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Which part of the question is the dominant clause?

English Language & Usage Asked by Allex Kramer on June 3, 2021

Tell me if I am right in my analysis with this question:
“You like steak, right?”

The statement “You like steak” is the dominant clause, and “right” is simply an interjection of sorts. Just like if someone had asked “Right?”, the rest would have been implied, right?

One Answer

‘‘Tis is a very colloquial form.”. It’s prime use is casual. It is a direct question, asked in a way that lets the person you are talking to know that you thing the answer is ‘yes’.

There are several ways of asking a question of this type. One famous one used as a slogan for the anti-slavery movement in the nineteenth century.

Am I not a man and a brother?

More informally you can use the same curious shift from the positive “I am” to the question form followed by ‘not’. In more ordinary conversation You might say:

Wasn’t that a Ferrari that just passed us?

Another form of question starts with the positive assertion:

You’re Cox, the famous TV scientist, aren’t you?

Your example is most similar to this one but is still distinct. Sit is a perfectly good sentence. There is no ‘dominant’ (or ‘main’ clause). Or rather, the whole sentence is the main clause.

Answered by Tuffy on June 3, 2021

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