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<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="1" > two types of example sentences of anti-meaning question sentences</h1>
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="2" > - and commented on the false statement of the preface to the Red Devils English"</h1>
Li Baochen
Abstract: In the preface to the Red Devil English's "New High School English Grammar", the grammar books in the book market are criticized for "some grammar knowledge points due to the influence of language translation or the limitations of inherent teaching habits", and even the phenomenon of "spreading false rumors". The illusion of "must be affirmative and negative after the front affirmation" is said to be an illusion of "the front affirmation is followed by the negation, and the preceding negation is followed by the affirmation", and so on, and so on, and so on. However, this is not the case, this article has made a detailed analysis of two types of anti-meaning question sentences, listing a variety of example sentences, and concluded that it is not the "false rumors" mentioned in the preface of the "New High School English Grammar", but the author of the book "rare and strange", which seems more appropriate.
Keywords: anti-paranormal interrogative sentence; additional interrogative sentence; negative form
First, the question is raised
The annual Beijing Book Ordering Fair opens at the Beijing International Exhibition Center. At 10 o'clock in the morning, I came to Hall 1, because the Enlightened Publishing House had my new book exhibited, naturally I wanted to have a sneak peek, and went straight to this booth, but before I arrived at the booth of the Enlightened Publishing House, the first thing I saw was several English grammar books in the "Red Devil English" series exhibited by Hunan Tianzhou Cultural Center. Due to the similarity of the topics, out of curiosity, I can't help but stop and study (academic discussion is different from the deduction of the plot of the novel, academic research is based on the main line of discovering problems, analyzing problems and solving problems, and judging whether the manuscript has these procedures according to this main line. ）。 In the introduction to the content of a grammar book, it is written: "Some grammar knowledge points have even appeared due to the influence of language translation or the limitations of inherent teaching habits." For example, most teachers are still asking students to memorize the so-called "the composition of an anti-paradox sentence is the law of preceding affirmation followed by negation, preceding negation followed by affirmation." In fact, this formulation is not accurate. The strict translation of "tag questions" in grammar should be "additional question sentences", which includes two categories of "anti-intentional" additional question sentences and "non-inverse" additional question sentences, because we are common in the first type of structure, so some grammar books will collectively refer to this type of question sentence as "anti-meaning question sentences", which also gives people the illusion that such questions must be "the first affirmation is followed by negation, the front negation is followed by affirmation, and so on. After reading it, the weight of the idiom "to spread falsehood" continues to grow in the mind, as the author of the grammar book, if you make a mistake yourself, but also pass on the wrong knowledge to others, especially students, it is too undeserved. When I finished the exhibition, the first thing I did when I got home was to clarify the problems in the preface.
The first is the Chinese translation of the tag questions, the latest and most authoritative of the several dictionaries at hand is the "Longman Contemporary Advanced English Dictionary" (4th edition of the Foreign Research Agency, 2009), the interpretation of the tag questions is: [term] "anti-meaning question sentences, additional question sentences", if you do not believe in this translation, you can turn to page 2355 of the dictionary to see.
The second is that the common English grammar statement about the anti-paraphrase question sentence should be: Disjunctive Questions use this statement in Zhang Daozhen's grammar books. (Zhang Daozhen, 1979, 385) And the Bo Bing grammar book compares the "tag questions" additional question sentence with the anti-meaning question sentence. (Bo Bing, 1999, 488) As for the distinction between the first and second categories, there is already a distinction, the former is mostly used than the latter, it is also well known, in general, the first category has 20 cases, the second category has 3 cases, which is slightly analyzed below.
Second, the problem analysis
Because the anti-meaning question sentence is often used in ordinary life, it has become a popular test question in the national middle school examination and college entrance examination in recent years.
Anatomy of two types of example sentences of objectional question sentences:
The first category: counter-question sentences present a certain point of view or fact and ask whether the other party agrees. Such questions generally consist of two parts, the former part being a declarative sentence and the latter part being a short question sentence. If the former part is in the affirmative form, the latter part is usually in the negative form; if the former part is in the negative form, the latter part is usually in the affirmative form. I haven’t seen you before, have I? I haven't seen you before, have I? She knows you, doesn’t she? She knows you, doesn't she? A. The subject of the declarative part of the anti-paranormal question sentence is usually a noun or pronoun, and the subject of the interrogative part should be consistent with the preceding one. When the subject is a person name, the pronoun is selected on a case-by-case basis. Jane likes drawing, doesn’t she? Jane loves to draw, doesn't she? Tom was late yesterday, wasn’t he? Tom was late yesterday, right? Money can't improve my health, can it? B. When the declarative sentence part contains negative words such as seldom, never, hardly, scarcely, few, little, nothing, no one, nobody, etc., the abbreviation part of the question is affirmative. She seldom does shopping, does she? She doesn't go shopping much, does she? None of the students were late, were they? C. If the statement part contains a prefix or suffix of negative meaning, such as in, un, im, etc., it is still used as an affirmative structure, and the subsequent negative part of the question is used as a negative structure. He's hopeless, isn't he? He dislikes dancing, doesn’t he? He doesn't like dancing, does he? D. I am... When constructing, it must be followed by "aren't I?". I’m late today, aren’t I? I'm late for today, aren't I? E. When the subject of the statement part is one, the subject of the additional question part is used in formal occasions and you in informal situations. One can't live without air, can one/you? One can't be too careful, can one/you? F.need, dare constitutes an anti-paradoxical sentence, which is used as a real verb, and the anti-paradox part is in the appropriate form of do; they are modal verbs, and the anti-paradox part is directly in its own appropriate form. He dare not leave alone, dare he? We need to practise speaking English more often, don't we? G. In the thether be structure, the substitution of the subject for the theree constitutes an anti-paraphrase question sentence. There's something wrong with your watch, isn't there? There didn't appear to be any doubt about it, did there? H. When there is usered to in the statement section, the abbreviated question is used didn't or usern't. Tom used to walk his lovely dog in the afternoon, didn't/usen't he? I. When the statement part has a have to, the short question is in the appropriate form of do. He has to go to see the doctor, doesn’t he? He had to go to the doctor, right? When there is a "yes", the verb of the anti-meaning question part can be used as well as the do; when speaking in other senses, it is only changed by the action verb. She has a new dress, hasn’t/doesn’t she? She had a new dress, didn't she? He often has lunch at home, doesn't he? J. The statement part is in the form of have got, and the counter-intentional question part is in the appropriate form of have. They have got to walk there, haven’t they? They have to walk there, don't they? He has got a new dictionary, hasn't he? K. When stating that part of the subject is an indefinite pronoun such as everone, anybody, somebody, no one, someone, etc., the subject of the anti-intentional question part is usually plural. When particular emphasis is placed on the singular, the singular can also be used later. Anyone can join the club, can’t they? Anyone can join the club, can't they? No one was fond of that form of art, were they?/was he? L . When the previous statement that part of the subject is everthing, nothing, something, anything, the latter asks part of the subject to use it, and the predicate uses singular form. Everything is ready now, isn’t it? Everything is ready, isn't it? Nothing can stop us, can it? When the M. statement part is "I/We don't think/suppose/expect/believe/imagine, etc. + object clause", the change of the short question depends on the object clause. I don’t suppose they have known about it, have they? I don't think they know about it, right? I don't think she cares, does she? N. When the must of the statement part indicates the speculative meaning of "certain" and "presumably", the doubting part does not use must, but adopts the corresponding verb form according to the infinitive structure and meaning of the statement part. She must be sleepy, isn’t she? She must be sleepy, isn't she? You must have made the mistake, haven't you? They must have gone there last night, didn't they? O. The statement part is an exclamation sentence, and the subject of the short question should be consistent with the subject of the exclamation sentence. What a lovely day, isn’t it? The weather is so nice! How time flies, doesn’t it? Time flies so fast, right? P. However, if only the negative prefix appears in the statement part to express the negative meaning, the statement part is still treated as an affirmative sentence, and the question part is still in the negative form. It is impossible, isn’t it? It's impossible, is it? Q. For an objectionary question sentence that is partially negative, be aware of the inconsistencies between its two answers and the Chinese answers. Their daughter isn’t clever, is she? Their daughter isn't smart, is she? There are two answers to this question: No, she isn't. Yes, she is. No, she's pretty smart. R. In general, the (master-slave) compound sentence should be consistent with the main sentence. Today’s weather is as cold as it was yesterday, isn’t it? It's as cold today as it was yesterday, right? S. When the statement part is a thatt-guided object clause, the anti-paradox sentence generally corresponds to the subject and predicate of the subject sentence. He says that they have left, doesn’t he? He said they were gone, didn't he? When the sentence is too long, the question of the contrarian question can be placed in the middle of the sentence in order to keep the sentence balanced. It’s true, isn’t it, that you’re thinking of giving up your job? It's true that you want to give up your job, right? T. In juxtaposed compound sentences, the anti-paradox sentence should be consistent with the second clause (or the main sentence of the second clause). John isn't a diligent student, for it is the third time he has been late, isn't it? There seemed to be no doubt that she was hurt.
Category II:
A. I affirm the form in the current statement part, and the affirmative form in the latter part.
Have a cup of tea, will you? Have a cup of tea, okay? (Table courtesy)
So that’s your little Trick, is it ? That's the little trick you play, right? (Table sigh, ridicule)
Your bike is outside, is it? (Table doubts, to the other side to confirm)
B. Additional questions for imperative sentences (including categories I and II)
Drink more water every day, will you?
Drink more water every day, okay? Note: also available here: won't you? / can you? /can’t you? would you?/ wouldn’t you? /why don’t you?
C. Let us does not include the other party, with an additional question, with will you?
Let's not discuss it now, will we?
Let us include the other party, with additional questions, with a small we? (Li Baochen, 2016, 225)
What needs to be reiterated is that language is developing, and anti-meaning question sentences are constantly enriched, but as long as you close, pay attention, accumulate, use, and master, it is not difficult. (Li Baochen, 2016, 229)
III. Conclusion
The foreword to Red Devil English's "New High School English Grammar" states: "Grammar books and teachers' explanations still follow the explanations in grammar books more than 20 years ago." In fact, as long as we carefully analyze the more standardized test questions, we will find that those test questions that drill the 'horn tip' have long ceased to appear, but many teaching and auxiliary books are still tirelessly entangled in those details, and the result is that students spend a lot of time memorizing those old sayings and waste a lot of time. Through dissection, it is not difficult to see that this statement is unrealistic, because English grammar is a rule of long-term language formation, not arbitrarily changed in the past. As Professor Yi Daizhao of the School of Foreign Chinese literature in Beijing said in the preface to the "Complete Explanation of New Standard High School English Grammar" edited by me in 2016, "In English learning, the teaching and learning of grammar is indispensable." In the process of human survival activities and the long-term development and change of human language, grammar is the use of language rules formed by summary and induction. Grammar is a language law that people must follow in the use of language; at the same time, grammar also has the function of detecting whether the language is used correctly or not. Speaking and writing that do not conform to grammatical rules is likely to produce misunderstandings or ambiguities. In this way, what you say and write will not achieve the good purpose of exchange of ideas, emotions and cultural exchanges. Therefore, grammar plays a pivotal role in the four elements of English language learning: pronunciation, vocabulary, discourse and grammar. As linguist Wilkins put it: "Without grammar, very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed.” (No grammar, hard to express; no vocabulary, no expression.) From this, the importance of grammar learning is evident (Li Baochen, 2016).
This article makes a detailed analysis of two types of anti-paranormal question sentences, listing a variety of example sentences, and concludes that it is not the "false rumors" mentioned in the preface of the "New High School English Grammar", but the author of the book "rare and strange", which seems more appropriate.
bibliography
[1] Quirk.Longman Contemporary Advanced English Dictionary[M].Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2009(4):23-55.
[2] Thin ice. English Grammar[M].Beijing:Enlightened Publishing House,1999,488.]
[3] Li Baochen. The new standard high school English grammar is fully solved[M].Beijing:China Machine Press,2016,225-229.
[4] Zhang Daozhen. Practical English Grammar[M].Beijing:The Commercial Press,1979,385.]
(This article was first published in Research on Foreign Language Teaching in Basic Education, No. 12, 2018)