"That's the guy..., isn't it?"

[Odessa Dawn]

Q34 - That's the guy who was on TV the other night, .......?
isn't that
isn't it
Q35 - That's the guy that won the pools, ........?
isn't it
isn't he
More: https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/233.html

The correct answers are isn't it in both questions. I don’t know why isn't it not wasn't he in 34 and didn't he in 35. Would you please explain that?

 

[SoothingDave]

That is the guy ... isn't it?

 

[Odessa Dawn]

Yes. Informally, that's fine.

What makes you write 'informally' is five pics, [STRIKE]don’t you[/STRIKE]isn't it, please?

The tag relates to the first verb in the statement. Isn't the verb in my statement that I should have paid attention to is write? Or does the questioner want to know why Rover wrote his post that way? Why do we choose the third verb in that statement to our tag?

 

[SoothingDave]

Ignore the "first" verb if it is in a clause like "what makes you write." You want to choose the main verb of the sentence. In all of these cases the main verb is "is."

 

[emsr2d2]

That/It is the man who was on TV last night, isn't it?
He was on TV last night, wasn't he?
We saw that man who was on TV last night, didn't we?
He has been on TV before, hasn't he?

Can you see how the parts of the sentence are connected?

 

[Odessa Dawn]

Yes, I can. It is helpful—and thank you. The problem is that, the longer the statement is, the more confused I am. I don’t know how to turn it into a question.

 

[TheParser]

The longer the statement is, the more confused I am.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****



Hello, Odessa Dawn:

May I share a few ideas (not "answers")?

"What makes you write 'informally" is 'five pics,' isn't it?"

1. When you have time, it might be helpful if you read all that you can about the word "what."

a. Sometimes it is NOT a question word, such as "What is your name?"

b. Sometimes it is a so-called indefinite relative pronoun. That is, it = "THAT WHICH."

c. If we were to diagram your sentence, we would get a sentence something like:

That which makes you write 'informally' is 'five pics,' isn't it?

i.The adjective clause "which makes you write 'informally' " can be forgotten ONLY for the sake of analysis. (Of course, you need it when speaking or writing.)

d. Thus we get the simpler sentence: That is 'five pics," isn't it?


*****

I have found it easier to analyze sentences if I simplify them as much as possible.

Let's look at your original sentence:

"That's the guy that / who won the pools, isn't it?"

For analysis ONLY, let's remove the adjective clause "that / who won the pools." We then get the simpler sentence:

"That's the guy, isn't it?" (By the way, that is how you correctly titled your thread!)



James

 

[anhnha]

1. That which makes you write 'informally' is 'five pics,' isn't it?
2. The thing which makes you write 'informally' is 'five pics,' isn't it?

I know that both "that which" and "the thing which" are fine in that sentence. However, I am confused about "that" in #1. What is its meaning here? Can I drop it?
Which makes you write 'informally' is 'five pics,' isn't it?

 

[emsr2d2]

No, you can't drop the "that" from "that which".

 

[TheParser]

I am confused about "that" in #1. What is its meaning here?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Anhnha:

Until someone gives you the answer, I should like to share some ideas with you.

*****

A . What you do is right.

B. The thing that / which you do is right.

C. That which you do is right.

NOTES:

1. In my OPINION, native speakers would find A and B natural, especially A.

2. I do not think that C would be considered natural.

a. C seems to be a way that books use to explain to us that the "what" in that sentence is different from the "what" in, for example, "What is the time?"

3. Thus, if you wanted to diagram C, it might be parsed as:

That = pronoun (the subject of the sentence).
which = relative pronoun (that refers to "that").
which you do = adjective clause that modifies the pronoun "that."
is = linking verb.
right = adjective that refers back to "that." In other words: "That is right." And the adjective clause tells us in more detail what "that" refers to. It is not possible to delete "that" because it is the subject of the sentence, as another poster has already implied.

4. That which you do is right.






James