isn't it?) Note the following variations in the negation when the auxiliary is the I form of the copula: Standard/formal: Clever, am I not? England (and America, Australia, etc.): Clever, aren't I? Scotland/Northern Ireland: Clever, amn't I? nonstandard dialects: Clever, ain't I? Intonation English tag questions can have a rising or a falling intonation pattern. This can be contrasted with Polish, French or German, for example, where all tags rise, or with the Celtic languages, where all fall. As a rule, the English rising pattern is used when soliciting information or motivating an action, that is, when some sort of response is required. Since normal English yes/no questions have rising patterns (e.g. Are you coming?), these tags make a grammatical statement into a real question: You're coming, aren't you? Do listen, will you? Let's have a beer, shall we? The falling pattern is used to underline a statement. The statement itself ends with a falling pattern, and the tag sounds like an echo, strengthening the pattern. Most English tag questions have this falling pattern. He doesn't know what he's doing, does he? This is really boring, isn't it? Sometimes the rising tag goes with the positive to positive pattern to create a confrontational effect: He was the best in the class, was he? (rising: the speaker is challenging this thesis, or perhaps expressing surprised interest) He was the best in the class, wasn't he? (falling: the speaker holds this opinion) Be careful, will you? (rising: expresses irritation) Take care, won't you? (falling: expresses concern) Sometimes the same words may have different patterns depending on the situation or implication. You don't remember my name, do you? (rising: expresses surprise) You don't remember my name, do you? (falling: expresses amusement or resignation) Your name's Mary, isn't it? (rising: expresses uncertainty) Your name's Mary, isn't it? (falling: expresses confidence) As an all-purpose tag the Multicultural London English set-phrase innit (for "isn't it") is only used with falling patterns: He doesn't know what he's doing, innit? He was the best in the class, innit? On the other hand, the adverbial tag questions (alright? OK? etc.) are almost always found with rising patterns. An occasional exception is surely. Other forms Besides the standard form based on auxiliary verbs, there are other forms specific to particular regions or dialects of English. These are generally invariant, regardless of verb, person or negativity. The tag right? is common