About tag questions

gxnn

Literotica Guru
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526
Either he or she is right, ____ _____?
Either you or I am right, ____ _____?

Could the answer be "isn't it" for both?
 
Either he or she is right, ____ _____?
Either you or I am right, ____ _____?

Could the answer be "isn't it" for both?
That's an odd usage in English. I'd express them as statements, not questions.

Either he is right or she is.

Either you are right or I am.
 
Either he or she is right, ____ _____?
Either you or I am right, ____ _____?

Could the answer be "isn't it" for both?
In colloquial British English, you could use "innit" which is short for "isn't it so." But American English doesn't have a form for it. If the word "right" wasn't there first, you could say something like "Either he or she is correct (or misinformed, or whatever), right?"
 
The questions come out of the test paper of a high school in China.
So is it that people in English-speaking countries do not speak like that?
The test paper writer should have some hot shit stuffed in his or her mouth for doing such a groundless and low quality work.
 
Either he or she is right, ____ _____?
Either you or I am right, ____ _____?

Could the answer be "isn't it" for both?
If I was forced to answer, it would be:
... aren't they?
... aren't we?

Credentials: English editor for 25-ish years, MA in English, spend 10-12 hours a day pondering correct English wording.

But really, this isn't how question tags work. And the second sentence is grammatically wrong anyway (you'd never say "you or I am"). You might just as well say, "Either he or she is right, you got a problem with that, motherfucker?"
 
The questions come out of the test paper of a high school in China.
So is it that people in English-speaking countries do not speak like that?
No, we don't. Neither example is a typical speech pattern for native English speakers - certainly not in Australia.
The test paper writer should have some hot shit stuffed in his or her mouth for doing such a groundless and low quality work.
Now that demonstrates a solid command of colloquial English! You should be setting the test papers.
 
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