbs such as hardly, scarcely, etc. normally keep a negative tail (e.g. 'He scarcely speaks, he doesn't').
  
• 
  Tails help us when we have positive or negative things to say. Tails are often used in connection with names of people, places, etc. and allow us to express our attitude to them.
  
• 
  Tails can also emphasize the subject or the main topic of a sentence, and so help the listener better understand your point
  

Activity 4. Discuss in your small groups. Look at the following extracts from conversations.
How do the elements underlined in each conversation relate to one another?

[Tony is explaining how the family all became ill with colds. Jimmy is his son, Jenny is his wife.]