4 Telling tails: grammar, the spoken language and materials development
4.5 Sample materials
If we accept that ‘tails’ are a normal rather than a deviant feature of spoken grammar (to repeat: our corpus data confirms that tails are distributed across a range of different contexts) and if we accept that learners ought to be introduced to tails as an expressive resource and be guided in their choices of whether, how and in what ways to use tails, then teaching materials will need to address such conditions.
The examples in Figure 4.1 are drawn from extracts of a unit developed in 1997–8 for a ‘discourse’ grammar of English (now published as Carter, Hughes and McCarthy 2000, Exploring Grammar in Context: Upper- intermediate and Advanced), designed in particular with reference to the principle of grammatical choice and constructed in order to introduce to learners and give them practice in the comprehension and communica- tive use of spoken grammar, including such forms as tails.
Telling tails
85
UNIT 21: TAILS (post-posed elements of clauses) A Introduction
1. Look at these extracts from conversations.
•Contractions such as he’d, it’s, I’ll make the extracts informal. Mark any other words or phrases which make the conversations informal.
•Which of the extracts (a)–(d) is the most formal? Rewrite it to make it sound more informal.
a) A: Did Max help you?
B: Yes, he moved all my books.
A: He said he’d try and help out.
B: He was very helpful, Max was.
b) A: It’s not a good wine, that.
B: I’ll still try some.
A: Where’s your glass?
c) A: What are you going to have?
B: I can’t decide.
A: I’m going to have a burger with chilli sauce, I am.
B: It’s a speciality here, chilli sauce is.
d) A:
B: It runs right across the moors.
A: Then it goes through all those lovely little villages.
B: Yes, the villages are beautiful.
2. Which of these sentences is more likely to be used in formal situations and which is more
to plan and prepare what to say and therefore to make things clear for your listener.) Mark each sentence in the pair (F) formal or (I) informal.
i) (a) Gandhi was a great leader.
(b) He was a great leader, Gandhi was.
ii) (a) He smokes too much, David does.
(b) David smokes too much.
iii) (a) It’s very nice, that road.
(b) That road is very nice.
iv) (a) You’re always getting it wrong, you are.
(b) You’re always getting it wrong.
v) (a) I’m a bit lacking in confidence, I am.
That’s a very nice road.
likely to be used in informal situations? (Remember that in informal situations it is often difficult
(b) I am a bit lacking in confidence.
vi) (a) Hong Kong is an exciting place.
(b) It’s an exciting place, Hong Kong is.
vii) (a) They’re not cheap, those clothes aren’t.
(b) Those clothes aren’t cheap.
Figure 4.1
(cont.)
Data collection and materials development
86
viii) (a) That’s a very nice beer, Fortuna is.
(b) Fortuna is a very nice beer.
Answers and Commentary
1. a) Max was b) that c) I am; chilli sauce is
Conversation d) is the most formal. A suggested more informal version is:
A: It’s a very nice road that.
B: It runs right across the moors, it does.
A: Then it goes through all those lovely little villages.
B: Yes, they’re beautiful, the villages are.
2. i) (a) F (b) l; ii) (a) I (b) F; iii) (a) I (b) F;
iv) (a) I (b) F; v) (a) I (b) F; vi) (a) F (b) I;
vii) (a) I (b) F; viii) (a) I (b) F
•In conversation we often want to give emphasis to statements. Tails can help us to do this. Tails are single words or phrases which occur at the end of a clause and extend what has already been said.
A tail often consists of a phrase which extends a pronoun or demonstrative; it normally occurs as a complete phrase even though the subject phrase which is put at the front of the clause may be contracted,
•Notice that tails often occur in statements in which the speaker is evaluating things and saying positive or negative things. You get tails in sentences in which there are words like exciting, very nice, great,
B Discovering Patterns of Use 1. Nouns and pronouns in tails
Look at the following conversations.
•What do you observe about the order of words in the tails?
•How do they compare with tag questions, e.g. She does, doesn’t she? in (d)?
a)
B: No, he was late. He was very cross, David.
b)
B: I know. She always beats me easily.
c)
B: Yes, he was very helpful, was Max.
d)
e.g. It’s an exciting place, Hong Kong is).
too much,or a bit lacking.
A: Did David make it on time?
A: She’s a very good tennis player, is Hiroko.
A: Did Max help you?
A: Have you heard her sing?
B: Yes, she sings beautifully, Laura does.
A: She does, doesn’t she?
e)
B: Yes, but it’s far too hot for me, Singapore.
A: It’s not just hot, it’s humid as well.
A: Have you been to Singapore?
(cont.) Figure 4.1 (cont.)
Telling tails
87
2. Position and order of tails
Now look at the following sentences. The sentences are all typical spoken sentences.
The tails here are repetitions or occur with question tags.
•What do you observe about the position and order of the tails?
a) I went there early. It would be about seven o’clock, it would. It wasn’t dark yet.
ii) It’s difficult to eat isn’t it, spaghetti? You have to suck it into your mouth.
iii) It’ll melt, won’t it, the ice-cream?
iv) She’s a good tennis player, Hiroko is, isn’t she?
v) You hardly ever show emotion, you don’t. Don’t you have any feelings for her?
vi) She still hasn’t finished, hasn’t Maria.
C Observations about tails
•Many tails consist of a noun or pronoun and a verb. A tail often extends a pronoun or noun or demonstrative which has occurred earlier in the clause. In a tail the noun can either follow or precede the verb (e.g. He was very helpful, Max was; or He was very helpful, was Max; She still hasn’t finished,
•When a pronoun comes first in a clause and the tail is formed with a noun then the noun normally makes the comment stronger e.g. He was a great leader, Gandhi was.
•The noun can also be used as a tail on its own (e.g. He was very helpful, Max; It’s an exciting place,
•When pronouns occur in tails the word order of the preceding phrase is repeated; otherwise the sentence may be heard as a question e.g. ‘You’re stupid, you are’, You’re stupid are you?; ‘It would take about half-an-hour, it would’, It would take about half-an-hour would it?.
•Tails can occur with tag questions and can be placed either before or after the tag (e.g. She’s a good player, Hiroko is, isn’t she?, It’s not easy to eat, is it, spaghetti?).
•When the tail repeats a verb which is not a verb ‘to be’ or an auxiliary/modal verb then a do verb is used (e.g. ‘She sings very well, she does’; ‘They complain all the time, they do’).
•Tails always agree with the phrase to which they refer (e.g. ‘It’s not a good wine,
that isn’t’; ‘She’ll never pass the exam, won’t Toni’). Negative adverbs such as hardly, scarcely, etc. normally keep a negative tail (e.g. ‘He scarcely speaks, he doesn’t’).
D Follow-up and further exercises
•Rewrite the following dialogues to make them sound a little more informal.
a) A:
hasn’t Maria; or She still hasn’t finished, Maria hasn’t).
Hong Kong).
B:
A:
B: I fancy the spaghetti but I always manage to drop it down the front of my shirt.
I’m going to have steak and chips.
It’s certainly a nice menu.
Here’s the menu. What do you fancy?
(cont.) Figure 4.1 (cont.)
Data collection and materials development
88
b) B:
A:
c) B:
A:
•Re-tell this narrative, adding tails where appropriate.
It was late at night and typically, the last bus had gone. So I decided to walk home. I was really cross with Jeff. He’d left the party early because he had to be up early for work the next day. Anyway, as I walked along our road, I heard a car behind me. It was really dark. I became very frightened and started to run. A man got out of the car and started to follow me. I ran more quickly and then he began to run more quickly too. By the time I reached our house he had caught up with me. I turned round.
•Rewrite these sentences so that the tail is the clear subject of the sentence.
a) b) c) d)
It was Jeff. He’d come after me to apologise ...
A:
Do you reckon they’ll get married eventually?
A: Sophie will never lose weight.
David is still lacking in confidence, I suppose, and Jean is a bit too young at the
She hardly ever eats cakes or chips.
I should eat less. I’m far too flabby.
It never occurred to me, the danger I was in. (The danger I was in never occurred to me.) That was the book I wanted, the one with the picture on the front.
It was a strange feeling, walking into that place.
They’re far too hot, those countries where it’s all humid.
I like them. David and Jean make a nice couple.
moment isn’t she?