Forum: ell.stackexchange.com
Tags: <syntax><tag-questions>
Title: Would a native speaker append "or" to a statement to turn it into a question?
Question: I hear it all the time from my colleagues:  But that's correct, or?  However, my colleagues are all German, and in German, one can turn a statement into a question by adding  oder  (which means  or ). Does this sound natural to a native speakers ears?

Answers:
sents: text: Or can be used to extend questions where there are other options not being mentioned that the respondent can fill in.
text: Generally speaking, it cannot turn a declarative statement into a question.
text: Examples of where it would be properly used are: Do you want to go to the movies, or ...?
text: [the mall] Would tuna for lunch be ok, or ...?
text: [no, I'll have salmon instead]
text: It is important to note that typically, or would only be used followed by a trailing ellipses.
text: More common are yes and no , which can be used to turn declarative statements into questions, such as: She found $20 at the beach, no?
text: ["didn't she" is another acceptable alternative to "no" here]
text: He had lunch yesterday at McDonald's, yes?
text: Either way, whether you use yes or or or no , such usage is generally accepted in speech and in informal writing, but not in formal writing.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/33/waiwai933
score: 7
sents: text: A very common equivalent in English is right .
text: For example: Aber das ist wahr, oder?
text: Is directly equivalent in English to:
text: But that’s correct, right?
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/41/MetaEd
score: 5
sents: text: This doesn't doesn't sound right to me, a native speaker, and a native speaker wouldn't do this.
text: A question can end in or , however that is used as a prompt to the answerer, asking if there could be another solution.
text: Other than that, this wouldn't be used this way.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/12/Liam W
score: 4
sents: text: In speech, especially if the or trails off expectantly, this would be a fairly natural usage.
text: It would imply that the questioner is open to some other answer as an alternative to the one implied in the question or context.
text: t would never be used in formal writing.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/7/Ryan Haber
score: 2
sents: text: It's possible, but the more natural expression would be ... or something?...
text: or what?
text: as in Do you want to see a movie or something?
text: Is this correct, or what?
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/68/Robusto
score: 1
sents: text: waiwai's answer is very good and detailed, but I have something else
text: I'd like to add.
text: Judging from the question and some other comments, I'm thinking that the closest English construction to the original German is "or not".
text: So she found the shell on the beach, or not?
text: As you said, the "or" in german is use to change a declarative into a question.
text: "
text: So she found the shell on the beach" is a perfectly acceptable declarative sentence; in English the "or not" is appended to the end to change it into a question.
text: To use your original example, "
text: But that's correct, or not?
text: " would be a perfectly acceptable English construction.
text: It seems to me that the only difference is that in German the "not" is implied, whereas in English it has to be stated outright.
text: So that answers your question, or not?
text: ;)
text: As others have suggested, "right" can also be used in these situations, as can "yes" or "no" (
text: depending on whether the statement was positive or negative).
text: But this seems to be the closest construction to what you mentioned in the question.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/289/WendiKidd
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
A very common equivalent in English is "right", as in "But that’s correct, right?" .  An example of where it would be properly used is: "Do you want to go to the movies, or ...?", although the more natural expression would be  "... or something?". In this context, "or"  is being used to imply a question where there are other options that the respondent can fill in.
Or' cannot make a declarative into a question, it can extend questions to unmentioned options. 'Right' is more fitting for this purpose.