grammaticality - About question tags



He did nothing*.



Which is the correct question tag for the sentence above?




  1. didn't he?




  2. did he?




What is the effect of using nothing for negation?



Answer




He did nothing


Which is the correct question tag for the sentence above:


didn't he?


did he?



Hum, I think either one is possible. My interpretation of this is that if you said



He did nothing, did he?



it would mean that you think that I've said that he did nothing and you want me to confirm that. If you said



He did nothing, didn't he.



it would mean that you assert that he did nothing and you expect me to confirm that.



What is the effect of using nothing for negation?



My interpretation is that if you said



He didn't do anything.



it sounds more neutral (less emphatic) than if you said



He did nothing.



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