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Tags: surprise and contradiction.

A tag is a short expression which is linked to a clause to express a feeling, a reaction to an action. In this lesson, we are going to study how to express surprise and contradiction thanks to them.

1. 1) Expressing surprise thanks to a tag.

a) If the clause is in the affirmative form, the tag expressing surprise will be in the INTERROGATIVE FORM, using the same AUXILIARY as in the clause.

· - "Susie has seen Paul stealing cherries." " Has she?"

· - "He sang the national anthem a capella." " Did he? " (to sing, verb needing do/did to express the interrogative and negative forms.; here, "did" will be used since the verb is in the preterite. )

x. - "They'll pay for all the tickets! " "Will they?" (Will = auxiliary of the future.)

b) b) If the clause is in the negative form, the tag will be in the INTERRO-NEGATIVE form with the same initial auxiliary.

· - " She doesn't want to show her papers." " Doesn't she?"

· - "I would never agree to let him go." "Wouldn't you?"

I) 2) Expressing contradiction using a tag.

Here is how to show your disagreement with your locutor, using a tag to contradict.

a) If the initial clause is in the affirmative form, the tag will simply be in the negative form using the same auxiliary as in the initial proposition.

- « Oh dear, I liked this film so much ! » “I didn't”

- "She will know her lesson by heart!” - "She may, but I won't!”

b) If the initial clause is negative, paradoxically, the contradiction will be in the affirmative form.

- “I don't want her to come to see us in the country.” “I do!”

- « I won't open the door if he comes with his friend...» "I will!»

There it is! ... Easy, isn't it? Your score should be excellent! Courage, and good luck!

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1. 'I'll have all of you help me with the washing-up...' - ' ! She has a broken wrist'.

2. ' You know what, I've seen a dinosaurus in my closet...' ' Were you scared?...'

3. 'You will answer the phone whenever it rings and answer politely, Bob!' ' '

4. 'Paul did two sommersaults during his competition...' ' Oh, That's wonderful! '

5. ' Oh, what a difficult exercise! ' ' I'm sure you can do it!'

6. 'If he leaves now, he'll be back by three! ' ' and I don't want to be left alone!'

7. ' She said she had 2 brothers, but in fact, she had three! ' ' I thought the Wilsons had only got 3 kids! '

8. ' You will not watch TV tonight! ' ' The teacher told us to watch a documentary!'

9. 'I know my lesson by heart... Have you heard me? ' ' Oh . You can start learning it again!'

10. 'He speaks English and Chinese... He will manage on his own in China!' ' Oh no, ... He started learning a month ago!'

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