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All conversation is based on an exchange of information, which can be done directly or indirectly. Questions are asked directly and answers are received from the interlocutors, while information is exchanged indirectly using the tone of voice, the choice of vocabulary and even the position of our body.
Among the questions that we can ask are, among others, the ratified questions. The ratified questions are formulas in which the search for information is made with a specific answer in mind. Thus, and as its name indicates, the ratified questions only seek to confirm or deny an idea that we have about the context in question.
Examples of ratified questions in Spanish
- “You have two older brothers, right?”
- “Every year you travel to the coast, right?”
- “This is not your car, is it?”
With a ratified question, as can be seen in the examples, whoever asks it already believes they have the answer and only wants confirmation from their interlocutor. In this type of interventions, the real question grammatically speaking is at the end framed with the opening and closing question marks.
The Question tags
In English, ratified questions find their equivalent in so-called question tags . This type of structure serves the same purpose as in Spanish and maintains a structure similar to that of our language. The main difference is that in question tags the question at the end of the sentence usually goes in reverse of the rest of the sentence. That is, if the main sentence is affirmative, the question tag is negative and vice versa. However, in Spanish this is not necessarily the case.
examples
- « You really like ice cream, don’t you? ». “You really like ice cream, don’t you?”
- She didn’t dance with him, did she? . “She didn’t dance with him. Or if?”.
- They haven’t got the time, have they? . “You haven’t had time, have you?”
- My sister will be fine, won’t she? . “My sister is going to be fine, isn’t she?”
Intonation of ratified questions and question tags
One of the elements that provides information, apart from the questions themselves, is the intonation of the sentence. In Spanish, the participants of a conversation use the tonal rise at the end of the phrase, without taking into account the possible semantic changes that this causes. However, in English the tone of voice is raised or lowered with the question tag , which allows adding extra meaning to the sentence.
Rising intonation in a question tag indicates that the individual is not completely sure of the statement he has just made, while falling intonation seems to indicate that the speaker is sure of the statement and only seeks the expected ratification from the interlocutor.
References
Cid, M. (1996) The intonation of ratified questions in Spanish and their equivalent “questions tags” in English: a comparison. Available at: http://onomazein.letras.uc.cl/Articulos/1/7_Cid.pdf
Subrahmayan J. (General English Grammar. Sura Books. Available at: https://books.google.co.ve/books?id=ANRDzGvq59YC&dq
