有關question tag 的用法3及單眾數問題

Keep your voice down, _________?
a. will you b. won't you c. can you e. can't you

答案 (a), (b), (c), (e) 都對, (b) (e)比較好

There are three main structures:
Positive statement + negative tag
Negative statement + positive tag
Positive statement + positive tag

Negative tag expects a “Yes” answer. Positive tag expects a “No” answer.

“Keep your voice down” is an imperative. (~ base form of a verb used to give order or express best wishes.)

After imperatives, “won’t you?” can be used to invite people to do things
Keep your voice down, won’t you? (~ polite way)

Keep your voice down, can’t you? (You tell him/her to keep his/her voice down. You are annoyed. You re impatient)

Keep your voice down, will you? ( ~ to tell or ask people to do things)

The use of tags is to express the speaker’s reaction to a statement.


CHINESE- 首先要明白這字的意思和用法

Chinese (noun)
1. 中文,中國話, 漢語 (uncountable noun)
2. 中國人 (countable noun)

He studies Chinese. (neither “a” nor “the” in front of “Chinese” )
Chinese is my native language.

3. the Chinese (plural) ~ people from China 中國人
The Chinese eat with chopsticks. (“The Chinese” is plural. It takes a plural verb, eat)
The Chinese are hard-working people.

Remember you are a Chinese wherever you go.
(a Chinese = 一個中國人)

Chinese (adjective)
4. 中國的, 中國話的, 中國人的

當 Chinese 是 adjective, 例如 Chinese + noun 是 subject 時, singular noun用 singular verb, plural noun 用 plural verb. 與 adjective 無關

The Chinese staple food is rice. (food is singular, 用 is)
The Chinese handwriting exercises in the book were very difficult. (exercises is plural, 用 were)

在(Chinese + noun) 前面用 a , the 或者全不用, 要看a 和 the 區別, indefinite article和 definite article, 與 Chinese 無關,

Look up a (Chinese) word in an online dictionary.
What is the (Chinese) word for foreign language?
My thesis was about the (Chinese) contemporary art.
The improvements made the (Chinese) course even better.

the Chinese government (不是 a)
the Chinese people (不是 a)
the Chinese civilization (不是 a)
the Chinese embassy (不是 a)

Keep your voice down,_________?

答案應是a.will you
b. won't you
c. can you
d. don't you
e. can't you

a. will you是正確，因為這不是請求的問題，而是指令或命令的句式，表示我想你下一步將會(will)是lower your voice/keep quiet. 保持安靜，你可以嗎？如果是請求則有可能用can you，但前句則不能用這個active verb開始，而可能改為一個跟can做的動詞。或意思上是：請停止說話，你能做到嗎？Keep quite, can you?
另外，有時見The Chinese後用is,有時用are,很易混淆，有時有the，究竟如何分辨
eg Chinese are an industrious race
eg The Chinese has learnt how to make paper for 2000years Chinese其實是一個collective noun，既是中國人種/華人(單數)，亦是指每一個中國人(眾數)。第二個e.g.用了the就一定是指人種，所以必然是單數。其實第一個e.g.理應是單數的，因為句中的內容是指race(種族)，但可能句子想表達中國人的數量和集體性，所以表達Chinese為眾數的好多人或每個華人都享有共同的勤奮素質。就這個例子，如果寫成Chinese is an industrious race應該也可以成立的，尤其是當所代表的內容是一種公認的共同體。當要表達有數量或有個體的Chinese便把它當眾數。

你好...很高興能回答你的問題

Keep your voice down,_________?
答案應是 b. won't you
因為這一句應是以反問語氣去問
譯作中文為"請保持音量收細,難道你不會嗎?"

有時見The Chinese後用is,有時用are,很易混淆，有時有the，究竟如何分辨?
Chinese/The Chinese 通常是以複數存在...但有極個別例子...上文的第2個例子說的是把The Chinese 看作為一個整體來說...因為不可能2000年前每一個人都會造紙...所以為單數