She hardly reads books, does she/doesn't she?

[Vladv1]

She hardly reads books, does she/doesn't she?
Which is the correct tag question? The example is mine.

 

[emsr2d2]

Based on what you know about tag questions, which do you think is correct and why?

 

[Tarheel]

Suppose it's a real life situation, and you want to say that to somebody. Which tag would you use?

 

[Flask]

She hardly reads books, does she/doesn't she?
Which is the correct tag question? The example is mine.

I find the basic question a bit unnatural without "any" before "books":

She hardly reads any books.

Without "any," there is the awkward possibility of an alternative meaning. The sentence She hardly reads books can also mean that she doesn't read books to any great degree. Compare:

He hardly heats his food (at all). It's usually lukewarm.
Their baby hardly eats vegetables (at all). He usually spits them out after a couple of bites.

 

[Tarheel]

You could say:

She hardly ever reads books,...?

 

[Tarheel]

@Vladv1 Where did you go?

 

[Vladv1]

@Vladv1 Where did you go?

I would say "doesn't she".

 

[emsr2d2]

I would say "doesn't she?"

If it said "never" instead of "hardly", what would your answer be?

 

[Vladv1]

If it said "never" instead of "hardly", what would your answer be?

Does she?

 

[Tarheel]

I would say "doesn't she".

You would be wrong.

 

[Tarheel]

Does she?

Yes.

 

[jutfrank]

You would be wrong.

Really? Why so?

We can presume that Vladv1 has in mind a logical rule that he's been taught where the tag question is in polarity to the preceding clause. That is, if the main clause is positive, the tag will be negative and vice versa. This is a somewhat oversimplified rule but it's useful enough to teach to intermediate learners.

Of course, what will almost always trump the grammar of any sentence is the actual meaning. So there are some rare cases where a speaker uses a grammatically positive sentence with a negative thought in mind. I think this could be one such case. When the speaker says "she hardly reads", is he connoting something positive or something negative?

 

[Tarheel]

DOES SHE
She hardly ever reads books, does she?
She never reads books, does she?
She doesn't do much cooking, does she?

DOESN'T SHE
She reads a lot of books, doesn't she?
She does a lot of cooking, doesn't she?

Not one of those sentences will appear by itself. If you are unsure what the speaker means you can always ask. (I don't remember the last time I used a sentence with a question tag. There hasn't been a reason to. (When I messaged my friend, saying "It's hot" I certainly could have said, "It's hot, isn't it?" I didn't.)

One instance in which you might expect a question tag is when two guys are looking at a pretty girl, and one of them says to the other, "She's really cute, isn't she?"

Context will always tell you what the speaker means.

 

[Skrej]

Question tags are quite frequent, in my opinion. Generally we use them when we're relatively certain of the answer, but just want a little confirmation/agreement (or correction if we're mistaken). I probably use them on close to a daily basis.

Typically, these follow a pattern where the tag is opposite the main statement. Once exception is when we're not really seeking that confirmation, but are instead using tags to express some kind of emotion - surprise, disapproval, interest (even if feigned), anger, etc. These same-way tags can be positive-positive or negative-negative (the latter sounding rather harsh or confrontational).

Certain adverbs have an inherently negative quality to them (never, rarely, hardly, scarcely, barely and seldom to name a few), so that although a positive tag seems to defy the convention of using opposite tags, the adverbs make the main statement negative by definition. Ergo, using a positive tag still follows the convention in a sense, and they're not truly same-way tags.

 

[Vladv1]

Question tags are quite frequent, in my opinion. Generally we use them when we're relatively certain of the answer, but just want a little confirmation/agreement (or correction if we're mistaken). I probably use them on close to a daily basis.

Typically, these follow a pattern where the tag is opposite the main statement. Once exception is when we're not really seeking that confirmation, but are instead using tags to express some kind of emotion - surprise, disapproval, interest (even if feigned), anger, etc. These same-way tags can be positive-positive or negative-negative (the latter sounding rather harsh or confrontational).

Certain adverbs have an inherently negative quality to them (never, rarely, hardly, scarcely, barely and seldom to name a few), so that although a positive tag seems to defy the convention of using opposite tags, the adverbs make the main statement negative by definition. Ergo, using a positive tag still follows the convention in a sense, and they're not truly same-way tags.

Does it apply to all negative adverbs? Could you please give more examples of such words.

 

[Skrej]

Does it apply to all negative adverbs? Could you please give more examples of such words.

Yes, but I've probably given a fairly exhaustive list.

Neither and not are also negative adverbs, but don't know that you'll see them used in the context of questions tags, but I won't say 'never'.

 

[Flask]

Certain adverbs have an inherently negative quality to them (never, rarely, hardly, scarcely, barely and seldom to name a few), so that although a positive tag seems to defy the convention of using opposite tags, the adverbs make the main statement negative by definition. Ergo, using a positive tag still follows the convention in a sense, and they're not truly same-way tags.

That's really interesting. It seems to me that tag questions are pretty rare in sentences where such adverbs are modifying the verb phrase; and when they do occur, the tag question seems to be of the type where confirmation is expected:

I never said that, did I?
She can hardly read, can she?
We seldom go there, do we?

In order for me to find such tag questions natural, I have to imagine a context and tone in which the confirmation is expected in a rhetorically pushy way. Within the tag, the auxiliary verb is stressed and there is a falling intonation contour.

 

[Tarheel]

I thought of this one on the way home today.

Abe: Did you lock the door?
Bob: When I left the house?
Abe: Yes.
Bob: I think so
Abe: We'll see soon enough, won't we?
Bob: Yes, we will.