Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: Tag questions after "may"

How would you complete the following sentences using a tag question?
In brackets, what I would possibly use (very likely to be wrong!)
You may kiss me now...
(will you?)
I guess we may go now...
(shall we?)
 
Trespassers may be shot...
(couldn't they? / isn't it?)
Your boss may be monitoring your e-mail... 
(mightn't he? / wouldn't he?)
In the future, astronauts may eat insects...
(won't they? / couldn't they?)
I've just read the luggage regulations: international passengers may
check two and carry on one...
(isn't it? / may they not?)
Children may express a strong knowledge of grammar at any point in
time from the two word stage onwards...
(can't they? / don't they?)
-- 
Enrico C
Do Something Amazing Today
Save a Life, Give Blood

 (will you?)
may you not?
("mayn't you" feels a bit like "pel" or "collo")
Maybe I don't understand the exercise. I don't think I'd
change the verb from may to something else, the way you
seem to be doing. Is this what they're expecting you to do?
-- 
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - 
http://www.Mailgate.ORG

 You may kiss me now...
Especially this one, which means "ti permetto di baciarmi ora".
 
The question tag that goes with "he may" is "mayn't he?", but it's
obsolete. 
-- 
Mary

 obsolete.
You could use "may he not?", not that this sounds _much_ better.


 You could use "may he not?", not that this sounds _much_ better.
True, but it's very formal, and question tags are generally used in
informal conversation. If you really need something, you'd be better off
with "don't you think?" or "don't you agree?".
A native speaker would not be likely to say "trespassers may be shot,
may they not?"; it would be more idiomatic to say "is it true that
trespassers may be shot?"
-- 
Mary

 trespassers may be shot?"
They shoot hors^H^H^H^Htrespassers, don't they?


 They shoot hors^H^H^H^Htrespassers, don't they?
:-))
-- 
Mary

 Is this what they're expecting you to do?
They who? Whatever "they" you were thinking of, the answer is "No, I
did all the mess by myself!" :)


> I guess we may go now... (shall we?)
In this case, I was thinking at the "Let's party, shall we?" pattern.


 In this case, I was thinking at the "Let's party, shall we?" pattern.
As far as I know, I don't think so. The question tag is built reversing the
subject and the verb of the sentence it relates to. "Let's... shall we?"
isn't far from a question tag, even so I think that in theory it is not.
Bye, FB

 examples invented by Enrico while studying question tags.
Yep! And I must admit some of them were quite unlikely! How do you say
"tirate per i capelli"? :)
But what about
Your boss may be monitoring your e-mail...  (couldn't he? / may he
not?) 
or
In the future, astronauts may eat insects... (mightn't they? / may
they not?)
???


 they not?)
may he not?
As far as I know, the verbs need to match, unless the tag uses
"do"?


 "do"?
Ta! That makes perfect logic! I surrender! :)
So, I think, the only exceptions are those reported in SWAN
[QUOTE]
Let's have a party, shall we?
Give me a hand, will you?
Do sit down, won't you? (GB)
Open a window, would you?
Shut up, can't you?
Don't forget, will you?
[UNQUOTE]
I also noticed there is a colloquial "isn't it?" form, though.
"Mom recently started listening to Donovan again, isn't it?"


 trespassers may be shot?"
-- 
"The past resembles the future as water resembles water"  Ibn Khaldun
My .
mac.com
 address is a spam sink.
If you wish to email me, try alan dot lothian at blueyonder dot co dot uk

"Mom recently started listening to Donovan again, isn't it?"
Only if you're from Wales.
-- 
Adam Atkinson (
gh...@mistral.co.uk
)
It's another notch in the first rung on the slippery slope
towards fascism.

 
There seems to be a modern trend towards using "innit" as an all-purpose
question tag (to go with any verb), but it sounds so awful I refuse to
use it.
-- 
Mary

use it.
Ah. I'd heard this on "Goodness Gracious Me", but assumed it was an
Asian youth thing in the UK. Is it in more general use than that?
Hideous.
Cockney listen and repeat:
It's a little metal bottle of butter, isn't it?
Issa li'u me'u bo'u o bu'u, inni'?
-- 
Adam Atkinson (
gh...@mistral.co.uk
)
Libri e altro per matematici piu' o meno ricreativi:
http://www.mistral.co.uk/ghira/recmathslibri.html

 BANG
OK, I give up, innit?
-- 
Mary

 BANG
ROTFL ! 


 Only if you're from Wales.
Let me think... Mmmmh... No, I'm definitely not! :)


 Issa li'u me'u bo'u o bu'u, inni'?
Hey! This is not it.cultura.linguistica.eschimese ;)


 use it.
Good to know :) 


 seem to be doing. Is this what they're expecting you to do?
I've never seen may follwed by a tag question (but that of course does
not mean that it's not possible)
bye
ari

 not mean that it's not possible)
That's why I couldn't find any explanation about it!
In grammars, I mean.


In grammars, I mean.
There's not much special to say. Swan says "mayn't is very unusual" so
one can deduce that if you insist on using a tag question, it has to
me "may I not?" etc. However, you should notice quite quickly that
no-one really says this.
"May I eat three doughnuts?" is far more likely than "I may eat three
doughnuts, may I not?"
-- 
Adam Atkinson (
gh...@mistral.co.uk
)
You've got to get a hat if you want to get ahead.

 doughnuts, may I not?"
That's pretty reasonable. In this sentence, "may" is for asking in a
kind or formal way permission to do something. And I agree it wouldn't
make much sense to say something like "I am kindly allowed by you,
Lord Edmund, to eat three doughnuts, aren't I?"
Nevertheless, the word "may" has other shades, too, so to express
"permission, liberty, probability, or possibility", as I read in
grammars.
"If we don't let little Susie eat her doughnuts right now, she may
burst into tears!".
That's something that may happen or may not. Someone could ask it,
after saying such a sentence, couldn't they?


after saying such a sentence, couldn't they?
Yes. "mightn't" is allowed, though, so you could use "might" instead
of "may" and avoid having to use a contraction-free question tag.
-- 
Adam Atkinson (
gh...@mistral.co.uk
)
BRITISH LEFT WAFFLES ON FALKLANDS

 
You could use Mayn't like this:
"I may eat three doughnuts" (This is an announcement of possibility)
"mayn't I" (this is a request for permission to eat the three doughnuts)
It is a bit archaic but was prevalent in pre-1960's literature 
particularly when children were making polite requests of adults.
I seem to remember this sort of phrasing used in "Alice-in-Wonderland"
Needless to say no child would use anything like this today. In fact one 
doesn't often here an English child requesting anything politely!
-- 
Chris Notton
Replace "nospam" with my surname to reply by email
Sostituisca il "nospam" con il mio cognome per rispondere
}<////(*>

 of "may" and avoid having to use a contraction-free question tag.
Non so. "Might" per chiedere il permesso ("Might I eat three doughnuts?") č
assurdo. La mia professoressa (la strega) mi diceva che non si puň dire
nemmeno al Presidente della Repubblica.
Ciao, FB

Mi sono imbattuto in un "may I not?". In un film, "Possession". 
Ma lo dice un poeta vittoriano, anzi lo scrive in una lettera a
un'amica, anche lei poetessa.
Quindi non conta come esempio d'uso moderno :)
"My dear friend, for I may call myself a friend, may I not?"


 "My dear friend, for I may call myself a friend, may I not?"
Carina. Io mi sto facendo un'iniezione di poesia di questi tempi, spero che
non comincerņ a scrivere in un inglese improbabile.
Ciao, FB

 "My dear friend, for I may call myself a friend, may I not?"
Ma mi sembra strana: "Mio caro amico, perché posso chiamarmi amico, vero?".
Il senso ce l'ho, ma avrei ritenuto più logico:"Mio caro amico, perché posso
chiamarTI amico, vero?".
Ciao, FB

 chiamarTI amico, vero?".
Mmmmh... a me suona meglio "myself".
"It's been nice meeting you, Sarah, and drinking pints of Guinnes at 
your place, especially since I didn't have any money to spend in the 
pub, you know. The moon is high and I must be going, though, my 
friend! May I call myself your friend, my generous host?".


 non comincero` a scrivere in un inglese improbabile.
Il film in questione parla di due ricercatori (lei inglese, lui 
amerciano a Londra) che attraverso lettere, poesie e diari di un poeta 
(sposato) e di una poetessa (dichiaratamente lesbica) inglesi 
dell'epoca vittoriana, scoprono una storia d'amore segreta di 150 anni 
fa e ripercorrendola si innamorano a loro volta. 
Forse un po' chick flick, forse qualche luogo comune sulle reciproche 
ironie fra inglesi e americani (ma e` poi vero che gli americani in 
England sono sistematicamente presi in giro?), ma nel complesso non 
cosi` malvagio.
http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/p/possession.html


 
http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/p/possession.html
BTW, quanto e` convincente l'accento "inglese" di Gwyneth Paltrow per
un orecchio inglese?


 Mmmmh... a me suona meglio "myself".
Eě vero. "Posso chiamarti amico" sembra che sottenda "perché sei mio amico,
non č che prima o poi mi freghi, vero?"; "posso chiamarmi amico" č invece
gentile.
Ciao, FB

 "It's been nice meeting you, Sarah
Che, per caso la uccide subito dopo? Continuo a non capire.
Ciao, FB

un orecchio inglese?
Per me, almeno in "Emma" e "Shakespeare in Love", abbastanza.
Quanto sono convincenti gli accenti americani di Emma Thompson e
Kenneth Branagh in "Dead Again"?
-- 
Adam Atkinson (
gh...@mistral.co.uk
)
In the new approach, as you know, the important thing is to understand
what you're doing, rather than to get the right answer. (T. Lehrer)


No, "it's been nice meeting you" è normale, mentre "it's been nice
knowing you" rende l'idea che fra poco morirai.
-- 
Mary

 ironie fra inglesi e americani 
Del tipo:
An English professor (Roland's "boss"): "He's an American, for God's
sake! He's probably trafficking drugs."
(Nel film, Roland is an American young researcher having a fellowship
in London)
An English collegue of Roland's: "Hello, Roland. What do you chaps
always say? How's it hanging?".
Roland: "We usually say Hey. I mean, unless you're gay".
A member of staff at British Library: "You're that American who's over
here?"
Roland: "I'm sure there are others. After all, you're our favorite
colony."


 ironie fra inglesi e americani 
Del tipo:
An English professor (Roland's "boss"): "He's an American, for God's
sake! He's probably trafficking drugs."
(Nel film, Roland is an American young researcher having a fellowship
in London)
An English colleague of Roland's: "Hello, Roland. What do you chaps
always say? How's it hanging?".
Roland: "We usually say Hey. I mean, unless you're gay".
A member of staff at British Library: "You're that American who's over
here?"
Roland: "I'm sure there are others. After all, you're our favorite
colony."
-- 


 knowing you" rende l'idea che fra poco morirai.
Ah, o.k. Ciò che non capisco è perché la seconda frase fa questo effetto.
Ciao, FB

 Ah, o.k. Ciň che non capisco č perché la seconda frase fa questo effetto.
Boh, č un'idioma.
Originalmente forse era una citazione da un film o un libro.
-- 
Mary

 Originalmente forse era una citazione da un film o un libro.
Ah, grazie mille. La prendo come una frase fatta, perciň.
Ciao, FB

 "OK. that's it. I'm leaving. It was nice knowing you."
In che senso? Più tardi controllo il lemma sullo Swan.
Ciao, FB