...unfriendly, aren't they

[joham]

I've got a grammar book published by Cambridge University Press and in its unit 18, there's this sentence:
Yes, they're really unfriendly, aren't they?

However, in its unit 38, it says people tend to use the first sentence rather than the second:
1. She isn't very friendly, is she?
2. She's unfriendly, isn't she?

Is the second sentence a bad one?

Thank you in advance.

[jamiep]

The second sentence isn't bad but people would tend to use the first one. It's making the point without directly saying something bad.

In the same way we would say someone "didn't do very well" at an exam instead saying "they did badly".

[sarat_106]

Originally Posted by joham

I've got a grammar book published by Cambridge University Press and in its unit 18, there's this sentence:
Yes, they're really unfriendly, aren't they?

However, in its unit 38, it says people tend to use the first sentence rather than the second:
1. She isn't very friendly, is she?
2. She's unfriendly, isn't she?

Is the second sentence a bad one?

Thank you in advance.

I have a different interpretation of negative question tags.
We use negative questions to show surprise, in exclamations and when we expect the listener to agree with us. The above two versions can be explained this way:

1. She isn't very friendly, is she? In this version, the speaker suspects about her friendliness and is requesting affirmation.

2. She's unfriendly, isn't she? This version also implies suspicion that she is unfriendly but the connotation of doubt is not nearly as strong as the positve one.