[Grammar] You've never bought me a birthday gift, isn't it?

[NAL123]

Consider this sentence of mine, please:

a) You've never bought me a birthday gift.

I know what to add after a sentence as a tag question. For example:

b) You've never bought me a birthday gift, have you?

But can I use "isn't it" in the sense of "isn't what I'm saying true" at the end of a sentence?

c) You've never bought me a birthday gift, isn't it?

 

[Rollercoaster1]

I am afraid that won't work.

 

[GoesStation]

b) You've never bought me a birthday gift, have you?

But can I use "isn't it" in the sense of "isn't what I'm saying true" at the end of a sentence?

No. The statement didn't say that something was true and didn't use the verb "to be". This one does: It's true that you've never bought me a birthday gift. You can add "isn't it?" to that statement.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

No. The statement didn't say that something was true and didn't use the verb "to be". This one does: It's true that you've never bought me a birthday gift. You can add "isn't it?" to that statement.

Exactly. Notice that your sentence (b) uses have on both sides of the comma, and Goes' uses is on both side of the comma:

- It has, hasn't it?
- It is, isn't it?
- We were, weren't we?
- They did, didn't they?
- You will, won't you?
- She can't, can she?
- You wouldn't, would you?

You do see the logic, don't you?