Short forms in English

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Rachel Adams

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Hello.
I was studying short forms. Could you please check if my examples and comments are correct?
'You have got.' Haven't you?'
'You have a dog.' 'Haven't you?' (Formal/old-fashioned).
'You have a dog'. Don't you?'
'I am right.' 'Aren't I?' 'Amn't' used to be an acceptable form.
 

emsr2d2

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Hello.
I [STRIKE]was[/STRIKE] have been studying short forms. Could you please check if my examples and comments are correct?

1. 'You have got.' Haven't you?' :cross: "You have got" doesn't work as a standalone sentence.
2. 'You have a dog, haven't you?' (Formal/old-fashioned).
3. 'You have a dog, don't you?'
4. 'I am right, aren't I?' 'Amn't' used to be an acceptable form.

See above. You need to concentrate on how to use such tag questions. They shouldn't be two separate sentences. They should be the main sentence/phrase, then a comma, then the tag question.

If I've misunderstood and you're not trying to use tag questions, then your examples don't make much sense. The "short form" of "You have got" is simply "You've got". It's not "Haven't you?" "Have you [got] ..." is the interrogative form of "You have [got] ...".
 

teechar

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OK, but usually/always with the contraction "You've.....".
Not necessarily. If, for example the tone is a little serious/emphatic, then the full form is definitely natural.
 

Rachel Adams

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See above. You need to concentrate on how to use such tag questions. They shouldn't be two separate sentences. They should be the main sentence/phrase, then a comma, then the tag question.

If I've misunderstood and you're not trying to use tag questions, then your examples don't make much sense. The "short form" of "You have got" is simply "You've got". It's not "Haven't you?" "Have you [got] ..." is the interrogative form of "You have [got] ...".
Yes, sorry. I used the wrong term. I was asking about tag questions. In the first sentence I didn't add a noun. 'You have got a dog, haven't you?' Is it wrong?
 

PeterCW

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Perfectly natural idiomatic English. It suggests that you already believe the person to have a dog and want to confirm that belief.
 

Rachel Adams

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Perfectly natural idiomatic English. It suggests that you already believe the person to have a dog and want to confirm that belief.
Thank you. No one said anything about my comments in #2 about 'haven't you' instead of 'don't you?' ( should it be 'don't you or don't you have? in modern English?) being formal and in #4 about 'amn't I.
2. 'You have a dog, haven't you?' (Formal/old-fashioned).
3. 'You have a dog, don't you?'
4. 'I am right, aren't I?' 'Amn't' used to be an acceptable form.
 

Rachel Adams

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Please ask about one form at a time.

OK. Is 'haven't you' an old-fashioned form? Should I use 'don't you?' instead? 2. 'You have a dog, haven't you?' (Formal/old-fashioned.)
 

Yankee

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Thank you. No one said anything about my comments in #2 about 'haven't you' instead of 'don't you?' ( should it be 'don't you or don't you have? in modern English?) being formal and in #4 about 'amn't I.
2. 'You have a dog, haven't you?' (Formal/old-fashioned). Could be heard/used.
3. 'You have a dog, don't you?' Would most frequently be used.
4. 'I am right, aren't I?' Yes, "aren't".'Amn't' used to be an acceptable form. Never heard/read "amn"t in AmE.
Y.
 
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